![]() ![]() A recently adopted “Strategy of the State Environmental Policy of Ukraine for the Period till 2030" and its Action Plan to 2025 set more ambitious targets for pollution reduction and more efficient use of natural resources, and the updated Nationally Determined Contribution commits the country to reduce GHG emissions until 2030. The country has taken many steps to restore and preserve its natural capital, to integrate environmental concerns into economic development and to accelerate the transition towards a green and low-carbon economy. Since the Revolution of Dignity and the signing of the European Union-Ukraine Association Agreement in 2014, Ukraine has accelerated its efforts to tackle these environmental challenges. ![]() Agricultural land has continued to degrade while the area covered by forests has decreased. 2 Ukraine’s relatively abundant water resources have been under pressure from industrial, agricultural and household pollution. 1 Due to the large share of the population exposed to air pollution from heavy industry and rapidly growing transport based on an ageing vehicle fleet, mortality linked to air pollution in Ukraine was high compared with the OECD countries. As a result, Ukraine’s energy- and CO 2-intensity has been the highest among its neighbours and well above that of the European Union member states. Large shares of Ukraine’s electricity supply, steel industry and district heating systems relied heavily on coal and natural gas, imported largely from Russia. The newly independent Ukraine in 1991 inherited from the Soviet Union an economic structure dominated by energy-, resource- and pollution-intensive sectors, with outdated technologies in the mining and metallurgical sectors, energy-inefficient housing and outdated transport systems. In the longer term, post-war “green” reconstruction should not be seen as a desirable but optional “extra”, but as an economic necessity for a fundamental transformation of Ukraine towards a green and net-zero economy. In the short term, Ukraine should focus on eliminating and reducing the immediate risks that the war poses to human health and the environment. The government is developing a Post-war Recovery and Development Plan that aligns with green economy and low-emission development principles. The war has caused widespread and severe damage to the environment and inflicted both immediate and longer-term consequences on the human health, ecosystems and the Ukrainian economy and beyond. ![]() This economic and environmental progress has been under attack since the start of the Russian invasion, setting back hopes for a green and sustainable economy in Ukraine. Since the Revolution of Dignity and the signing of the European Union-Ukraine Association Agreement in 2014, Ukraine has accelerated its efforts to address environmental challenges and started the green transformation of its economic development. ![]()
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