Environmental Impacts of the War in Ukraine and Prospects for a Green Reconstruction

In 1991, independent Ukraine inherited from the Soviet Union an economic structure dominated by energy-, resource- and polluting sectors, outdated technologies in the mining and metallurgical industries, energy inefficient housing, and outdated transportation systems. A large share of Ukraine’s electricity, metallurgical, and district heating sectors are heavily dependent on coal and natural gas, which are imported primarily from Russia. As a result, Ukraine’s energy intensity and CO2 emissions intensity have been the highest among its neighbors and significantly higher than in the European Union. Due to the high proportion of the population exposed to air pollution from heavy industry and the rapid growth of transportation based on an aging vehicle fleet, air pollution-related mortality in Ukraine was high compared to OECD countries. Ukraine’s relatively abundant water resources are under pressure from industrial, agricultural, and domestic pollution. Agricultural land continues to degrade, and the area of forests is shrinking.

Following the Revolution of Dignity and the signing of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement in 2014, Ukraine has stepped up its efforts to address these environmental challenges.

The recently adopted “Strategy of State Environmental Policy of Ukraine for the period up to 2030” and its Action Plan until 2025 set more ambitious targets for reducing pollution and using natural resources more efficiently, and the updated Nationally Determined Contribution commits the country to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.3 Plans have been launched to phase out coal mining in a socially responsible manner, accompanied by efforts to improve the energy efficiency of buildings.

Source: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/environment/environmental-impacts-of-the-war-in-ukraine-and-prospects-for-a-green-reconstruction_9e86d691-en