As a result of the ongoing conflict, Ukraine faces the triple challenge of tackling climate change, protecting the environment and rebuilding the country. These challenges were the main focus of the IKEM side event to COP29, held on 19 November 2024 in the Ukrainian Pavilion in Baku.
Organized by IKEM, EUETH, IFZO and Mistra Geopolitics, the panel brought together experts from the fields of climate science, ecological peacebuilding and nature conservation. The discussion focused on innovative environmental protection approaches that combine climate protection and adaptation with impulses for lasting peace and stability.
In addition to the focus on legal and interdisciplinary challenges of rewetting of peatlands as a carbon dioxide removal technology, practical implementations and best-practice examples like paludiculture were evaluated in light of the war and the associated pressure to act to protect Ukrainian ecosystems. The focus was on questions of compatibility with European frameworks and strategies, while IKEM experts Ievgeniia Kopytsia and Till Reinholz also brought in global approaches. The diverse backgrounds of the panel participants in both practical and academic fields enabled discussions on the scope for implementation at the interfaces of public and private cooperation. IKEM’s nexus research approach was exemplified through highlighting the connections between sustainability and security.
