Dear Vladimir,

The war in Ukraine should’ve been a moment for world leaders to kick their long-standing addiction to oil and gas. 

Just months after making ambitious targets and pledges at COP26, the G7 were given the chance to pivot from dependence on Russian oil and gas to a future of renewable energies. 

Read more: Ukraine, Putin, gas and sanctions - FAQs

Instead, the exact opposite happened.  

The world’s most powerful leaders, far from taking a stand and making the right decision for the planet, are rushing to continue the same climate-wrecking practices, supporting the fossil fuel industry to maintain its stranglehold on our energy markets and supporting spending huge amounts of taxpayers’ money to build more fossil gas infrastructure that we don’t need and our planet cannot afford. 

Read more: What is LNG and why is a bad idea for our climate 

COP26 was filled with the members of the G7 making much-needed promises and pledges to tackle environmental destruction.  

Now, instead of fulfilling their commitments, the G7 are using the war in Ukraine to prioritise dangerous short-term strategies that are taking us further down a road of fossil fuel dependency and climate destruction.  

Read more: “The war in Ukraine, the climate crisis, and the energy crisis have common roots”

Vladimir, we know we can depend on people like you to keep the pressure on and hold world leaders accountable.  

We won’t stop campaigning for a world where our leaders stop listening to the fossil fuels lobby and put people and the planet above profits. 

We have you, the people and the planet behind us to help turn that tide.  

Onwards,  

The Global Witness Team