Ukraine will revise plans to phase out coal by 2035 | News from Germany about Ukraine | Dw

Ukraine will revise the commitments to phase out coal generation, reached during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland. Olga Stefanishina, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, who headed the Ukrainian delegation at the Glasgow summit, told reporters about this on Monday, November 22.

“The Ministry of Energy asked for time to adjust these plans in accordance with its own calculations and the energy strategy of Ukraine,” Stefanishina clarified in a commentary to DW. She was unable to predict the effect of this adjustment, suggesting that the date for the refusal to burn anthracite at thermal power plants (TPP) could be postponed.

Arrangement involving 40 countries

At the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow in early November, more than 40 countries agreed to phase out the use of coal for power generation through the Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA) initiative. The world’s largest economies should phase out coal-fired generation by 2030, and smaller ones by 2040.

Within the framework of this agreement, Ukraine has promised to completely abandon the use of coal in the energy sector by 2035. This should mean that there will be no more construction of new thermal power plants or mines in the country, and the old state facilities will be gradually closed.

Most state-owned mines in Ukraine are subsidized

According to the Ministry of Energy, out of three dozen state-owned mines, only a few are profitable. For the rest, the state spends more than 5 billion hryvnia (about 166 million euros) annually – just to support their existence and pay debts to miners.

According to analysts, if such mines are not gradually closed, then over the next decade, another 710 million euros will have to be spent to support the industry. Experts believe that Ukraine’s transition to green energy is economically more profitable, although it requires large investments in the beginning.

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