At the moment, the government of Ukraine does not focus on developing “green” jobs, as well as the development of a green economy. But even without support at the national level, green jobs develop in different sectors. The concept of “green jobs” is almost never discussed in Ukraine, even in public debate.
When green jobs are mentioned, the discussion concerns renewable energy and communities that plan to phase-out coal in the future. The rising number of cities that used to be mining-cities in Eastern Ukraine are now transitioning towards coal-free living. This requires them to rethink how they previously lived and worked, and establish local businesses that will be greener.
There is no specific data about the number of green employees and their wage levels. However, there are ideas for improving agriculture techniques to increase efficiency and/or reduce the effect on the environment and the number of organic farms is growing. There is still a long way to go for the industrial sector to modernize their equipment and follow the circular economy principles and proper recycling. However, in the future, this field has the potential to create more green jobs.
Several prominent examples of green jobs that can currently be seen in different sectors are:
- The service sector – considering that EIA and SEA became required by law – more consultancy companies have emerged in recent years. These companies provide ecological accounting services that support companies in becoming more environmentally-friendly.
- Non-profit sector – as environment-related issues become more prominent – more non-profit organizations focused on environmental issues have emerged and become more active.
- Energy sector – the development of renewable energy leads to the establishment of production and distribution centers that employ lots of workers.
- Private sector – many small businesses are created considering green and environmental criteria.
- Industrial – there are attempts to construct organic digestion plants and waste-to-energy plants, which would substitute for landfills and create more workspaces.
- Forestry sector – green jobs include in the sector, but are mostly low-paid.
Ukraine has policies that promote green jobs through the attraction of investments to the energy sector. That is through (1) green auctions; (2) stimulation of production and usage of biofuels; (3) improvement of energy service company mechanisms. A new Energy Strategy has been approved and requires further improvement of environmental and energy efficiency standards of production, transporting, and usage.
Barriers to creating more green jobs in Ukraine include:
(1) A lack of governmental support, especially for specific job-oriented and business-oriented programs (specifically supporting innovations and start-ups) that support green jobs development in domains other than energy.
(2) There needs to be better integration of employment needs and research programs.
(3) Green economy should be seen as not just the energy sector but other sectors as well.
Activity Rating: *** Right Direction, but more needs to be done
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Alert Message:
Dear Prime Minister,
As there are governmental plans to increase the number of workplaces, it is also essential to create these places in different sectors where environmental indicators can be improved. That will help develop the green economy. Ukraine needs legal conditions to create workplaces with jobs at competitive wage levels in forestry and other sectors. Creating support programs for research and businesses will boost green jobs and the economy in general, and help to fulfil Ukraine’s commitments under the Paris Agreement.
Contact: Denys Shmyhal
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dshmyhal/
Twitter Account to Leave a message: https://twitter.com/Denys_Shmyhal?fbclid=IwAR3SfOXX1pX5-ciq-bFL8ZL5FdMuuCTv7TalMZKGwOg3I7Hrxi_rbo93zYo
This Post was submitted by Climate Scorecard Ukraine Country Manager Anastasia Bushovska
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