Ekoltava Attended an International Conference in Tallinn

“Shared Earth, Shared Responsibility” — under this slogan, an international conference was held in Tallinn, attended by the director of NGO Ekoltava, Yuliia Melnyk. The conference brought together activists, environmental lawyers, parliamentarians, government officials, scientists, and business representatives from many countries around the world.

They all came together to deepen their knowledge of climate justice and to build new connections.

By the way, take a closer look at the artistic design of the event. It was created by Ukrainian artist Viktoriia Berezina, inspired by the Ukrainian Tree of Life and Petrykivka painting. Straight to the heart. 🫶

One of the key messages of the event was that countries with the smallest carbon footprint are often the ones that suffer the most.

For example, the carbon footprint of an average Ugandan in 2023 was just 0.1 tonnes, while that of an average Estonian was 73 times higher. Yet it is the less developed countries that endure the greatest losses.

The topic of responsibility of wealthier countries was also addressed in one of the panel discussions by Elizabeth Wathuti, a climate activist from Kenya (Green Generation Initiative):

“Communities in Kenya are not waiting for sympathy. They are already working to tackle climate change, and to secure access to water and food. Climate justice is not charity — it is shared work and shared responsibility.”

According to her, climate justice isn’t about serving people who can’t help themselves. It’s about supporting people who are already acting to protect themselves and their communities. It’s about standing together. It’s not about charity — it’s about justice and accountability.

In this context, it is particularly important that the funds generated from fossil fuels are directed toward the right purposes: climate adaptation, compensation for vulnerable groups, support for activists, ecological migration, and mitigation efforts. This is not just a matter of justice — it’s a matter of effectively addressing global challenges.

Prof. Joyeeta Gupta from the University of Amsterdam also highlighted economic contradictions:

“Pension funds care about shareholders, not about stakeholders — women, communities, residents. CEOs ignore environmental impacts, collect bonuses, and walk away while ordinary people are left to deal with the consequences.”

War in Ukraine

Two organizations representing the Ukrainian Climate Network were present at the event: Ekoltava and Ecoaction. In particular, Anastasiia Bushovska from Ecoaction spoke during a panel discussion on post-war recovery and climate adaptation. The audience applauded Ukraine’s decision to adopt a climate law despite the ongoing war.

One of the panel topics was also environmental justice in the context of the war against Ukraine.

During the networking session, Yuliia Melnyk of Ekoltava discussed security risks and environmental protection with other participants:

“How can democratic countries plan military operations in a way that minimizes environmental damage without losing effectiveness — especially when facing an aggressor who ignores both ecological safety and civilian lives?”

What conclusion can we draw from this?

Climate justice is not an abstract slogan — it is a concrete necessity to support those who suffer the most and are already taking action.
The Tallinn conference, organized by Estonian NGO MONDO, reminds us that responsibility for climate change must be proportional to a country’s contribution to the problem.

And the path to real solutions does not lie solely in compassion — but in solidarity, honesty, and a fair distribution of resources — including financial ones.

We need to speak to today’s political decision-makers in the language of money, because that’s how many understand the world.
But we must also remember that, for Europe today, an even more urgent issue is security and protection from Russia’s military aggression.