Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine

At its meeting on May 12, the Committee on Ukraine's Integration into the EU heard reports from the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Infrastructure, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development. They reported on the steps taken to implement the Committee's Recommendations following the committee hearings on the European Green Deal. These hearings took place on September 11, 2020.

Oleksiy Ryabchyn, Adviser to the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine, noted that during the creation of the Roadmap for synchronization with the EU in the direction of the European Green Deal, European partners had advised Ukraine to focus on existing initiatives. These are, in particular, energy efficiency, transformation of coal regions, hydrogen energy and development of climate governance infrastructure, finalization of important strategies in various directions. According to Oleksiy Ryabchyn, Ukraine is in constant dialogue on the European Green Deal with Frans Timmermans, Vice President of the European Commission, and Katarina Mathernova, Deputy Director General of the Directorate for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations of the European Commission. An interagency group on climate change and the European Green Deal has also been set up.

Based on the results of the committee hearings on the topic: “European Green Deal”, the Committee recommended to the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources:
1) to develop and submit for consideration to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine a draft Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change in Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Ukraine until 2030;
2) finalize the development of the second nationally determined contribution in order to fulfil the obligations under the Paris Agreement;
3) develop regulations aimed at implementing in Ukraine a scheme for trading in quotas for greenhouse gas emissions.

Representatives of the Ministry of Ecology reported that with the support of the UN Development Program, a Strategy for Ecological Safety and Adaptation to Climate Change until 2030 was developed and sent to the Central Executive Bodies for approval. Within the year, it is planned to obtain science-based scenarios of climate change in Ukraine for the period up to 2030, 2050 and by the end of the century. These scenarios will be extrapolated to regions and vulnerable sectors. Regarding the preparation of the second nationally determined contribution to the Paris Agreement, according to the Ministry, this process is now on its final stage. The introduction of a system of greenhouse gas emission allowance trading in Ukraine, on the contrary, is just starting.

The Ministry of Energy reported that the development of the Integrated National Plan for Energy and Climate 2030 is almost complete. Currently, the draft document is being processed by structural units of the Ministry of Energy.
The Ministry is also working to develop a regulatory framework for the development of hydrogen production and use in Ukraine. Significant attention this year is planned to be paid to the development of the hydrogen strategy and the adoption of the regulatory framework for the functioning of the hydrogen energy sector in Ukraine and the harmonization of Ukrainian legislation in this area with the requirements of international law.

The Ministry of Infrastructure reported that the Cabinet of Ministers has adopted an order “On approval of the action plan for the implementation of the National Transport Strategy for the period up to 2030” This is a set of measures that provide for the development and implementation of specific actions to achieve competitiveness and efficiency of the transport system of Ukraine. The Ministry also informed that they are preparing draft laws to promote environmentally friendly and energy efficient vehicles. One of the drafts provides for a ban on cars with diesel engines. Another — stipulates that from 2030 only electric buses will be used to transport passengers on bus routes, and 90% of the fleet should be Ukrainian-made electric buses. The Ministry of Infrastructure is also working on a draft law, that will introduce an environmental tax on emissions of pollutants and CO2. At the same time, the Ministry is working to create a National Network of high-speed charging stations on the country's main highways. Already this year they plan to install 10 pilot charging stations.

The representative of the Ministry of Regional Development informed that the Ministry had pointed out the following areas of synchronization with the European Green Deal: improving the energy efficiency of buildings and their thermal modernization, improving the energy efficiency of district heating and water supply systems, improving water quality and reducing water pollution. Regarding the functioning of the Energy Efficiency Fund, which financially supports condominiums in the energy modernization of old apartment buildings, a representative of the Ministry said that for this year the funding in the amount of UAH 100 million was envisaged in the budget for its support. This is despite the fact that the Ministry requested UAH 1.6 billion. As of now, the Energy Efficiency Fund has received more than 500 applications for a total amount of more than 5 billion hryvnias. The Chair of the Committee noted that such underfunding of the Energy Efficiency Fund raised concerns with the Government, because the Fund is a real working tool in the field of energy efficiency. The Ministry of Regional Development also reported that it had developed a draft law on large-scale thermal modernization. The project is already forwarded for approval by central executive bodies.