Ukraine and European Green Deal: Annual monitoring report 2023
by DіXi Group, Resource and Analysis Centre “Society and Environment”, Energy Efficient Cities of Ukraine Association, Ukrainian Leadership Academy, Women’s Energy Club of Ukraine, DZYGA and PLATO
The year 2023 was marked by the continued reforms aimed at the implementation of the European Green Deal (EGD) principles in Ukraine – despite the extremely difficult circumstances of Russia’s full-scale invasion, which had an impact on all EGD-related fields in Ukraine. At the same time, some negative trends have become noticeable, creating obstacles to the effective implementation of reforms in Ukraine and ensuring conditions for the green recovery.
The insufficient level of transparency in the energy sector in terms of information about market operation, recovery dynamics, as well as development of decisions and national strategic documents remains a significant obstacle to the effective implementation of reforms. In particular, failure to publish the 2050 Energy Strategy of Ukraine adopted in 2023 has already led to significant negative reaction from stakeholders who systematically support Ukraine. Similar restrictions are also present in the implementation of other EGD-related policies in Ukraine, in particular environmental and climate policies.
Understanding the objective obstacles in providing access to information and engagement in decision-making under martial law, we call for increased access to information and inclusiveness of the decision-making process, taking into account stakeholders from the civil society and expert circles. Such an increase in transparency of key EGD-related areas is necessary to ensure high quality decisions, enable effective support for reforms, and set priorities for green recovery.
At the same time, it is worth noting Ukraine’s progress in the implementation of the EGD priorities in a number of economic sectors during the year. In particular, strengthening the renewable energy sector reform and adoption of updated legislation that will facilitate the future transition to a market model are noticeable. Continued efforts to improve energy efficiency and create new mechanisms to finance decarbonization measures are another important aspect. These efforts were also taken against the background of partial stabilization of energy markets in Ukraine, which is also in line with the general trend of the European energy sector’s gradual recovery from the crisis caused by the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022.
At the same time, Ukraine has demonstrated progress in the development of climate and environmental legislation, as well as active climate diplomacy and promotion of the issue of fair compensation for environmental damage from Russian aggression at a number of international events (the United for Justice conference, the OSCE Climate Conference, COP28, etc.).