KYIV, 19 February 2024 – The Environmental Compact for Ukraine, a plan of measures to address the environmental damage Ukraine has suffered due to the full-scale Russian invasion and war, was presented in Kyiv on Feb. 9. 

The compact was drawn up by the International Working Group on the Environmental Consequences of War – a high-level group set up at the initiative of the president of Ukraine. It was presented at an event organized by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, with logistical backing from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine, and was attended by leading members of the International Working Group on the Environmental Consequences of War.

The working group members presented the document’s recommendations to the President of Ukraine, foreign diplomatic envoys stationed in Kyiv, and representatives of environmental NGOs. 

The ground-breaking document is an integral component of the Ukrainian President’s Ten-Point Peace Formula. Comprising 50 meticulously crafted recommendations for Ukraine and the global community, the compact calls for a harmonized approach to evaluating the environmental damage caused by the Russian invasion, delineates strategies for redressing the damage done, and indicates pathways for eco-centric recovery.

The presentation was led by Margot Wallström, co-chair of the Working Group and former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden, Vice-President of the European Parliament Heidi Hautala, and European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans, and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius, among others.

Ruslan Strilets, Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, hailed the Environmental Compact as a blueprint for creating the best conditions for environmental recovery. 

"The toolkit we have for spearheading our environmental initiatives on the global stage is getting bigger,” Strilets said. “I’m confident that this (compact) will help pave the way for sustainable peace on a global scale. We’re grateful to the UNDP and other international partners for facilitating this process."

UNDP Resident Representative in Ukraine Jaco Cilliers underscored that environmental degradation threatens to be a long-term consequence of the war. 

"It is imperative that the international community grasps Ukraine's urgent needs for its post-war restoration, and that cutting-edge green technologies and environmental solutions are integrated into this restoration,” Cilliers said.

“In collaboration with our partners, we remain steadfast in our commitment to help Ukraine maintain its trajectory towards sustainable recovery." 

Background:

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine supported the presentation of the Environmental Compact for Ukraine as part of an environmental damage assessment project funded by the Government of Sweden.

Media enquiries: Yuliia Samus, Head of Communications at UNDP Ukraine; e-mail: yuliia.samus@undp.org