Despite the active hostilities still going on, the issue of post-war reconstruction is not postponed. On April 21, the Presidential Decree established the National Council for the Recovery of Ukraine from the Consequences of War. At the same time, the representatives of the Ukrainian civil society formed a collective appeal with the primary demand – to rebuild Ukraine based on sustainable development and taking into account the European Green Deal’s requirements. Among the signatories of the appeal are institutional partners of our Environmental Initiative (EPAIU), grantees of the EU4USociety project and other programs of the International Renaissance Foundation.
Green Reconstruction of Ukraine: Position of Civil Society
Over the last few weeks, the President of Ukraine repeatedly voiced in his speeches and during press conferences the ideas of post-war reconstruction of the country: from patronage of Ukrainian cities by European powers to facilitating business and digitalization. Also recently, on April 21st, a presidential Decree established the National Council for the Reconstruction of Ukraine from the Consequences of War. Although the full renovation of the country’s economy and infrastructure can only begin after the end of the large-scale military operations and liberation of occupied territories, discussions and plans for rebuilding Ukraine are already underway.
Having studied the relevant statements of the President, representatives of the Government and the Parliament of Ukraine, as well as the positions of international partners, civil society organizations developed principles on which the renovation of Ukraine should be based. The key requirement is that Ukraine’s recovery should not be a return to the pre-war status but a full-fledged development and integration into the European Community based on sustainable development principles taking into account the European Green Deal, which is also a guarantee of meeting the Copenhagen criteria for the EU accession.
The mission of the new “green” policy is to balance the interests of the public, business and the environment. We are talking not only about recovery but also about creating a sustainable future for future generations. We emphasize the importance of the environmental dimension of the planned recovery and development activities so that the new Ukraine is a comfortable, safe, healthy and prosperous home for all Ukrainian men and women.
We realize that actions to support people’s livelihoods, such as the restoration of critical infrastructure, must be swift and rapid. However, when it comes to long-term planning and new capital construction, we need to think not only about the cost of projects as of today but also about their long-term effectiveness and full cost with a vision for the future.
General principles: green recovery is the basis of the future strategy for the post-war recovery of Ukraine
- Integration of environmental and climate policy into all sectors. It is necessary to consider provisions of environmental and climate policies, their conditions and limitations in all the documents of strategic and program nature in all spheres of public life and at all levels. The priorities of the European Green Deal (EGD), including modernization and decarbonization of the economy, clean industrial production, biodiversity conservation and transition to sustainable agricultural practices, should be key tasks in Ukraine’s post-war recovery.
- Reconstruction should serve the needs of Ukrainians and promote the sustainable development of Ukraine. Investment policy and the attraction of financing for economic recovery should be consistent with the goals of sustainable development and should be aimed primarily at the development of high added-value production chains, rather than at development of a resource-export economy.
- Development of the green economy. Ukraine’s green economy must be low-carbon, energy-efficient, nature-oriented, have efficient and clean production, balanced consumption and be based on the following principles: shared responsibility, innovation, cooperation, solidarity, flexibility and interdependence. Development should focus on empowerment of and better choices for the national economy, using targeted and appropriate fiscal policies. To be sustainable and green, economic development must be guided by climate goals and environmental and social protection policies. It should be guided and supported by professional and independent regulatory bodies designed to safeguard the legal framework, including the environmental and social components.
- Environmental standards at all levels. Environmental standards for monitoring and quality, in contrast to the standardization of the permissible impact on environmental components, should define monitoring methods and relevant requirements for the quality of soil, air, water and the environment as a whole. The ultimate goal is to ensure a safe and desirable state of the environment. Restoration of infrastructure and enterprises should be based on the use of the best available technologies and management methods.
- Adherence to European environmental planning tools for Ukraine’s restoration. The basis of the restoration is compliance with environmental legislation, in particular the strategic environmental assessment (SEA) of plans and programs and environmental impact assessment (EIA) of planned activities to take into account environmental priorities when planning the development and reconstruction of Ukraine. Weakening or even temporary repeal of environmental legislation in wartime or during post-war recovery is unacceptable.
- The role of local self-government, transparency, and involvement of the public and communities in decision-making. Important documents, such as strategies or plans for post-war recovery, should be developed with the active participation and involvement of all stakeholders, including local governments and civil society organizations. Decisions, strategies and action plans must be adopted on a subsidiary basis (“Bottom-up”), contributing to the further development of successful decentralization reform. Local governments need to be leaders in their communities and have a sense of ownership of community recovery processes. The ideas of civil society, their initiatives and analyses should be taken into account in decision-making.
- Effective functioning and use of targeted/donor funds for post-war recovery and green economic development. Given the multiplicity of intentions to provide financial and technical assistance to Ukraine for the country’s reconstruction, the funds should operate in coordination based on effective and transparent administration and on best global practices. Funds operation should be combined with the efforts to increase the capacity of all stakeholders to work toward green recovery and development at the national and local levels. The use of donor funds should be open and public with the broad involvement of all stakeholders.
Signatories:
“Center for Environmental Initiatives Ecoaction” NGO
ICO “Environment-People-Law”
“Ecoclub” NGO
“Unique Planet” NGO
“Danube-Carpathian Program” NGO
“National Ecological Center of Ukraine” NGO
ICO “ Information Center Green Dossier ”
Resource and Analysis Center “Society and Environment”
DiXi Group NGO
All-Ukrainian Sustainable Development and Investments Agency NGO
Civil Network OPORA
“Ekoltava” NGO
Ukrainian Climate Network
WWF Ukraine
“Green World”, Environmental Humanitarian Organization
“EkoPravo-Kharkiv” NGO
Luhansk Regional Human Rights Center “Alternative”
Expert Advisory Center “Legal Analytics” NGO
“Forest Initiatives and Society” NGO
“FLORA” NGO
“Centre for International Cooperation and Projects Implementation” NGO
Coalition of NGOs “Stop Poisoning Kryvyi Rih”:
“International Business Association” Public Union
“Union of responsible citizens” NGO
“All-Ukrainian Association of Territorial Communities” PUBLIC SECURITY ” NGO
“Stop poisoning Kryvyi Rih” Public Union
“Osnovy Svidomosti” NGO
Charity Foundation “Shelter Plus”
“Dnipropetrovsk Regional Organisation “Civil Network “OPORA” NGO
“National Coordinating Committee for Anti-Corruption” NGO
“Red Hub” NGO
“The Survival and Special Training Center “SEAL” NGO
“Green energy” NGO
“Climbers of Kryvyi Rih” NGO
“Common Goal” Public Union
“Pravo E!” NGO
“Center of social and legal initiatives” NGO
Federation of extreme type sport of Ukraine
A separate subdivision of the All-Ukrainian Union of ATO Soldiers of the Kryvyi Rih District
“Movement without limits” NGO
“Professional Union of Honest Toilers” Labor Union
“All-Ukrainian Jewish Women’s Organisation Project Kesher” NGO
