'We will try to protect what we can’ – Ukraine’s environment minister at COP29

Since February 2022, Ukraine has been fending off an all-out military assault on its territory, and is now heading for a harsh eastern European winter with its energy system decimated by deliberately targeted bombing.

In the 29 years since the first conference of the parties to the United Nations Framework Covention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) set the global battle to tackle rising temperatures in motion, the COP has become more than just a forum for dry, technical negotiations and is now about “international unity”, Grynchuk says.

“Using this platform…we want to demonstrate that at the same time as we speak about climate neutrality, about new technology, in Ukraine we have the very different situation,” she says, pointing to renewed attacks on energy infrastructure even as the winter heating season is underway that have caused a blackout in the port city of Odesa.

In the summer, such a situation might be manageable, she said, but now there is a risk of a serious humanitarian situation, and the potential for further waves of refugees heading further west into Europe, Grynchuk said.

“If we want to talk about climate neutrality, about joint efforts, how to achieve the climate goals, we need to solve this situation in Ukraine,” the Ukrainian politician argued.

In addition to the acute problem caused by the latest damage to its power network, Grynchuk also pointed to the effect the war is having on the natural environment across the country – the theme of Ukraine’s national pavilion inside the COP29 venue which, ironically, is less than a minute’s walk from Russia’s.

“We need to stop additional emissions of CO2 because of forest fires, because of explosions, everyday explosions,” she continued. “And it's not just for Ukraine, it's