Zelensky outlines Ukraine's climate ambitions

Ukraine's long-term goal is to achieve carbon neutrality, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said at the international Climate Ambition Summit on December 12.
"Ukraine's long-term goal is to achieve carbon neutrality. We will make every effort to minimize the time to achieve this goal," the press service of the President’s Office quotes Zelensky as saying.

In his video address, the President said that this year Ukraine was particularly affected by climate change: prolonged droughts destroyed crops in a number of regions, large-scale forest fires in the east and devastating floods in the west.

According to him, Ukraine has consistently adhered to its commitments to effectively implement the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 and international climate agreements.

"In preparation for the Conference of the Parties to the Paris Agreement in Glasgow, we are working on a second nationally determined contribution. On this basis, we consider the target for greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 in all sectors of Ukraine's economy in the range from 36% to 42% compared to 1990, i.e. a reduction of 58-64%," Volodymyr Zelensky said.

In addition to the new commitments under the Paris Agreement, Ukraine is also working to improve the mechanisms of state financial support for climate policy, the President informed.

"Ukraine also seeks to align its climate policy and legislation with the European Green Deal. We are stepping up cooperation with the EU in the areas of energy efficiency, development of hydrogen energy and renewable energy sources, fair transformation of the coal sector and development of a national greenhouse gas emission allowance trading system," the President noted.

Also, according to the Head of State, Ukraine continues the process of revising its Energy Strategy, which provides for the development of renewable energy and gradual replacement of fossil fuels, including coal.

"We have started preparing a framework strategy for adaptation to climate change in Ukraine until 2030. The document will coordinate the work of various authorities at the national and local levels. Ukraine is and will remain one of the active and responsible participants in the global process of combating climate change and protecting the environment," the President stressed.

The international Climate Ambition Summit 2020 was dedicated to the fifth anniversary of the Paris Climate Agreement 2015 and preparations for the next UN Climate Change (COP26), to be held in Glasgow, the United Kingdom, in November 2021.

The summit was chaired by Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson, President of France Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister of Italy Giuseppe Conte, President of Chile Sebastián Piñera and UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

This year, the event was attended by more than 70 heads of state and government, who recorded short video addresses outlining the "new and ambitious" commitments of their states under the Paris Climate Agreement.

According to Article 4 of the Paris Agreement, the parties shall communicate a nationally determined contribution every five years.

According to its first nationally determined contribution to the Paris Agreement, Ukraine has committed not to exceed 60% of the 1990 level of greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 (or to reduce emissions by 40% since 1990 without taking into account the land use, land-use change, and forestry sector).