Ukraine is getting ready to implement Kyoto mechanisms

October 15, 2005.

    The two-day workshop devoted to Joint Implementation (JI) projects and greenhouse gases (GHG) registry was held in Odessa 29-30 September 2005. It was running under the auspices of the EU-funded TACIS project to assist Ukraine and Belarus in meeting their commitments under the Kyoto Protocol (“Technical assistance to Ukraine and Belarus with respect to their global climate change commitments”). The workshop was co-organized by the project consortium members ICF Consulting and Agency for Rational Energy Use and Ecology (ARENA-ECO) and hosted by the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Ukraine.
    The topic of the first day was the latest development in the national JI policy of Ukraine and Belarus, while the second day focused on issues related to GHG registries in both countries.
    Key representatives of the Ukrainian and Belarusian Governments attended and spoke at the workshop. With EU assistance, the Government of Ukraine has prepared a draft JI procedure at the national level: the Ministry for Environmental Protection will issue letters of endorsement and approval for JI projects and the Centre for Climate Change Issues will be the coordinator of JI projects. It is envisaged that at the end of 2005 potential projects could apply for letters of approval. It is also envisaged that by September 2006, Ukraine will meet the JI Track 1 criteria. The Kyoto Protocol will become legally binding in Belarus on 24 November 2005 and Government of Belarus envisages taking all the necessary steps to implement the Protocol by the end of 2006.
    Among the speakers at the workshop, Canadian, Japanese and British carbon purchasers stressed the importance of quickly drafting streamlined JI procedures in Ukraine and Belarus, since the opportunity window for JI projects will soon close if no post-2012 climate regime is in place. They ! also exp lained how to structure high-quality carbon deals in terms of risk sharing between carbon buyer and seller.
    Executives and managers of around 20 major Ukrainian firms operating in the power, district-heating, oil, gas, cement, coal mining, metallurgical and forestry sectors gave an overview of the existing opportunities for JI projects feasible at their installations. It is clear that there is a very large potential in terms of GHG emissions reductions in all the represented economic sectors and JI project proposals are already being discussed.
    During the second day of the workshop, the draft designs for GHG registry systems in Ukraine and Belarus were discussed. The representatives of the French, British and Austrian GHG Registry systems explained the advantages and functioning of their systems. Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Russian officials and experts in charge of registry systems in their countries explained the potential institutional arrangements for GHG registries in their countries.
    The opportunities of a Green Investment Scheme (GIS) (with a focus on the World Bank’s work on GIS in Bulgaria and Romania) and of a domestic Emissions Trading Scheme for Ukraine were also presented.
    Overall, the workshop offered a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the current status on JI regulations and GHG Registries in Ukraine and Belarus. It served as a meeting point between the regulators and the actors involved in the Ukrainian and Belarusian nascent carbon markets and it set the ground for further collaboration among these actors.