Twenty international policy experts were asked by the Carnegie Europe the same question: Is Ukraine a Lost Cause? All of them answered no. Following are the most common views, expressed by the experts:- "Ukraine is a lost cause only if looked at through the lens of unrealistic Western expectations" - "The country’s problems accumulated over the course of many, many years. They will take decades to overcome" - "Ukraine is in a democratic transition, and transitions take time" - "Ukraine remains locked in crisis. Beyond the ongoing conflict in the country’s eastern Donbas region, reforms are stalled, corruption remains endemic, and institutions are deadlocked" - "Ukraine is moving forward with reforms, but at a slow pace" - "...the progress of the last two years has shown that when Ukrainians stand together, no kleptocrat, oligarch, or foreign power can stop them" - "The strength of Ukraine lies in its parallel civic state, not its legal state" - "The main risk for Ukraine’s survival was and is Russia" - "The failure of Ukraine ...would accelerate the unraveling of European security, marked by Russia’s manipulation of territorial conflicts to destabilize Eastern Europe for years to come" - "The wise support of Western powers is now critical for Ukraine’s development as a free European polity".Read more at http://carnegieeurope.eu/
Finance and Technology Transfer Centre for Climate Change (FINTECC) is part of the EBRD's contribution towards climate technology transfer to countries in transition. EBRD Director for Ukraine Sevki Acuner has said that the Bank will allocate for Ukraine $40 million, while the Global Environment Fund and Neighborhood Investment Facility plan to earmark $7 million and $4 million correspondingly.
30 years after Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe, Ukraine is planning to spend an estimated $1.7 billion to bring the facilities, many of which are nearing the end of their planned life spans, up to current Western standards. The project is supported by the West, including a $600 million contribution split evenly between the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Euratom. According to the EBRD, the investment program includes 87 safety-measure upgrades. Since Ukrainian nuclear power plants produce over 50 percent of electricity, the project is vital aspect of maintaining of the country's energy independence. Enerhoatom, the state-run nuclear energy operator, runs 15 reactors at four nuclear power plants. They are all equipped with Russian-designed pressurized reactors known by their Russian abbreviation, VVER. Read more at http://www.rferl.org
Startup company Ecoisme, founded by young Ukrainian inventor Ivan Pasichnyk and his friends, recently presented at Indiegogoand CNET (watch also the video ) a new intelligent energy-tracking smart plug, which can monitor all of the electronic devices in your home. The sensor detects all of your appliances, monitors the energy being spent and displays the costs on your Android or i OS smart phone. Ecoisme relies on spectrum analysis, a technology that's supposed to pick up on "noise" in the electrical network and use that not only to distinguish between your TV and your laptop, but also between brands within the same product category. In addition to giving you a wide-angle view of your home electrical usage complete with money-saving tips, Ecoisme is also supposed to issue alerts when something seems awry. Read more at http://tsn.ua
Energy service companies (ESCOs) could help Ukraine to improve energy efficiency by stimulating private sector development of measures that in the long term will greatly benefit the economy. According to governmental estimates, the ESCOs market in Ukraine could reach a cumulative volume of EUR 4.4 billion by 2030, starting with EUR 130 million/year in 2015 and reaching EUR 311 million/year in 2020. However, the market for ESCOs faces several challenges, including limited access to finance, low demand for energy services, a mismatch between demand and supply, and lack of understanding and awareness of ESCOs. The report, prepared under the OECD project “Sector Competitiveness Strategy for Ukraine”, focuses on the possible role of ESCOs in the Ukrainian market, and the policy reforms needed to foster the development of a private sector to encourage implementation and participation in energy efficiency.
2015 was very difficult for renewable energy (RE) development in Ukraine because of combination of several factors, including 50-55% decrease of "green" tariffs by government, sharp decline of national currency, what led to a drop of the value of "green" tariffs, violation of RE legislation regarding regular review of tariffs and providing state guarantees for investors, and, of course, severe economic recession in the country. Just 11 MW of new solar and 16.6 MW of new wind capacity were added in 2015 - tiny amount comparing to 300 MW of new "green" power capacity in average, which were built annually during previous 5 years. Read more at http://www.epravda.com.ua
Ukrainian Economy Minister Aivaras Abromavicius quit on Wednesday saying his ministry was being hijacked by corrupt vested interests. In his statement, Abromavicius accused a close ally of Ukrainian President of blocking the ministry's work and pressing for powerful jobs for placement. There has been growing public anger that pro-Western government, that came to power after a pro-Russian president was expelled by protests in 2014, has not delivered on promises to stop corruption. Ukraine's international supporters, including the United States and the European Union, are deeply disappointed by the resignation, which also sent Ukrainian sovereign bonds tumbling. Read more at http://www.reuters.com
The project will be co-financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation and the Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership, which together will provide a financing package of EUR 27.5 million to Lviv city. The investment program will enable municipal water supply utility Lvivvodokanal to install a wastewater bio-gas combined heat and power plant, which will be able to generate up to 39,400 MW h of electricity annually and also will lead to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to approximately 128,600 tonnes of CO2. Read more at http://en.interfax.com.ua
