Due to the urgent need to address environmental issues and fulfill European integration commitments, Ukraine is to adopt key bills on climate and environmental protection and implement waste reform in 2024.
EcoPolitic has prepared an overview of the three main legislative tasks for 2024.
- The draft law "On the system of trading quotas for greenhouse gas emissions", which will allow the market of trading quotas for emissions to be launched at least in the pilot mode in 2025.
The launch of this system is one of the European integration requirements, because it concerns the reduction of carbon emissions into the atmosphere, and therefore the fight against climate change. In addition, ETS will help Ukrainian importers to avoid the burden of the European CBAM carbon adjustment mechanism for imports, which companies will start paying from 2026.
ETS is planned to be created on the basis of a system of monitoring, reporting and verification of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) based on data for three years. However, during the full-scale war, 40% of installations were destroyed or damaged by the invaders.
The eco-community is skeptical of such ambitious terms, because the corresponding document has not yet been made public, although it has been under development since 2021. In addition, the creation of ETS is a long-term and painstaking process that requires taking into account many factors and conditions. In the EU, such a system was developed and improved for 17 years, and Ukraine plans to create it in 2.5-3 years.
- Draft Law No. 10061 (No. 10061-1, 10061-2) "On packaging and packaging waste", which regulates the concept of extended producer responsibility (EPR). This system shifts the responsibility for waste management, when a product loses its consumer properties and enters the waste category, from the public sector to producers.
The draft law is an important condition for the implementation of the garbage reform. Currently, all three draft laws are being processed by the working group of the parliamentary committee on environmental policy and nature management.
Also, during 2024, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources must submit to the Verkhovna Rada other draft laws that introduce RWV, namely "On batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators", "On waste electrical and electronic equipment", "On decommissioned vehicles", "On lubricants, oil and tire waste", "On textile waste", "On construction and demolition waste".
- Draft Law No. 6004-d "On ensuring the constitutional rights of citizens to an environment safe for life and health" ("On industrial pollution"), which provides for the modernization of all industrial installations within 12 years. Thus, the term of the implementation of the draft law will reach one year, the implementation of the norms of the best available technologies and management methods (BTM) will take 4 years, and the modernization of all enterprises should be completed in 7 years.
The draft law will allow the implementation of the European Directive 2010/75/EU and start the long-awaited reform of reduction and control of industrial pollution in Ukraine. This is one of the country's obligations under the Association Agreement with the EU. Also, the document is intended to launch the gradual transition of national enterprises to European standards and the implementation of BTM, Fr therefore, it does not provide financing for their implementation.
It is worth noting that among the
- climate policy;
- environmental monitoring;
- waste management;
- environmental control;
- prevention of industrial pollution;
- sustainable management of water resources;
- forest policy.
Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that the Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, Ruslan Strelets, is convinced that in 2026, Ukraine will be able to complete the implementation of most European environmental directives and regulations.
