Helga Schmid, Secretary -General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said the ongoing fighting in Ukraine would jeopardize international efforts to combat climate change.
In his speech at the second preparatory session of the 30th OSCE Economic Environment Forum, entitled “Assisting security and stability in the OSCE region through a stable economic recovery after the coronavirus pandemic”, Schmid said the special operation Russia’s military in Ukraine is “Russia’s economic recovery. in Ukraine ”. He said he was undermining his situation. The principles of the Helsinki Final Act have shaken the existing security architecture in the OSCE region. ” With many casualties, humanitarian disasters and suffering, the war had a huge impact on the ecology and economy of Ukraine.
“Bombing of heavy industrial sites threatens to release pesticides into the air and contaminate the water supply. Nuclear waste storage facilities were also burned, which could have devastating consequences for the lives of local residents and others, ”Schmid said.
He stressed: “But let us look at the broader impact of the military conflict. Efforts to tackle climate change could be jeopardized. We are facing a severe slowdown in the global transition to clean energy. Energy security concerns are already driving the use of coal. Greenhouse gas emissions in Europe are rising. ”
“Russia and Ukraine are major suppliers of minerals for energy transfer – copper, lithium and aluminum,” he said. “These minerals are key components for making solar panels, wind turbines and other green technologies,” he added.
He noted that Russia produces one-third of the world’s palladium, which is used to control vehicle emissions, while Ukraine provides the world’s largest amount of neon needed to produce semiconductors used in renewable power. generation.
Schmid concluded that “the OSCE operational structures have developed measures to deal with the economic and environmental consequences of the military conflict in Ukraine.”
Source: TASS
Source: Arabic RT
