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Environmental stagnation: business, government and the public have discussed reforms

04/ 10/ 2021
    On October 4, the EBA Industrial Ecology and Sustainable Development Committee held a round table on reforming environmental policy and legislation. The event was a continuation of the discussion launched a year ago on the implementation of an effective and balanced environmental policy in Ukraine. Within three sessions, participants discussed the implementation of key environmental reforms in the areas of waste management, industrial pollution reduction, environmental impact assessment, subsoil use, biodiversity protection, decarbonization, environmental finance, environmental control, and more. In addition, during the event, there was a presentation of the updated White Paper on Environmental Development in Ukraine - Reforming environmental policy and legislation to ensure the goals of sustainable development 2.0. As a result of the discussion, the participants agreed that the latest major achievement of the parliament was the Law on Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification of Greenhouse Gas Emissions adopted in 2019, although the practical implementation of this initiative by the relevant ministry raises more questions than optimism. At the same time, it was agreed by the experts that the policymakers had failed in the waste management reform. Thus, the preparation of draft law №2207-1-d for the second reading lasted 14 months, but then the text was not even published. Therefore, there is an obvious need to review the process of preparing environmental legislative initiatives. Thus, other committees should also be involved in reforming environmental legislation. The round table participants supported the idea of ​​holding a hearing on the basis of the VRU Committee on Economic Development to settle certain issues in the field of environmental taxation, namely its intended use. After all, the issue of greening the economy has gone beyond the purely ecological plane. Also, it is necessary to resolve the issue of finding funds for the decarbonization of industry. It will be recalled that the European Business Association and the EBA Industrial Ecology and Sustainable Development Committee member companies have consistently advocated for the sustainable economic development policy and consider it their mission to help the government implement the best European principles in the environmental field. We hope that by joint efforts we will be able to overcome the period of environmental stagnation in the legislative sphere and restart the mechanism of reforms in the field of environmental protection and investment attraction to Ukraines economy. View the event broadcast: https://youtu.be/y0tAQGeMdko The round table was participated by: Oleksiy Ustenko, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Rent Payments, Environmental Tax and AIC Taxation of the VRU Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy Lyudmila Buimister, Chair of the Subcommittee on Competition Development and Equal Conditions for Business of the VRU Committee on Economic Development Victoria Hryb, a representative of the VRU Committee on Energy, Housing, and Utilities  Oleksandr Lymar, an expert on waste management at the Ukrainian Institute of the Future Vladislav Antipov, General Director of the Center for Ecology and Development of New Technologies LLC Kyrylo Kryvolap, Executive Director of the Center for Economic Recovery, Adviser to the Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Panchenko, Doctor of Economics, Partner of KSP Strategies Svitlana Berzina, Head of the Public Council at the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, President of the Living Planet NGO Oleksandr Sushchenko, Energy and Environmental Project Team Coordinator, UNDP Olga Polunina, expert of the DiXi Group think tank.  
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On October 4, the EBA Industrial Ecology and Sustainable Development Committee held a round table on reforming environmental policy and legislation. The event was a continuation of the discussion launched a year ago on the implementation of an effective and balanced environmental policy in Ukraine.

Within three sessions, participants discussed the implementation of key environmental reforms in the areas of waste management, industrial pollution reduction, environmental impact assessment, subsoil use, biodiversity protection, decarbonization, environmental finance, environmental control, and more. In addition, during the event, there was a presentation of the updated White Paper on Environmental Development in Ukraine – Reforming environmental policy and legislation to ensure the goals of sustainable development 2.0.

As a result of the discussion, the participants agreed that the latest major achievement of the parliament was the Law on Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification of Greenhouse Gas Emissions adopted in 2019, although the practical implementation of this initiative by the relevant ministry raises more questions than optimism. At the same time, it was agreed by the experts that the policymakers had failed in the waste management reform. Thus, the preparation of draft law №2207-1-d for the second reading lasted 14 months, but then the text was not even published.

Therefore, there is an obvious need to review the process of preparing environmental legislative initiatives. Thus, other committees should also be involved in reforming environmental legislation. The round table participants supported the idea of ​​holding a hearing on the basis of the VRU Committee on Economic Development to settle certain issues in the field of environmental taxation, namely its intended use. After all, the issue of greening the economy has gone beyond the purely ecological plane. Also, it is necessary to resolve the issue of finding funds for the decarbonization of industry.

It will be recalled that the European Business Association and the EBA Industrial Ecology and Sustainable Development Committee member companies have consistently advocated for the sustainable economic development policy and consider it their mission to help the government implement the best European principles in the environmental field. We hope that by joint efforts we will be able to overcome the period of environmental stagnation in the legislative sphere and restart the mechanism of reforms in the field of environmental protection and investment attraction to Ukraine’s economy.

View the event broadcast:

The round table was participated by:

Oleksiy Ustenko, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Rent Payments, Environmental Tax and AIC Taxation of the VRU Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy

Lyudmila Buimister, Chair of the Subcommittee on Competition Development and Equal Conditions for Business of the VRU Committee on Economic Development

Victoria Hryb, a representative of the VRU Committee on Energy, Housing, and Utilities 

Oleksandr Lymar, an expert on waste management at the Ukrainian Institute of the Future

Vladislav Antipov, General Director of the Center for Ecology and Development of New Technologies LLC

Kyrylo Kryvolap, Executive Director of the Center for Economic Recovery, Adviser to the Prime Minister of Ukraine

Volodymyr Panchenko, Doctor of Economics, Partner of KSP Strategies

Svitlana Berzina, Head of the Public Council at the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, President of the Living Planet NGO

Oleksandr Sushchenko, Energy and Environmental Project Team Coordinator, UNDP

Olga Polunina, expert of the DiXi Group think tank.

 

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