Recovery of Ukraine towards a green sustainable and resilient energy system

The European Union will support Ukraine in restoring 2 GW of electricity generation for this winter, which is 12% of its seasonal needs. EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson said this at the Ukraine Pavilion at COP29. She and other European officials took part in the panel ‘Rebuilding Ukraine towards a green, sustainable and resilient energy system’.

‘Since the beginning of its full-scale aggression, Russia has destroyed 9 GW of generation capacity in Ukraine,’ said Ms Simson, ’but Ukraine has not given up. It is rebuilding its energy system better than it was before.
She assured that the European Union will continue to help Ukraine, particularly with electricity. To this end, the capacity of the power grids connecting Ukraine and the EU has been increased from 1.7 GW to 2.1 GW.

Kadri Simson also mentioned the Ukraine Facility Fund, an EU initiative worth €50 billion to support Ukraine. Twelve billion of these are earmarked for financing recovery, reconstruction, and climate action. In addition, the EU continues to help with the reform of Ukraine’s energy market. Kadri Simson also praised the fact that despite full-scale Russian aggression, Ukraine continues climate reforms and makes its economy greener.

‘We must always remember how Russia is turning energy into a weapon against the European Union,’ said US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Jeffrey Payette at the event. ‘Ukraine and the EU are managing to counter these threats. However, Ukraine’s long-term challenge is to build a more sustainable and decentralised energy system. For this, Mr Pyatt says, additional investments are needed. First of all, from the private sector.

‘A clean, resilient and modern Ukrainian energy sector will ensure Ukraine’s economic recovery and contribute to the energy security of the entire European Union,’ Mr Pyatt said.
Italian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Luca di Gianfrancesco said that the Italian parliament has ratified documents that will allow the allocation of 100 million euros in soft loans for the development of the hydropower sector. The diplomat said that the Italian government promised another €15 million for Ukraine’s energy infrastructure at a conference in Berlin in June.

Luca di Gianfrancesco said that Rome will host a new conference on Ukraine’s recovery next July, and he assured that his country’s support will continue.
At the event, the UK will also continue to support Ukraine’s energy sector, said Lee McDonough, CEO of Net Zero. She noted that it is essential to respond to operational challenges and support Ukraine’s ambitions to build a sustainable and independent energy system.

‘Ukraine has enormous potential as a clean energy hub for Europe and can play an important role in the global energy transition and security,’ said Ms McDonough.
Takahiro Tajiri, Deputy Director General of the Natural Resources and Energy Agency of Japan; Kevin Magron, Climate Ambassador of France; Michael Bonser, Environment Canada, and Stefan Wenzel, Parliamentary Secretary of the German Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action, also made opening remarks before the panel discussion.