Nearly 50 activists gathered in front of the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine and the Cabinet of Ministers on March 15 to promote ecological development and modernization and to demand that the government take more action to develop renewable energy in Ukraine.
The event was also held to raise awareness about climate change and its effects on Ukraine. The organizers said 75,000 Ukrainians from coastal settlements risk being left without homes due to rising sea levels in the Black Sea.
The organizers demanded that the government implement an active climate policy in line with the Paris Climate Agreements to help stop global warming. The national contribution of Ukraine should be reduction of greenhouse gas emissions rather than their growth, they said.
They also asked the government to abandon plans for the construction of any new coal and nuclear power, as coal is currently the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions., and refuse to subsidize the fossil fuel industry, but instead support energy efficiency, and clean and modern technology.
The government should also support a transition to the use of renewable energy sources by 2050. At present, the share of such energy sources in the overall energy balance of the country is only 7 percent, the organizers said.
