Day two of the United Nations climate negotiations in Copenhagen saw NGOs from around the world awarding Ukraine the top prize - and the third place prize - in the mock 'Fossil of the Day Award', given to the country or countries doing the most to obstruct progress in the global climate talks. [1]

Ukraine secured the first prize for having the worst carbon emissions reduction target in the world: a 20 percent reduction from 1990 levels, which equates to a 75 percent increase at current levels.

Irina Stavchuk, of the Ukrainian environmental group National Ecological Centre of Ukraine, a Bankwatch member group, said: “As things currently stand, it is a major wasted opportunity for Ukraine to have such a target as we have huge potential to make energy efficiency improvements, which is economically feasible, but there is a need for political will.”

Ukraine also picked up the third place prize for refusing to disclose how it is using money gained from selling emissions credits - or 'hot air' - from the current Kyoto protocol commitment period. Ukraine has sold Japan EUR 300 million worth of emissions permissions and it is required by its own treaty obligations to explain how it is using these receipts. Yet when Ukrainian NGOs inquired on this point, their government refused to answer. The transparency fight is now in court.

Ondrej Pasek, climate policy officer of CEE Bankwatch Network and observer at the Copenhagen conference, said: “Under the new Copenhagen deal being negotiated right now, hot air must be avoided at all costs. In the current situation, giving any industrialised country the possibility to actually dramatically increase its emissions from the current level would lead to the environmental integrity of the deal being undermined and bring the world close to runaway climate chaos.

“Granting the countries of central and eastern Europe a surplus of AAUs has already led to misleading prices in the carbon market, to deincentivising real reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and harming the environmental integrity of the current Kyoto protocol cap and trade system.”

To deal with the problem of hot air to some extent, it has been a common practice that buyers and sellers of surplus AAUs (assigned amount units) establish a Green Investment Scheme, using the funds for investments into energy efficiency and renewable energy resources. It is necessary for any such Green Investment Scheme to operate in conditions of transparency, proper accountability and with strict environmental and technological methodologies.

Ondrej Pasek concluded: “The secrecy shown by the Ukrainian government breaches the conditions of a treaty it signed and shows that in this case hot air has been simply used as a way to tap the desperate need for allowances in Japan and the insatiable Ukrainian budget with little pretence about caring for the global climate.

“Ukraine's actions not only threaten our possibility to avoid dangerous climate change, they also harm its own economy. Green Investment Schemes are a great opportunity for financing renewable resources and energy savings in most central and eastern European countries. With clear rules and transparency, they can and are helping countries to upgrade their economies, cut energy bills and create new jobs.”

For more information

Ondrej Pasek
CEE Bankwatch Network climate policy officer
Mobile in Denmark: 0045 26606456
Email ondrej.pasek AT bankwatch.org

Irina Stavchuk
National Ecological Centre of Ukraine
Mobile in Denmark: 0045 27338733
Email: irina.stavchuk AT necu.org.ua