Ukraine hosted an event dedicated to the integration of climate and environmental aspects into the public investment management system. Leading experts and government officials discussed steps to reform public investment, implement the EU Green Taxonomy, and mechanisms for attracting sustainable financing for Ukraine’s reconstruction.
Andriy Teliupa, Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine, outlining the strategic prerequisites for the implementation of the EU taxonomy, emphasized the importance of this step for Ukraine’s European integration: “The implementation of the EU taxonomy has several important strategic prerequisites. First, Ukraine has to harmonize the legislation of Ukraine and the EU on its way to European integration. If the legislation is part of the EU’s Green Deal, it should also be implemented.”
According to him, the taxonomy provides transparent and understandable criteria for attracting green financing, which is especially important for Ukrainian businesses with limited resources. The Deputy Minister also noted that Ukraine is actively cooperating with international partners to implement this initiative, which has already made it possible to attract hundreds of millions of dollars that will work for the Ukrainian economy.
An important part of the successful implementation of the green taxonomy is the institutional capacity of the state to manage public investments. This was stated by Maryna Denysiuk, Deputy Minister of Community and Territorial Development. She informed that the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has created a comprehensive management system, including a strategic investment council and an intergovernmental coordination group led by key ministries.
“We are making efforts to make the process as inclusive, open and understandable as possible for everyone, trying to develop clear selection criteria for evaluation,” Denysiuk emphasized, adding, ”There is a long way to go to explain all the new procedures to stakeholders and make them as effective as possible for the great recovery.”
The international community is closely following the reforms in Ukraine and is ready to provide assistance. Tessa Claire Cullen, Governance Specialist at the World Bank’s Global Institutions Department, praised the pace of reforming Ukraine’s public investment system, especially given the difficult conditions of the war. She emphasized the importance of taking climate aspects into account in investment projects.
“Ensuring that public investment projects are resilient to the impacts of climate change is not only cost-effective for the Government of Ukraine, but it also helps you align with your EU goals,” said the World Bank representative. She also spoke about the SURGE program, which provides financial support to Ukraine to integrate climate considerations into public investment management.
The practical implementation of the reform has already begun, as reported by Viktor Nestulia, head of the project office of the online public investment platform DREAM. According to him, in February of this year, the government approved three resolutions that define the procedure for forming a medium-term plan of priority public investments and other important procedures. The key change is the transition from a reactive approach to strategic planning.
“We are moving to the point where projects do not appear because a donor comes and says that we can finance this right now. We must proceed from the strategic priorities of the state, the strategic priorities of each ministry, sector, region, and community,” Nestulia emphasized, adding that new approaches include a mandatory analysis of environmental impact, climate risks, and other aspects of sustainable development.
To understand the prospects of the European green taxonomy, it is important to look at the EU experience. Andrej Gurin, Team Leader of the European Commission’s DG FISMA, shared impressive figures: in 2023, taxonomy-aligned financing and investments reached €250 billion in the EU, a 30% increase over the previous year. At the same time, he drew attention to the challenges faced by financial institutions, especially in collecting and processing sustainability data.
Gurin also emphasized the importance of adapting requirements for small and medium-sized enterprises and stressed that sustainable finance is of global importance and is not limited to the EU. In his opinion, efforts from all over the world are needed to achieve climate neutrality, and the EU taxonomy can be an important tool for this.
The Ukrainian banking sector is actively preparing for the new realities of sustainable financing. This was stated by Andriy Hrys, Head of Environmental and Social Risk Management at Ukrgasbank and Chairman of the ESG Subcommittee of the Independent Association of Banks of Ukraine. According to him, since last year, there has been an increased attention of banks to the implementation of ESG principles and sustainable financing in their activities.
“Banks cannot stay away from the EU regulatory framework, as well as future national regulation, including the introduction of a taxonomy of sustainable activities,” said Gries. The main challenge, in his opinion, is the lack of qualified experts who are familiar with the specifics of sustainable finance.
Yaroslav Teleshun, Senior Environmental Policy Expert at WWF Ukraine, and Andriy Kitura, Head of the Green Transition Office and Development Director at DiXi Group, also took part in the discussion. They spoke about the principle of “Do No Significant Harm” as an important element of the EU taxonomy and the integration of climate and environmental criteria into public investment reform.
Andriy Andrusevych, Green Recovery Expert at UNDP Ukraine, highlighted aspects of using the EU taxonomy for the sustainable recovery of Ukraine. He emphasized that the green taxonomy can become an important tool not only for rebuilding damaged facilities, but also for creating conditions for socio-economic development and transition to a green economy.
Olena Pavlenko and Roman Nitsovych of DiXi Group made an important contribution to the organization and holding of the event, coordinating the discussion and emphasizing key points of the discussion.
The participants of the event concluded that the integration of environmental and climate criteria into the public investment management system opens the way to a truly sustainable recovery of Ukraine. The EU taxonomy is becoming not just a requirement for European integration, but also a practical tool for attracting financing and ensuring the country’s long-term sustainable development in the face of global climate challenges.
Watch the video here: https://bit.ly/4jgzuyC.
The event was supported by the International Renaissance Foundation as part of the project “Supporting the Decarbonization of Ukraine’s Economy through the Development of New Debt Financing Models. Stage 5”.
Source: Dixi Group
