"The US, UK and EU must sanction Russian fossil fuels now!", 29 March 2022

The brutal war on Ukraine has fossil fuel roots - the oil, coal, and gas that Russia exports to the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union are funding this invasion. Almost 40% of Russia's income comes from the oil and gas they sell to other countries.

Ukrainians urged the world to cut off this huge source of Russian income. 

The US, UK and EU have announced a range of measures to stop buying fossil fuels from Russia, but they are nowhere near enough. Hundreds of millions of dollars are still flowing to the Russian government and funding war in Ukraine.

We estimated that American and European energy companies have been responsible for paying nearly $100bn to Russia since the Crimea invasion in 2014.

Governments think that our dependence on Russian oil and gas make it impossible to sanction its fossil fuel industry. But when leaders come together in the face of a crisis, they can mobilise their economies and ramp up investment in a better future, just like many of them did with the pandemic.

To end this war and confront the climate crisis, the plans to deploy renewable energy must be massively accelerated, with huge investment on home insulation and energy efficiency. 

To protect human rights and justice, the US, the UK and EU must end the destructive influence of fossil fuels now.

See also:

• "European and US energy companies are responsible for nearly USD 100 billion to Putin’s war chest since Crimea invasion" (Global Witness; including company comments)
• Press release "Cut off Putin's war chest by sanctioning Russian fossil fuel industry" (Global Witness)