Ukraine, in accordance with the Second National Determined Contributions of Ukraine (NOV2) to the Paris Agreement, shall reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 65% from 1990 levels by 2030.
This goal was set and approved by a resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine at an extraordinary meeting on Friday.
“The Cabinet of Ministers has approved Ukraine’s Second National Determined Contributions of Ukraine to the Paris Agreement. By decarbonization and the development of renewable energy sources, we intend to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 35% of the 1990 level. Ukraine goes side by side with the EU and the United States in the fight against climate change,” Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal wrote on his Twitter page.
Ukraine’s initial contribution to the Paris Agreement, adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers in September 2015, aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030, i.e. up to 60% of the 1990 level.
The indicator of emission reduction by 65% by 2030 was obtained based on the calculation that in 1990, Ukraine’s emissions, taking into account land use and forestry, amounted to 884 million tonnes. At the same time, in 2019, according to the inventory, CO2 emissions amounted to 332 million tonnes – 37.6% of the 1990 level.
According to an explanatory note to the draft resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers, NOV2 will allow integrating environmental components into the updated development strategies of the state, taking into account the national circumstances of the development of the Ukrainian economy while implementing international obligations, and improving the image of Ukraine in the international arena and in climate negotiations.
According to the note, NOV2 will contribute to attracting additional technological and financial resources to modernize and transform the economy towards the implementation of the European Green Deal and mitigate the effects of climate change.
The document is to be submitted to the Secretariat of the United Nations Climate Change Convention in preparation for the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), which will be held on November 1 through November 12 in Glasgow.
