Ukraine joined 23 countries in agreeing to phase out the use of coal on Nov. 4 at the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland.
Coal is the biggest contributor to climate change. To avoid further damage to the planet’s climate, multiple countries have committed themselves to transition to clean power by signing the ‘Global Coal to Clean Power Transition Statement.’
Wealthier signatories agreed to phase out coal-fueled power generation in the 2030s, and poorer ones in the 2040s.
However, top coal users including India, the U.S. and China did not join in the pledge.
Ukraine has already started working on reducing greenhouse gas emissions on legislative level. On July 31, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced that the Cabinet of Ministers had approved Ukraine’s plan to cut greenhouse emissions to 35% of 1990 levels by 2030, under the Paris Agreement.
“From the point of view of energy security, economic development and the efficiency of the energy industry, the phase-out of coal should happen much faster than 2040. It is perfectly possible to do this by 2032, by 2033-2034 maximum,” Oleksandr Kharchenko, Managing Director at the Energy Industry Research Center, told the Kyiv Post.
“The cost of this issue is quite low. We are talking about an amount from $9 to $15 billion, which is very little money for the energy sector. And it is absolutely rewarding.”
Kharchenko adds that the phase-out of coal is economically feasible for Ukraine from the point of view of both climate and economic security.
Ukraine also joined over 100 countries in pledging to cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030.
President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that “our goals are to achieve climate neutrality no later than 2060.”
COP26 started in Glasgow on Oct. 31 and will run until Nov. 12.
