Since launching its full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Russia has amassed more than 445 billion US dollars in revenue from fossil-fuel exports, with much of that coming from G20 nations. According to the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), total exports of Russian fossil fuels to G20 & EU countries from 24th February 2022 until the 1st September 2023 are estimated at 318 billion USD (EUR 297 bln).
Reacting to this finding and addressing the leaders of G20 countries, who gathered for the annual summit in India, 55 society organisations from Ukraine, USA, Canada, Australia, Africa and Europe have called on the leaders of the countries to stop supporting Russia's war of aggression and end dependence on Russian oil and gas.
NGOs addressed leaders of the largest economies of the world in an open letter with an urge to end addiction to Russian fossil fuels and provide adequate responses both to the war of aggression and the climate emergency.
"We call on all leaders of goodwill to end fossil fuel dependence once and for all. We call on the G20 heads of state to take immediate steps to phase out fossil fuel imports from Russia and to withdraw from any joint ventures in the oil and gas industry with Russian companies," the letter to the G20 leaders reads.
Currently, the purchase of Russian energy resources at high prices contributes significantly to the financing of the war in Ukraine, as oil and gas exports provide 45% of budget revenues for the Russian Federation.
According to the letter, NGOs urge G20 governments to end addiction to oil and gas for two essential reasons: to start solving the climate crisis and to dry up the funds for the brutal Russian war against the Ukrainian people, which also presents an onslaught on international rule of law and democracy.
“Russian oil and gas should be locked in the ground for us to have any chance of saving lives in Ukraine and beyond its borders and of keeping global warming within the Paris Agreement limits. This is the truth that G20 leaders have to reconcile and act aligned with”, - notes Svitlana Romanko, director of Razom We Stand, an organizing group behind the NGO letter.
Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine has been going on for more than 550 days. According to analysts estimates the war in Ukraine costs Russia $1 billion a day. Since the beginning of the invasion, Russia has received $318 billion for this war from fossil fuel exports to the G20 countries, which account for 71% of exports since the start of the invasion.
