In 2010 Ukraine joined the European Energy Community to integrate into the European electricity and gas markets. The Ukrainian government is looking to the EU and international financial institutions to sponsor a warily nuclear-intensive, export-oriented energy program.
As the world marks the 25th anniversary of the world's worst nuclear disaster at Chernobyl and against the backdrop of the threat from Fukushima's nuclear facilities, our study reveals that the European Commission, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) are indirectly supporting lifetime extensions of old Ukrainian nuclear reactors as a means to secure 'cheap' Ukrainian electricity exports to the EU Member States.
Kiev -- On the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe, while the world still struggles with the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster, CEE Bankwatch Network issues a startling report showing how plans of the Ukrainian government to build 22 new nuclear reactors and extend the lifetime of old Soviet reactors are indirectly supported with European public money as part of the long-term EU energy security strategy.
As the European Commission prepares to launch the Roadmap for a resource-efficient Europe, CEE Bankwatch Network warns that EU climate targets cannot be achieved in the absence of binding energy efficiency and sectoral resource efficiency targets, backed up by appropriate financial support.
Twenty years on from its creation, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) may think it is time to reconsider, or at least extend, its remit.
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