Climate Change Adaptation: Why It Matters During War
In the face of unprecedented challenges in the context of armed aggression by the Russian Federation, often irreversible consequences of negative environmental impacts at the national and regional levels, risk management is still being ensured and measures are being taken to adapt to climate challenges. At the same time, the main focus is on responding to disasters, rather than preventing them. This trend does not comply with international practices and UN requirements, and may also create an additional threat to the lives and health of citizens.
This is stated in the Report on the results of the performance audit on the topic of "Disaster Risk Reduction - Climate Change Adaptation Measures". This audit was conducted within the framework of the Global Joint Audit of Climate Change Adaptation Measures, which was initiated by the INTOSAI Working Group on Environmental Audits (INTOSAI WGEA) together with the INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI). The audit covers five key areas: water resources management, sea level rise, implementation of climate change adaptation plans, combating climate change, and measures to reduce disaster risks.
The Accounting Chamber experts analyzed the effectiveness of the implementation of measures to reduce the risks of disasters caused by climate change in Ukraine. The main attention was paid to the compliance of national measures with international programs, recommendations and guidelines in the field of disaster risk reduction, in particular the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030*, the achievement in Ukraine of the performance indicators defined by this Program, and ensuring effective coordination of disaster risk reduction activities between state institutions. The audit results will help strengthen the resilience of our state to today's challenges.
Risk assessment and communication
In 2021, Ukraine adopted the Strategy for Environmental Security and Climate Change Adaptation for the period until 2030 and approved an operational plan of measures for its implementation in 2022-2024, however, due to Russian aggression, this plan has been implemented only partially.
A regulatory framework has been developed at the central level to ensure disaster prevention, in particular the Civil Protection Code of Ukraine and civil protection plans approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which are updated annually. However, the partial implementation of these plans at the regional level and the varying levels of preparedness of the regions significantly reduce the overall effectiveness of these measures.
The auditors concluded that Ukraine currently has separate systems for understanding, assessing and communicating information on the risks of disasters caused by climate change, but they have limited effectiveness and are not aligned with international best practices. In particular, a single interdepartmental coordination platform for collecting, analyzing and communicating data on risks has not been implemented. In addition, unified methodologies and indicators for assessing disaster risks and a centralized mechanism for exchanging information on such risks have not been developed.
Disaster risk assessments are carried out irregularly and only in individual regions, which limits the possibilities for a comprehensive analysis at the national level. In particular, a regional climate change vulnerability assessment has been carried out in only 7 regions.
Information on disaster risks is distributed mainly among decision-makers, and access to this information by the public and vulnerable groups is limited.
Public information
Currently, Ukraine has developed multi-sector forecasting and early warning systems, but their people-orientedness and effectiveness in involving local communities and sectors are insufficient.
In 2023, the nationwide automated centralized alert system entered the trial operation stage, and all SES units were 100% equipped with digital radio communication. At the same time, digital radio communication systems at the regional level were deployed in only 13 out of 25 territorial bodies of the SES, which indicates the need for further expansion of this infrastructure.
The effectiveness of mechanisms for providing assistance to the population is also limited.
The impact of the war on the ecological situation
The Russian military aggression significantly complicates monitoring and risk management, primarily in the regions of Ukraine that are in the zone of active hostilities or temporarily occupied. Environmental damage caused by armed aggression: destruction of forests, contamination of territories and destruction of infrastructure, create additional threats to the population and the environment. According to the official resource of the Ministry of Environment «EcoThreat», as of 04.12.2024, the amount of damage was already 2.779 trillion hryvnias.
Despite these circumstances, the implementation of international projects and adaptation measures within the framework of national and regional strategies contributes to the improvement of the disaster risk management system. Ukraine demonstrates gradual improvement in assessing progress in the implementation of disaster risk reduction strategies in accordance with the Sendai Framework Program. In particular, the national score for strategy approval in 2023 reached 0.58 (out of 1 maximum), which demonstrates positive dynamics. However, the overall level of assessment of the disaster prevention system remains low, indicating significant shortcomings in the implementation of strategies.
The Accounting Chamber provided the audit objects with a number of recommendations that will allow us to strengthen the resilience of our state to challenges even in wartime conditions:
– introduce a centralized interdepartmental platform for coordinating actions, collecting, analyzing and exchanging data on disaster risks, which is in line with the Sendai Framework Program;
– modernize existing early warning systems taking into account modern climate data and forecasts, ensure their availability for all regions, especially for areas with a high level of disaster risk, namely droughts, floods, forest fires;
– develop and implement a unified methodology for assessing the risks of disasters caused by climate change, ensure that such actions are carried out in all regions of Ukraine in key sectors: agriculture, water resources and forestry;
– ensure adequate logistical support for institutions responsible for risk management, especially in regions with a high level of danger, etc.
After the adoption of the relevant reports, the results of national audits will be summarized by the Secretariat of the INTOSAI Working Group on Environmental Auditing in a global collection, which is planned to be published by mid-2025.
*Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 was adopted at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, held in Sendai, Japan, in 2015. The framework identifies performance indicators that allow for the assessment of progress in disaster risk reduction at the global, national and local levels. These indicators are divided into seven global goals.