Stand.earth reflection on first anniversary of the war in Ukraine

As we mark the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Stand.earth remains aligned in solidarity with the Ukrainian people whose homes and lives have been devastated by this brutal attack on their sovereignty. 

A central tenet of our work at Stand is to advocate for a just transition away from fossil fuels, and we have spent the past year closely tracking and calling attention to the ways in which this war has been directly powered and funded by that industry. 

Over the past year, our research has demonstrated how banks, insurance companies and institutional investors across the United States and Canada have underwritten the war in Ukraine through their investments in Russian oil and gas. Stand is pressuring these North American financial institutions to pursue immediate pathways toward divestment.

Stand led an effort to coalesce 215 social justice, religious, progressive, and Indigenous groups around a letter to the White House, urging U.S. President Joe Biden to invoke the Defense Production Act (DPA) to ramp up the deployment of renewable energy and send heat pumps to communities in Europe to end their reliance on Russian gas for heating. We received confirmation that our letter was read by key White House climate advisors and Biden ultimately authorized the use of the DPA to accelerate domestic production of clean-energy technologies.

Stand Research Group also found that many oil companies continued to buy the Russian crude which funds President Vladimir Putin’s war machine well beyond the start of the conflict. Stand has called on all oil companies to discontinue future trade with Russia, in order to avoid culpability in the accumulating atrocities in Ukraine as this war continues.

An investigation on which we collaborated with other international NGOs shined a light on how major fast-fashion companies helped pad Russia’s war chest by buying synthetic fibers made from Russian oil. Stand and its partners have appealed to these brands to phase out fossil fuel-derived materials, and strive for 100% clean renewable energy across their supply chains.

Ukraine is only the latest addition to the long list of international conflicts with undeniable ties to the fossil-fuel industry, and unfortunately it won’t be the last. The continued burning of fossil fuels is the single greatest threat facing our planet today. Fossil fuels play a consistent role in motivating, funding and intensifying countless conflicts around the world.

The fact that the war in Ukraine is both fossil-fuel funded and also responsible for huge disruption in international energy markets over the past year clearly demonstrates our world’s urgent need to shift away from fossil-fuel dependency and toward cleaner energy models.

While there have been some encouraging signs that the conflict in Ukraine has catalyzed rapidly increasing momentum in installation of renewables, the reality is that the fossil-fuel industry — with support from complicit politicians across North America — is using the war to exploit fears of security and scarcity as a justification for expanding investments in oil and gas. Fossil fuels are the biggest driver of climate change, and we can’t avert the crisis by growing the problem.

We must disarm this dangerous fear mongering, which only serves to deepen our dependence on the destructive fossil-fuel system and threatens to continue concentrating power in the hands of dangerous actors like Putin. Further investments in fossil fuels only perpetuate conflict, vulnerability and instability at a time when we need to be making our systems more resilient and sustainable in preparation for the next stages of the climate crisis.

There isn’t a moment to waste. We can’t afford to accept a sluggish rate of change or wait for another catastrophic international conflict before doubling down on moving investments toward renewable projects and advancing electrification policies. Now is the time to end the production of new fossil fuels, enact clear transition plans, and accelerate the switch to clean energy.

Fossil fuels, which have funded and enabled far too many deplorable conflicts and acts of aggression in recent decades, are a conduit for violence and should be treated as such. 

How much more violence must be perpetrated against our planet and its people at the hands of the fossil-fuel industry? What will it take for us to reckon with the inherently hostile nature of a fossil-fuel-first economy and commit to a conscious shift toward cleaner alternatives? 

Stand condemns the corporations and governments who continue to prioritize profit over people and planet as innocent civilians suffer. Every dollar of profit is drenched in blood and it must stop. We also join the United Nations in calling for just and lasting peace that preserves Ukraine’s independence and territorial integrity.

Media contact:

Cari Barcas, Communications Director, cari.barcas@stand.earth