Today in Berlin, the head of the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine Olha Buslavets and the head of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmeier signed a joint statement on the launch of the German-Ukrainian energy partnership.
Ecoaction welcomes such development. This memorandum should create a platform for political dialogue and cooperation between Ukraine and Germany with focus on the development of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. It can also help both countries make a worthy contribution to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement, in particular to curb global warming within 1.5-2 ˚C.
Ukraine’s successful adoption of the experience of ecological restructuring of the German energy sector will promote a fair transition to clean, safe and affordable energy, in line with the goals of the European Green Deal, to which Ukraine is an integral part of.
We call on the governments of Ukraine and Germany to consider the following in this partnership:
- Ukraine needs to establish a clear commitment to deploy renewable energy sources and energy efficiency technologies, with a special focus on decentralized solutions. This includes:
– support for municipalities in the implementation of distributed electricity generation and development of decentralized energy solutions, such as energy cooperatives, implementation of state-of-the-art energy efficiency measures, modernization of energy infrastructure and ensuring free access to it;
– energy market reform, integration of new support mechanisms (auctions, green certificates, tax incentives), which will contribute to the large-scale deployment of renewable energy.
- Determining the final date of coal exit and applying a consistent approach to safely reduce nuclear capacity.
– It is necessary to determine the final date of coal exit, coordinated closure of coal mines and their transformation into environmentally safe facilities. Without this, mining cities in Ukraine will not have opportunities for future socio-economic development. Determining this final date, considering the prospects of bilateral investment projects in the field of economic diversification of the coal regions of Ukraine, is the first necessary step towards just transition.
– The energy partnership between the two countries should also contribute to strengthening the safety of nuclear power plants, solving the problems of radioactive waste management and decommissioning of old nuclear reactors.
- Develop an integrated approach to the just transition of coal regions, based on the principle of inclusive participation, involving all stakeholders, including local authorities and civil society.
- Representatives of local communities of coal regions, educational institutions and environmental NGOs should become members of the newly established Coordination Center for Transformation of Coal Regions.
We are emphasizing that this energy partnership will be most successful only if it is directly linked with the process of transformation of coal regions, which is currently starting in Ukraine at the local and national levels.