The Energy and Climate Roadmap. Ukraine towards the EU

The European Council decided on December 14 to open accession negotiations with Ukraine. In the coming months and years, Ukraine will have to do the arduous, technical work of implementing EU regulations. This includes the energy sector. In the roadmap prepared by the Green Deal Ukraïna project, in which Forum Energii is a partner, we identify the most urgent areas of energy and climate reform for Ukraine and take a closer look at the accession negotiations.

The Roadmap is a living document that will be updated every year. All feedback and comments will make it better. This first version will focus on essentials: how is the process working on EU accession in general, and energy and climate? Who are the actors? What are topics at stake in 2024? The following editions will highlight what needs to happen year by year, and how Ukraine can be prosperous. . Some of the recommendations are outlined below.

  • Develop a Climate Law for Ukraine and a consistent approach to ETS (by October 2024)

The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine submitted an action plan in 2021, according to which a Climate Law should be available in the first quarter of 2025. It is recommended to Ukraine to continue and step up this effort and to develop a climate framework law, with a first draft to be consulted in October 2024. The climate law should be consistent with the NECP (National Energy and Climate Plan) and inform the next NDC (Nationally Determined Contribution). 

  • Develop a NECP that is consistent with other strategic documents and laws, including the 2050 Energy Strategy and the future Climate Law (by June 2024)

The NECP is a central document outlining Ukraine’s 2030 energy and climate strategy in line with the governance regulation of the EU and must be submitted in Summer 2024, to the Energy Community. For this, the Ukrainian government and government bodies or state companies should provide the authors responsible with the needed documents and data.

  •  Develop Ukraine as part of a regional and EU wide electricity market (2024)

It is recommended to prioritize, throughout 2024, a special attention to be paid to decentralized energy and empowered consumers, as well as on the regional and European market integration. The Clean Energy Package that Ukraine is currently implementing, includes key provisions on these. Key point on the energy market in Ukraine remains the progressive introduction of cost-reflective energy prices, accompanied by targeted social measures. Combined with the independence and transparency of the regulator cost-reflective pricing is the basis for investable companies and investable energy assets altogether.

  •  Finalize Renewables Investment Framework (by June 2024)

While the Renewables potential of Ukraine is high investors had the experience of unreliable RES support payments prior to war, which was partially solved, but remains in a war context.

For attracting new investments Ukraine adopted the so-called Green Transformation Law in July 2023 which introduced market-based support schemes for RES: auctions under CfD’s, feed-in premium for existing feed-in tariff projects, corporate PPA’s, guaranties of origin for RES electricity and net billing model. Legislation framework for biomethane, including guarantees of origin, also has been developed. However, these initiatives have to be successfully implemented by adopting secondary legislation.

Three new wind farms, 184 MW, were commissioned during the martial law, as well as the first biomethane plant connected to the gas network. Derisking of investments in war time should be handled through guarantees by Member states and international institutions including the EU. Market reforms in the RES field and potential projects should be presented at the Berlin Ukraine Recovery Conference 2024. Developing Renewables increases the energy security of the country, supports decentralized solutions, and takes the country one step further to its desired role as a Clean Energy Hub for Europe.

 

About Green Deal Ukraina

Forum Energii is a strategic partner of the Green Deal Ukraïna project. Its goal is to support Ukraine on its path to European Union membership in the energy and climate area and to create an independent Ukrainian think-tank specializing in energy transition. A unique feature of the GDU is its international, German-Polish-Ukrainian approach. It is initiated by the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin. Partners in Ukraine are local think-tanks DiXi Group and EcoAction. Forum Energii is involved as an independent Polish partner in the project.

Date of publication:: 20 December 2023

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Authors:

Susanne Nies, Project Lead of the Green Deal Ukraїna project at Helmholtz-Zentrum
Maciej Zaniewicz, Lead of the International Cooperation Program at Forum Energii
Olha Bondarenko, Senior Energy Policy Officer of the Green Deal Ukraina project at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin