The industrial community has been working to introduce energy efficiency and energy saving programs in Ukraine on a large-scale basis. The Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (ULIE) considers this to be one of the main factors of ensuring the competitiveness of Ukrainian industry and commodities in the European and other international markets. Entrepreneurs and industrialists cooperate in this area with parliamentarians, local authorities, public agencies, and financial institutions.
The signing of a Memorandum of cooperation between the ULIE and the State Agency on Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving of Ukraine (SAEE), which was also joined by Ukrgasbank, has marked a milestone in this activity and become the logical continuation of cooperation between these organizations.
“The Memorandum is not a document of declaration, but the continuation of fruitful work, which began two years ago. We need to consolidate efforts, mainly engage Ukrainian producers in energy efficiency programs. This will facilitate the growth of the domestic market of respective materials and equipment, the creation of new jobs and an increase in the revenue of the budgets of all levels,” SAEE head Serhiy Savchuk said.
He thanked the ULIE for a proactive attitude to energy efficiency issues, noting that it is the domestic industrialists and entrepreneurs who form a point of growth for the Ukrainian economy.
A joint action plan, which will involve not only national government agencies, but also regional administrations and local government agencies, will be elaborated at the ULIE’s suggestion. The plan will propose detailed measures for 2016.
“In particular, it should include work to improve the regulatory framework, ease access to loans, pursue an effective policy in energy efficiency and introduce appropriate incentives for enterprises,” ULIE President and Chairman of the Anti-Crisis Council of NGOs Anatoliy Kinakh said.
The Memorandum stipulates that the parties should be engaged in the development and implementation of energy efficiency programs and hold a series of joint public events.
The creation of regional centers that will popularize and advise condominiums, construction firms and households on the efficient use of energy resources, renewable energy sources and alternative types of fuel is also seen as an effective tool.
Ukrgasbank, which in 2015 started focusing on issuing loans under energy saving projects, will in turn continue this activity in future. And, as was proposed by partners from the business circles, the bank will also consider ways to improve lending conditions in this area.
