On December 16, a public discussion was held, organized by the Working Group 3 “Environment, Climate Change and Energy Security” of the UNP EaP CSF, dedicated to the results of the 6th Eastern Partnership Summit, which took place the day before. The event was held online (with a broadcast on the Facebook page of the National Ecological Center of Ukraine). In addition to a broad representation of the public sector and the expert community, representatives of the Ministry of Environment and the EU Delegation to Ukraine took part in the event at the invitation of WG3.
The draft of the new Eastern Partnership policy was the subject of a study conducted by WP3 in the framework of the initiative “Environmental and Climate Sustainability of the Eastern Partnership – Assessing the Prospects for Achievement in Ukraine – 2”. As a result, an analytical document of the same name was updated, which reveals the environmental aspects of the new Eastern Partnership policy, the advantages and challenges facing our country to achieve one of its key goals – environmental and climate sustainability, compared to the European Green Course. The authors also identified indicators for tracking this goal and developed 3 scenarios for its achievement, which will allow for effective monitoring by civil society.
Prioritization of environmental and climate goals is a significant opportunity to intensify innovation. During the discussion, it was stressed that the final declaration of the Eastern Partnership Summit encourages the countries of the region, including Ukraine, to make a green transition in the economy in accordance with current European trends set by the European Green Course. In particular, the document states: “We will work to increase environmental and climate sustainability by promoting the green transition through investment and cooperation in the circular economy, green growth and adaptation to climate change, and by enhancing biodiversity. The EU supports the intensification of partner countries’ efforts on climate neutrality in 2050 by phasing out coal and making more ambitious nationally determined contributions. “
At the same time, the authors of the study note the low efficiency of environmental policy, which is due in particular to the weak institutional capacity of the state system of the OPNS and the Ministry of Environment, the responsible central body in the executive branch. As a result, measures to prepare for a comprehensive reform of the environmental management system are missing from the National Action Plan for the Protection of NPS until 2025, although they are contained in the Environmental Policy Strategy. Meanwhile, the current structure of the state environmental administration remains unstable and will not be able to overcome the current challenges facing Ukraine in the environmental and environmental spheres.
Another key problem at the national level is the underfunding of the environmental sector, with no monitoring of the effectiveness of environmental measures and a holistic approach to solving environmental problems.
Representatives of civil society received positive signals from the Ministry of Environment regarding the further implementation of the ongoing European integration reforms and readiness to cooperate with the public. We hope that this also applies to the development and implementation of systemic institutional and financial reform in the field of environmental protection, without which it is impossible to achieve qualitative progress in achieving the effectiveness of environmental and climate policy.
Information provided by Ruslan Gavrilyuk (coordinator of WG FGS East and WG3 UNP)
Завантажити аналітичний документ Довкільна та кліматична стійкість Східного партнерства — оцінка перспективи досягнення в Україні» – 2 : аналітичний документ / Наталія Андрусевич, Руслан Гаврилюк, Анна Голубовська-Онісімова, Олена Кравченко, Наталія Куць, Тамара Малькова; Українська національна платформа Форуму громадянського суспільства Східного партнерства. — Київ, 2021. — 64 с.
Завантажити коротку версію аналітичного документу Довкільна та кліматична стійкість Східного партнерства — оцінка перспективи досягнення в Україні» – 2. Основні тези: аналітичний документ / Наталія Андрусевич, Руслан Гаврилюк, Анна Голубовська-Онісімова, Олена Кравченко, Наталія Куць, Тамара Малькова; Українська національна платформа Форуму громадянського суспільства Східного партнерства. — Київ, 2021. — 16 с.
