Russia’s targeted strikes on the Ukrainian energy system brought into focus the topic of local communities’ energy resilience and independence. Many Ukrainian communities are ready for – indeed, are demanding – renewable energy solutions that can strengthen their energy security and sustainability. The main obstacle to this remains a financial one. New ways are required to support renewables in Ukrainian communities, but what might they look like?
This discussion will showcase implemented or on-going projects, and describe their economic, energy, and humanitarian performance; look at new ways to support Renewable Energy Storage (RES) initiatives in Ukrainian communities during the ongoing war; utilise these evidence bases to demonstrate to international financial institutions (IFIs) and private investors that many Ukrainian communities can be reliable partners for investment and collaboration.
When? 11.00 – 12.30 CET / 12:00 – 13:30 Kyiv time, 15th June 2023.
Registration link – https://cutt.ly/UwelYcM2
Speakers:
- Pavel Bilek is a Senior Consultant at Berlin Economics, where he advises governments on topics related to energy, natural resource and development economics, as well as the Deputy Head of the Low Carbon Ukraine project, through which he has been working on the green reconstruction of Ukraine. Pavel has also previously consulted the European Commission, the World Bank, the International Energy Agency and ASEAN, among others. He holds a BSc in International Relations and History from the London School of Economics and an MPhil in Development Studies from the University of Cambridge.
- Mykola Borovets is the head of the Zviahel city territorial community, currently serving his third term. He supports the development of renewable energy in Zviahel, which is currently planning to establish a long-term municipal program for the introduction of renewable energy sources. Furthermore, with the support of NGO Ecoclub, a solar station has been installed at the local hospital in 2022. As a result, the local council witnessing the benefits from a real example have allocated more than GBP 130 000 for the installation of solar panels at the local water treatment plant.
- Oleksandr Lysenko has been heading the Sumy City Council since 2014. On the path toward climate neutrality, Mr. Lysenko has identified scaling-up of the deployment of renewables as a top priority. Currently, the community is developing a strategic document, the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan until 2050. In collaboration with NGO Ecoclub, a solar station will be installed in 2023 at one of Sumy’s hospitals, as well as on the greenhouse building within the local Botanical Garden, which is part of the nature reserve fund.
- Andriy Martynyuk is the Executive Director of NGO Ecoclub and an environmental engineer by education. He has led Ecoclub for the last 17 years during which the organization, together with municipalities, has been preparing both individual solutions to support energy efficiency measures in communities and action plans for decades. Andriy is an author of publications about climate governance in Ukrainian municipalities and is involved in public planning of green post-war reconstruction of Ukraine.
The event is being held within the framework of the project “Closing the Loop: A Just Energy Transition Designed by Cities and Regions” with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the NGO Ecoclub and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
