#Endfossilfuelsubsidies in Ukraine

Joining a global day of action against fossil fuel subsidies, Bankwatchers in Ukraine highlighted how much still needs to be done in their country.

Sven Haertig-Tokarz, Web editor

June 19, 2012

Yesterday, coinciding with the opening of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, people across the globe called on governments and international institutions to end fossil fuels subsidies and instead provide much-needed support for renewable energy.

Bankwatch member group National Ecological Centre of Ukraine joined in and gathered with other environmental groups in Kiev for a public action to emphasise their demands towards the Ukrainian government and the EU (see the video and images below).

A 'twitter storm' to end fossil fuel subsidies was part of the global action yesterday. It triggered more than 100 000 tweets, making #endfossilfuelsubsidies a trending topic on twitter.

Because the need to reform energy subsidies is particularly urgent in Ukraine:

Less than 0.5 percent of all Ukraine’s power is currently produced from renewable energy sources.
In 2010 coal subsidies reached nearly 730 million euros, approximately 2 percent of total budget expenditures and four times more than in 2001 (Source: Draft revised Energy Strategy for Ukraine till 2030 (UA)) - a governmental lifeline for Ukraine’s traditionally unprofitable coal industry.

If even the richest countries struggle to finance the development of renewable energy and energy efficiency in parallel to subsidising energy from coal, oil and gas, then all the more urgent is the need to cut these "dirty" subsidies in Ukraine as soon as possible.