Ukrainian celebrities urge EU to stop fueling Russia’s ‘war of aggression’
Ukraine’s most famous celebrities, human rights activists and environmental activists are calling for the gas not to be classified as a green energy source in the EU.
Influential personalities and stars, including 2016 Eurovision winner Jamala, have come together to ask MPs to vote against the European Commission’s taxonomy on sustainable activities. They say it will increase Europe’s dependence on gas, especially Russia.
Before Ukraine’s invasion, Russia supplied 40% of the EU’s natural gas and 27% of imported oil, with the bloc paying around 400 billion euros a year.
According to the group of TV stars, singers, artists, activists and influencers, any measure that prolongs EU dependence on Russian gas will only “strengthen Vladimir Putin’s grip on power and prolong his reign of terror”.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, the EU has spent more than 60 billion euros on Russian fossil fuels, according to campaign group Europe Beyond Coal.
Will the EU taxonomy increase Europe’s dependence on Russian gas?
The European Parliament decides today (6 July) whether to block or accept new EU legislation that qualifies gas and nuclear investments as climate-friendly. This ‘taxonomy’ dictates which economic activities investors can label and market as green in the EU.
But critics say the inclusion of gas as a ‘green investment’ creates uncertainty about what is truly sustainable.
“When the European Commission published its REPowerEU strategythe aim was to respond to the “double emergency” of dependence on Russia and climate change,” says Oksana Ananyeva, policy advisor at the Center for Environmental Initiatives in Ukraine.
The “greenwashing” of nuclear power and gas using the EU taxonomy, she adds, is a step in the opposite direction.
“Further investment in these technologies makes neither environmental nor economic sense, but will open the door to Russian energy giants, which should be sanctioned.”
In June, a preliminary vote saw the EU taxonomy canceled by two key parliamentary committees: The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety.
The vote is expected to be close and according to a recent WWF survey almost half of EU citizens think Russia’s invasion of Ukraine means it is even more important to keep gas out of the EU taxonomy.
Now campaigners are calling on MEPs to build on their momentum by rejecting the proposal and forcing the European Commission back to the drawing board.
“The greatest greenwashing exercise of all time”
About 300 activists are gathering in Strasbourg, France, this week as the results of the taxonomy vote are due to be announced. They come from EU countries, including Austria, Denmark, Italy, Sweden and Ukraine.
Activists will communicate directly with MEPs, calling on the European Parliament to stop “the biggest exercise in greenwashing ever” by rejecting the inclusion of nuclear and gas in the EU taxonomy.
“The European Commission is trying to convince us that the gas is green and that the gas has not been fueling Russia’s war of aggression in Ukrainesays Dr. Svitlana Romanko, Ukrainian environmental law expert, climate activist and founder of grassroots organization Razom We Stand.
“If this proposal is passed in Parliament, the Commission will prolong our dependence on gas – funding unstable dictatorships like Putin’s – and in doing so will voluntarily prolong the suffering of Ukrainians.
“The choice is clear: either MPs vote for more gas-funded wars or learn from Ukraine and vote for a cleaner, safer and more prosperous future.”