International Roundtable

The environmental and health impacts of Russia's war in Ukraine are complex and severe. They include direct damages and pollution caused by the shelling of land and water ecosystems, industrial facilities, and various kinds of infrastructures. They further include more indirect impacts such as setbacks to decarbonization efforts or the risk that environmental issues are being side-lined given arguably more immediate threats. Ukrainian and transnational environmental organizations have addressed such issues since the war started and developed strategies to counter them. While many short-term efforts focus on mitigating the immediate dangers to human health and the environment, state and non-state actors simultaneously address the longer-term prospects for a "green" reconstruction of industries and infrastructures, and restoration of ecosystems.

The participants to this panel-discussion are environmental experts who have been involved in assessing the environmental impacts of the war, coordinating mitigation efforts, and advancing responses to the current situation and future agendas over the past months. They will give an overview of current environmental and health issues in Ukraine and some of the challenges ahead. The discussion will address the role of transnational collaboration on these issues, and the question how organizations and individuals in Switzerland can support these efforts. 

For online participation, please register here.

If you want to support organisations the panelists represent, please visit these websites: ICO “Environment-People-Law”, Ecoaction Ukraine, Greenpeace Switzerland (Ukraine support)