On 4 October 2024, Kyiv hosted events in a hybrid format (offline and online) that were significant for Ukraine and the Eastern Partnership countries - the presentation of the “EU4ClimateResilience” project and the national conference “PROGRESS: Promoting Readiness for the Green Deal in the Eastern Partnership Countries”, which was attended, among others, by researchers from the Institute for Economics and Forecasting of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, a co-organising institution. The Institute is a member of the consortium of organisations implementing the international project PROGRESS (Promoting Green Deal Readiness in the Eastern Partnership Countries) in Ukraine together with the German Society for International Cooperation (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit – GIZ) and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development – OECD). The European Business Association of Moldova and REC Caucasus (Regional Environmental Centre for the Caucasus) are also involved in the implementation of the international PROGRESS project. The PROGRESS project involves many specialists of the Institute - employees of the sectoral markets sector and the fuel and energy complex development forecasting sector of the Department of sectoral forecasts and market conditions, the Department of forms and methods of management in the agricultural and food complex, and the Department of monetary relations. The head of the group of experts from the Institute is Oleksandr Diachuk, PhD (Engin.), a leading researcher of the fuel and energy complex development forecasting sector of the Department of sectoral forecasts and market conditions.
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The event brought together more than one and a half hundred leading researchers, experts, representatives of Ukrainian and German government agencies, business and the public to discuss important issues of climate change adaptation and resilience to environmental challenges. Participants gained valuable knowledge about climate change adaptation in agriculture and agroprocessing sectors, including exports to the European Union. Particular attention was paid to the cultivation, processing, storage and transportation of fruit and berry products, as well as the exchange of knowledge on best practices and solutions for implementing the European Green Deal policies and measures in Ukraine.
The regional PROGRESS project, funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz, nukleare Sicherheit und Verbraucherschutz – BMUV) within the framework of the International Climate Initiative (Internationale Klimaschutzinitiative – IKI), is focused on preparing the Eastern Partnership countries (including Ukraine) for the European Green Deal. It is aimed at adapting agriculture and other sectors of the economy to climate change and new environmental requirements. All this will contribute to the recovery and sustainable development of Ukraine.
The event was welcomed by Viktoriia Kyrieieva, Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, Oleksiy Pinchuk, Director of the Department for international cooperation and European integration of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, Rémi Duflot, Chargé d'affaires a.i. of the EU Delegation to Ukraine, Lea Bigot of BMUV, and Martina Kolb, Programme Director of the PROGRESS project.
 Rémi Duflot, Chargé d'affaires a.i. of the EU Delegation to Ukraine |
 From right to left:Oleksandr Diachuk, PhD (Engin.), head of the PROGRESS project team from the Institute for Economic Research and Forecasting of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, leading researcher of the fuel and energy complex development forecasting sector, Department of sectoral forecasts and market conditions; Volodymyr Kohut, Deputy head of the Poltava Regional Military Administration; and Yevhen Bublyk, Doctor of Economics, key green finance expert in the progress project in ukraine, head of the Department of monetary relations of the Institute for Economic Research and Forecasting of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. |
During the event, the participants presented the main tasks and goals of the EU4ClimateResilience project, which is part of the PROGRESS project and supports the Eastern Partnership countries in improving their climate policies to achieve mitigation and adaptation goals and tasks in line with the Paris Agreement and related bilateral agreements with the European Union. According to the conference programme, panel discussions on adaptation and resilience to climate change took place; successful environmental practices were presented, and the European Union's best practices for Ukrainian horticulture, as well as tools and sources of environmental financing and a roadmap were discussed.
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Representatives of the PROGRESS project partners in Ukraine – OECD, GIZ and the Institute for Economics and Forecasting of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine - made speeches at the panel discussions. In particular, the Academy's scientists reported on: the current state and prospects for the production, processing and export of fruit and berry products in Ukraine in the context of climate change; green financing, including national policy, in the context of climate change adaptation in horticulture and agriculture in Ukraine; ways to improve Ukraine's regulatory framework in view of integration into the European Union and the joint implementation of the European Green Deal.
