Ukraine prepares for COP29: what ideas will it convey, what will it negotiate with its allies?

Despite the challenges caused by the full-scale war, Ukraine demonstrates its commitment to fighting climate change. Participation in UN climate conferences is an important tool for attracting international support for Ukraine’s recovery and transition to a green economy. This was stated by Svitlana Grinchuk, Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, at the forum ‘Ukraine at the COP29 Climate Conference’.

Despite the challenges posed by full-scale war, Ukraine is demonstrating its commitment to the fight against climate change. Participation in UN climate conferences is an important tool for gaining international support for Ukraine’s recovery and transition to a green economy. This was stated by Svitlana Grynchuk, Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, at the forum ‘Ukraine at the COP29 Climate Conference’.

According to Ms Grynchuk, the Ukrainian delegation at COP29 will work with partners to achieve green transformation and economic growth.

“Despite the full-scale war, we have something to tell the world about the changes in state policy. The climate change framework law has been adopted. It has set our goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050, which is in line with the deadlines set by the European Union. This means we are strengthening our position on the way to green recovery and financing of our projects,” the minister said at the forum.

“Work is underway on a new Nationally Determined Contribution and an update of the Low Carbon Strategy,” the Minister said. “We are not abandoning our pre-war goals to meet European environmental standards. We will actively work with our partners to develop concrete steps to implement Paragraph 8 of Volodymyr Zelensky’s Peace Formula on Environmental Security. There is a lot of operational work to be done on the sidelines of the conference,” Minister stressed.

The theme of this year’s COP in Baku is the role of youth in the climate agenda. This is crucial for Ukraine, as young people play an exceptional role in times of war. Last year at COP28, Ukraine joined the International Declaration on Children, Youth and Climate Action and will now intensify its work in this area.

At the event, SaveDnipro and UAnimals also presented an innovative technology – EcoLens, a pair of virtual reality goggles that immerse you in the world of Ukraine’s war-torn environment. This installation will be presented at the Ukraine pavilion in Baku. Its plot is based on real facts, which allows its authors to speak about the “effect of real reality”. The project was implemented by the NGOs UAnimals and SaveDnipro with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation and the CEO Club.