Sanctions hamper international climate commitments – Belarusian diplomat

November 16, BPN. Western sanctions hamper progress on international climate commitments, the Belarusian envoy in Egypt, Siarhiej Ciarenćjeŭ, said at the Sharm el-Sheikh Climate Change Conference (COP 27).

Man-made measures, including limiting access to fertilizers and food from Belarus to world markets, exacerbate the global food crisis amid extreme natural phenomena, he noted in a reference to international sanctions imposed on Belarus over its alleged complicity in Russia’s assault on Ukraine.

The sanctions, among other goods, target exports of Belarusian crop nutrients.

Unilateral measures constraining economic development undermine international commitments under the Paris Agreement and prevent achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, he said.

The Belarusian diplomat stressed the need to focus on joint international action to mitigate climate change and achieve the environmental well-being and security, rather than geopolitical ambitions of individual states.

Belarus accounted for 17.4 percent (up to 7.83 million tons) of the global output, U.S. Geological Survey said in its Mineral Commodity Summaries.

In 2022, the European Union, the United States and many other countries imposed an embargo on Belarusian potash over the country’s complicity in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, effectively blocking the key export route via Lithuania and a possible alternative route transiting Ukraine.