 Panel discussion with researchers from the Institute for Economics and Forecasting of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine |
The Ukrainian GIZ office was represented by Dmytro Berezovskyy, head of the PROGRESS project in Ukraine, who told about the selected horticultural value chains, their SWOT analysis and areas of government intervention needed to strengthen the capacity of fruit and berry growing to withstand climate change, and Artem Sadomov, Advisor to the PROGRESS project in Ukraine, who presented an assessment of the needs and areas of training capacity building for industry representatives, including higher education and research institutions.
Krzysztof Michalak, senior programme manager of the OECD, focused on the current climate and environmental policies of OECD member states and stressed the need to bring the relevant Ukrainian policies closer to EU and OECD standards. OECD policy and finance analysts Olga Olson and Isabella Neuweg presented reports on the illegal use of pesticides worldwide, agricultural insurance, and some instruments and sources of green finance in the EU and OECD.
Oleksandr Diachuk, PhD (Engin.), head of the PROGRESS project team from the Institute for Economic Research and Forecasting of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, presented the analysis on the cultivation of fruits, berries and nuts in Ukraine, the concentration of their production, processing volumes and the structure of fruit and berry exports. The researcher highlighted challenges for the cultivation, processing and export of fruit and berry products, primarily due to russia's full-scale aggression against Ukraine. These include the destruction of energy and production infrastructure, logistics problems, and labour shortages. In addition, Oleksandr Diachuk addressed the topic of gender equality within the management structures of fruit and berry companies in Ukraine, providing insightful recommendations for improvement in this area.
 Oleksandr Diachuk, PhD (Engin.) |
Yevhen Bublyk, Doctor of Economics, key green finance expert of the PROGRESS project in Ukraine, head of the Department of monetary relations of the Institute for Economic Research and Forecasting of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, addressed the practical roles of the state, banks, and international financial organizations in green finance in Ukraine. He also outlined the main challenges in the capital market, including the lack of accredited external verifiers of green bonds in Ukraine.
 Yevhen Bublyk, a Doctor of Economics |
Olena Shubravska, Doctor of Economics, professor, key policy expert of the PROGRESS project in Ukraine, head of the Department of forms and methods of management in the agri-food complex of the Institute of Economics and Forecasting of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, compared the legal frameworks of Ukraine and the European Union in the context of the European Green Deal. In her report, the researcher noted EU-normed rules regarding the decarbonization of agriculture and adaptation to climate change and outlined the existing laws, programs, and strategies in Ukraine, as well as those that still need to be developed or implemented.
 Olena Shubravska, Doctor of Economics, professor |
Yuliia Shapoval, PhD in Economics, senior green finance expert of the PROGRESS project in Ukraine, senior researcher of the Department of monetary relations of the Institute of Economics and Forecasting of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, overviewed the state policy of green finance in Ukraine. She highlighted the actions taken by the National Securities and Stock Market Commission and the National Bank of Ukraine to develop green financial instruments and pointed out the European experience in establishing green finance infrastructure, particularly the role of green taxonomy (a list of activities that contribute to sustainable development).
 Yuliia Shapoval, PhD in Economics |
 Olena Shubravska, Doctor of Economics, professor and Yuliia Shapoval, PhD in Economics |
The panel discussions were also joined by representatives of local governments (in particular, Roman Sushchenko, first deputy head of the Cherkasy regional council and Volodymyr Kohut, deputy head of the Poltava regional military administration), educational institutions and research institutions (in particular, Serhii Kvasha, academician of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine (NAAS), vice-rector for scientific and pedagogical work of the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine and Hanna Tkalenko, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, deputy director of the Institute of Plant Protection of NAAS), financial organisations (in particular, Kristina Mikulova, head of Regional Hub for Eastern Europe at European Investment Bank), Ukrainian financial institutions, specialised associations, advisory services, consulting companies, various non-governmental organisations in the field of climate change mitigation and adaptation, etc.
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According to the Institute for Economics and Forecasting of the NAS of Ukraine
Foto: PROGRESS Project