Lawmakers seek to abolish the requirement to comply with environmental and land legislation for the construction of energy facilities until the end of martial law. These questionable changes are effectively disguised under the guise of a draft law that allegedly concerns only a specific enterprise. Moreover, the Verkhovna Rada is set to vote on document No. 15122 as early as next Tuesday, August 18. Of course, there have been no prior discussions of the draft law.
EcoPolitic has compiled the arguments of opponents of this legislative initiative, as well as those of the Main Legal Department of the Verkhovna Rada, to explain why this document poses a threat to the preservation of valuable ecosystems.
The Right to Take Any Land
Officially, draft law No. 15122 purports to address issues regarding the establishment of the joint-stock company “Eastern Mining and Processing Plant.” The initiator of the draft law is former Prime Minister Yuliya Svyrydenko, making it a government document.
However, risky amendments to the Land Code of Ukraine are embedded under this cover. It should be noted that you will not find these provisions in the text of the draft law for the first reading. The explosive norms have been added for the second reading and can be found in the comparative table of over 240 pages.
As stated in the remarks of the parliamentary legal department, it is proposed to supplement Section X “Transitional Provisions” of the Land Code of Ukraine with clause 272. These changes provide that, during martial law and for a year after its termination, energy facilities may be located on land plots of all forms of ownership regardless of their designated use. This concerns installations for the generation of thermal and electric energy from solar power plants, wind turbines, biogas, and biomass.
While land belonging to the nature reserve fund remains inaccessible, the same cannot be said for forestry land, residential and public construction areas, or land designated for agriculture, health, and recreation purposes.
“The placement, in particular on forestry land, of installations, [...] will inevitably lead to negative impacts on the use, protection, and regeneration of forest land in Ukraine, land occupied by agricultural plots, waters and wetlands, unlimited changes to land designation, and therefore a significant reduction in the area of such lands and territories, which are nonetheless limited and vulnerable natural objects that ensure the existence of people and objects of flora and fauna,” parliamentary legal experts summarized.
Justified outrage
The adoption of this draft law would make it possible to use valuable land without strategic environmental assessment or urban planning documentation.
"Provisions are being introduced into a law that has no relation to power generation at all. Why? Because this is being done without proper discussion, very quickly, so that no one notices and everything is voted on without debate and unnecessary questions," writes the NGO Ecosfera.
The community emphasizes that, to accelerate the development of renewable energy, a professional dialogue between the public and the Ministry of Energy is already underway. As a result of cooperation with the Energy Community, such zones have already been allocated throughout Ukraine. Naturally, these zones exclude particularly valuable territories, including forests and the highlands of the Carpathians.
There is also draft law No. 14721, which was adopted in the first reading in April. It is supposed to introduce transparent and fair rules for selecting zones for the accelerated development of "green" energy. The question remains open as to why there is a need to bypass and ignore these transparent developments.
At the same time, the environmental community is convinced that such actions directly violate Ukraine's obligations within the framework of European integration. According to activists, the European Commission and the European Parliament have already stressed the inadmissibility of further exceptions to environmental assessment procedures.
"We see a desire to quickly push through decisions that have been carefully worked on by political lobbyists. In particular, those who are promoting the construction of wind farms in the mountains. We understand the need for rapid reconstruction and accelerated construction of power generation facilities. However, this process must comply with EU standards," note environmentalists from Teren.
Therefore, activists are calling on members of parliament not to vote for draft law No. 15122 and to have it removed from the agenda. According to environmentalists, the relevant committee should remove from the document all amendments concerning the abolition of environmental restrictions.
Recall that, due to the construction of a new heat pipeline in Kyiv, tree felling began in the green zone in Teremky. Now the authorities have agreed to look for alternative options. At the same time, civic activists are convinced that the destruction of the trees occurred as a result of government decree No. 393. As an experiment for such facilities, it allowed forgoing the need to obtain permits and land allocation.
