The Government has proposed a strategic plan for 2030 that is ineffective. In addition, if the strategy is approved, then it threatens to significantly reduce investment in the field of alternative energy and calls into question the prospect of economic development of the country as a whole. The Ukrainian Climate Network is actively operating in our country, and the members of the organization have brought this issue to the community review. The representatives of the UKM are very worried about the fact that a disastrous draft law may significantly increase the dependence of our country on the import of fossil fuel resources.
The “Strategy of Environmental State Policies”, developed until 2030 inclusive, was proposed by the Government of Ukraine in April. The bill envisages a permission to increase the emission of harmful CO2 twice compared with the level in 2015. This, above all, will mean that the dependence on imported fossil fuels, which is currently imported into large volumes to Ukraine, should increase in times.
Organizations included in the composition of the UCM are embarrassed by the Government’s permission to consider a strategic draft law that totally ignores the issue of increasing energy efficiency and implementation of RES. Representatives of the organizations also pointed to the fact that at present, the policy of the state should be aimed at the active reduction of fossil fuels in energy, and not on its popularization. It is important to attract foreign financing and improve the environmental status, and if strategy is adopted, all efforts on these aspects may be overtaken.
Also experts of the Ukrainian Climate Network pay attention to the fact that “Strategy” does not have any agreement with already existing ecological documents of strategic importance. It should be noted that documents of international importance, in which Ukraine has undertaken a number of commitments, “the Strategy of Environmental State Policies” in general contradicts.
Government officials have already approved the Energy Strategy of Ukraine, which provides for reducing harmful emissions to atmosphere up to 15 percent compared to 2010. This document has been developed until 2030 inclusive. At the same time, the Ministry of Nature of Ukraine is initiating approval of a strategic plan that will regulate the possibility of an increase in the share of greenhouse gases in 2030 by almost 60 percent (as compared to 1990).
This strategy will make it possible to increase the volumes of CO2, instead of stabilizing its level and gradually reducing it. Experts note that the increase in the share of greenhouse gases in the proposed strategy (from 40 percent to 60 compared with 1990) has a fundamental contradiction with the “Low Carbon Strategy”.
Environmentalists say that Ukraine needs to start formulating the goal and the main principles of the political path towards the climate and the environment as a whole and, after that, to coordinate or make adjustments to the strategic documentation in the energy sector, environmental protection, energy efficiency, etc.
The environmental policy strategy was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers at the end of April of this year and submitted for consideration to the Government. The representatives of the UKM state that the process of harmonizing this issue with the public was formal and did not reflect the real community attitude to the strategy.
It is important to note that, two years later, our country should provide testimony to the United Nations in contributing to global efforts to reduce CO2 emissions. This procedure is specified in the Paris Climate Agreements.
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