The war in Ukraine, the climate crisis and the energy crisis have common roots

The statement by Svitlana Romanko asserts that fossil fuel revenues directly fund the Russian invasion of Ukraine and that global dependence on these fuels empowers authoritarian regimes and exacerbates the climate crisis. It calls for an immediate embargo on Russian fossil fuels, divestment from related infrastructure, and the adoption of a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty to transition to clean energy.

• Fossil fuel exports provide the necessary funding for Russia's military operations in Ukraine, meaning the war machine would likely be unable to function without these revenues, particularly from Western European buyers.
• Reliance on fossil fuels creates systemic vulnerability by concentrating power among a few company CEOs, Wall Street banks, and authoritarian leaders, as demonstrated by Russia cutting off natural gas supplies to Poland as punishment for supporting refugees.
• The author warns against 'peace-washing', where the fossil fuel industry uses the invasion of Ukraine as a justification to expand investments in other global regions, which could empower other authoritarian regimes and seed future conflicts.
• The proposed solution to the interconnected war, energy, and climate crises is a total global cessation of coal, oil, and gas use, supported by the adoption of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty and the redirection of fossil fuel subsidies toward clean energy.

APA

Romanko, S. (n.d.). The war in Ukraine, the climate crisis and the energy crisis have common roots. Global Witness. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/fossil-fuels/the-war-in-ukraine-the-climate-crisis-and-the-energy-crisis-have-common-roots/

Chicago

Romanko, Svitlana. The war in Ukraine, the climate crisis and the energy crisis have common roots. Global Witness, n.d. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/fossil-fuels/the-war-in-ukraine-the-climate-crisis-and-the-energy-crisis-have-common-roots/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Romanko |first1=Svitlana |title=The war in Ukraine, the climate crisis and the energy crisis have common roots |publisher=Global Witness |url=https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/fossil-fuels/the-war-in-ukraine-the-climate-crisis-and-the-energy-crisis-have-common-roots/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{romankondwar, author = {Romanko, Svitlana}, title = {{The war in Ukraine, the climate crisis and the energy crisis have common roots}}, publisher = {Global Witness}, url = {https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/fossil-fuels/the-war-in-ukraine-the-climate-crisis-and-the-energy-crisis-have-common-roots/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }