Despite the challenges of a full-scale war, Ukraine demonstrates its commitment to fighting climate change. Participation in UN climate conferences is an important tool for attracting international support for Ukraine’s recovery and transition to a green economy. This was stated by Svitlana Grynchuk, Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, at the forum “Ukraine at the COP29 Climate Change Conference”.

According to Svitlana Grynchuk, at COP29, the Ukrainian delegation will work with partners to ensure green transformation and economic growth.

“Despite the full-scale war, we have something to tell the world about the shifts in state policy. The framework climate law has been approved. It has set our goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050, which is in line with the deadlines set by the European Union. This means that we are strengthening our position on the path to green recovery and financing of our projects,” the Minister said at the forum.

According to Svitlana Grynchuk, work is underway on a new Nationally Determined Contribution and an update of the Low Carbon Strategy. “We are not abandoning our pre-war goals to achieve European environmental standards. We will actively work with our partners to develop concrete steps to implement Point 8 of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Peace Formula on environmental safety. There are many operational tasks that need to be addressed on the sidelines of the conference,” she stressed.

The theme of this year’s COP in Baku is the role of youth in the climate agenda. This is extremely important for Ukraine, as young people play an essential role in times of war. Last year at COP28, Ukraine joined the International Declaration on Children, Youth and Climate Action, and will now intensify its work in this area.

Also at the event, SaveDnipro and UAnimals NGOs presented an innovative technology – EcoLens, VR glasses that immerse people in the world of Ukraine’s war-torn environment. This installation will be presented in the Ukrainian pavilion in Baku. Its plot is based on real facts, which allows its authors to talk about the “effect of real reality”. The project was implemented by the NGOs UAnimals and SaveDnipro with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation and the CEO Club.