EBA calls for revision of Ukraine’s climate goals

The European Business Association (EBA) has asked the government to review Ukraine’s climate commitments in order to adapt them to military and economic conditions. This is stated in the association’s statement.

As noted, the EBA has repeatedly emphasized the need to review the targets of Ukraine’s Second Nationally Determined Contribution to the Paris Agreement (NDC-2). In particular, the association’s committee on industrial ecology and sustainable development has prepared its own analytical study on this issue.

The association expressed its gratitude for the partial consideration of business proposals regarding the periodic review of NDC-2 targets. However, the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture proposes reducing greenhouse gas emissions in 2035 by 68-73% from 1990 levels.

At the same time, experts from the association’s industrial ecology and sustainable development committee emphasize that climate goals must take into account the realities of war, as a significant number of enterprises have been destroyed or have ceased operations. Therefore, the main burden falls on those companies that continue to operate.

“With this in mind, the business community emphasizes that climate commitments must be realistic and achievable so as not to create excessive pressure and exacerbate the loss of competitiveness of Ukrainian producers. After all, the decarbonization of the Ukrainian economy and the achievement of climate goals cannot be achieved at the expense of deindustrialization and economic contraction,” the statement said.

The EBA adds that the implementation of climate policy should ensure environmental transformation while preserving and developing economic activity.

In June this year, the EBA supported the parliament’s proposal to postpone CBAM for Ukraine. Parliamentarians are proposing a postponement until the end of the war and for another five years after its end.