Today’s ESG Updates
- Fuel Prices in Russia Climb Amid Drone Strikes: A sustained wave of Ukrainian drone and missile strikes on Russian refineries has triggered fuel shortages across much of the country.
- Amazon’s Emissions on the Rise: The company has reversed its progress toward net-zero, despite investments in more efficient data centres, an electric delivery fleet, and renewable energy matching.
- Record Rainfall Hits West Africa: Severe flooding has left people dead and entire neighbourhoods underwater, highlighting the region’s growing exposure to climate change.
- US Operators Plan Off-Grid Data Centres: Developers are proposing gas-fired power plants dedicated to supplying data centres.
Russian fuel prices climb due to Ukraine’s drone strikes
Throughout the war, Russia’s citizens have been kept in the dark about its economic effects, but that is currently changing. The persistent Ukrainian strikes against Russian refineries have caused fuel shortages across the whole country. The Russian economy is struggling amid the costs of a war that has lasted more than four years.
More than two-thirds of Russian territories reportedly experience fuel shortages, including the Crimean region, where a state of emergency has been declared, and all fuel sales have been suspended. Russia has stopped publishing information on internal fuel prices. Still, the growing lines of people waiting at gas stations, fuel black markets, and footage of protests on social media show the severity of the problem.
The shortage is not only temporary but also the result of the Ukrainian strategy of attacking refinery components such as catalytic crackers, which Russia is unable to replace because of sanctions and an insufficient manufacturing industry. While crude oil production continues normally, refinery capacity has become the limiting factor for Russian fuel production, leading to an unusual situation in which India exports refined fuel to Russia after processing Russian crude.
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Further reading: Putin’s economy is running on fumes after Ukrainian attacks
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AI development cancels out with Amazon’s net-zero progress
Amazon’s carbon footprint increased by 16% in 2025 to nearly 81 million metric tons of CO2. This number is comparable to New Zealand’s annual output. This increase means that the corporation went backward in many ways after years of efforts and put its carbon footprint far off its net-zero commitment for 2040.
At the same time, Amazon allocated $200 billion of capital expenditure, mostly to data centers and chips to facilitate AI services. The reason for Amazon’s increased carbon footprint is energy use. The company’s carbon intensity has risen for the first time since 2019. Simply put, Amazon can no longer scale and control its harm to the planet at the same time. The progress and ambitions are outpacing their sustainability-driven initiatives. Amazon implemented water-saving and energy-efficient data centers, 52,700 electric vehicles in its delivery fleet, and third-party-verified renewable energy matching, but it’s just not enough.
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Further reading: Amazon’s Emissions Rose 16% in 2025 Amid Data Center Boom
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Record rainfalls hit West Africa
West Africa is suffering from the effects of climate change while barely contributing to it. The rain-related floods in Côte d’Ivoire have taken 59 lives since May. That number is expected to increase as rescuers search for the victims in submerged neighborhoods. The neighboring country of Ghana has already reported the death of 13 people, with Benin, Togo, and Nigeria experiencing the same problem. In Lagos, the heavy rain destroyed one of the power substations, leaving the neighborhood in darkness.
The President of Ghana reported rainfall of 140 mm, three times the previous year’s record. The lack of infrastructure makes the problem worse. There are unplanned buildings choking drainage channels, and mountains of garbage clogging streams.
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Further reading: Côte d’Ivoire floods kill 59 as west Africa endures torrential rains
New plans for independently powered U.S. data center can bring in a massive number of emissions
According to a recent report, 74 proposed gas plants would power data centers through direct connections in the U.S. This would help operators avoid the lengthy permitting processes for these harmful incentives. These projects would produce 143 gigawatts of power and release 662 million tons of carbon dioxide annually.
Almost 50 percent of these facilities will be located in Texas, with the remaining in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Private off-grid operations are not subject to federal regulations and can get a construction green light in just weeks, not years. The Trump administration supports this development in light of the competition with China over domination in the AI industry. However, three out of four Americans disapprove of this development, as it poses serious health hazards to nearby residents due to increased exposure to nitrous oxide and benzene emissions.
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Further reading: Gas plants for US data centers to be major source of climate change-lined emissions, report says
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by the authors are their own, not those of impakter.com — In the Cover Photo: Vladimir Putin at United Russia Congress in 2019. Cover Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
