A top-level exchange of views and experience is aimed at helping policymakers adapt to climate change. 

Kyiv, Ukraine, 26 November 2020 – Around 100 government officials from the six EU Eastern Partnership countries gathered online for the second Regional Workshop on Adaptation Plans and Strategies.

The workshop, which was organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), highlighted best practices and presented efficient tools for policymakers to use in mitigating the effects of the changing climate. Officials from Eastern Partnership countries Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia and Moldova participated, with Ukraine being represented by several ministries and state agencies. Also taking part were representatives from UNFCCC, the German Environmental Agency (UBA), the Institute for Environmental Protection of Poland, the Technology Needs Assessment (TNA) Project in Ukraine, and international experts from UNDP.

Addressing the workshop, Regional EU4Climate Coordinator Yevgen Groza said that even amid a pandemic, it was still essential  to support the Eastern Partnership countries in tackling climate change and provide a platform for knowledge exchange.

“Regardless of the new pressing issues arising with COVID-19, climate action remains one of the Sustainable Development Goals,” Groza told the online attendees.

Mykhailo Chyzhenko, Head of Adaptation Policy and Climate Reporting Division at the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, underlined that the Regional Workshop was an opportunity to share regional knowledge and utilize it in national plans.

“Until recently climate change issues have not received sufficient attention in Ukraine,” Chyzhenko said. “So it is pivotal for us to learn about the experience of other countries that have (already) drafted strategic documents about climate change mitigation.”

During the workshop, TNA Project Coordinator in Ukraine Anatoliy Shmurak presented the findings of his team, and outlined 11 recommendations for his colleagues from other Eastern Partnership countries. One of the recommendations concerned gender attribution in climate change mitigation technologies.

“It is necessary to incorporate this aspect to obtain the proper results,” Shmurak noted.

“Apart from that, each (mitigation) technology should take into account the needs of different generations and people with disabilities,” he said.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine is to publish Ukraine’s National Adaptation Strategy by February 2021. Chyzhenko said that in the meantime the support provided by UNDP Ukraine’s expert team in reviewing existing documents and drafting new ones would be very important.

Additional information:

The EU4Climate initiative, implemented by UNDP and funded by the European Union, contributes to climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as the development of low-emission and climate-resilient economies under the Paris Agreement on climate change.

The project aims to help the six Eastern Partnership countries adopt climate change mitigation and adaptation measures to achieve greenhouse gas emission reductions and manage the effects of climate change.