Unite against climate change - Ukraine scientist

Image source, Svitlana Krakovska

A leading Ukrainian scientist says war is closing the window of opportunity for the world to prevent the worst impacts of climate change.

Dr Svitlana Krakovska is a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

She said it was amazing how the people of Ukraine came together against one enemy.

We can survive as a civilization if we all unite against climate change.

The invasion made it impossible for Dr. Krakovska to continue her work after she was part of the final stages of approving the latest major assessment on the impacts of climate change.

She said that she couldn't think about anything other than trying to survive.

She said she was speaking out about the situation in Ukraine because she was part of the country's "sofa army".

She pointed out that fossil fuels and Europe's reliance on exported oil and gas from Russia were funding the war.

Image source, Svitlana Krakovska

The money invested in fossil fuels is being used against us. Against all of us.

The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said in a speech on Tuesday that Europe cannot rely so much on Russia for energy because it threatens us.

Scientists have been laying out the evidence for a need to make that transition for decades.

She pointed out that the window of opportunity to slash emissions is closing very quickly.

This war makes this window of opportunity even more narrow, because we have to solve this problem first.

Image source, Svitlana Krakovska

The veteran climate scientist has traveled the world to understand the impacts of rising global temperatures. She received an award from Zelenskyy for her participation in an expedition.

She told me that she had received many calls from colleagues around the world, offering her research posts in their institutions, as a result of the war in Ukraine.

She said that she just can't do it.

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