Energy Efficiency Fund: international experience and Ukraine’s perspectives
On 16 May 2017, in Kyiv was held a round table discussion “Energy Efficiency Fund: international experience and Ukraine’s perspectives” organized by the Committee on Fuel and Energy Complex, Nuclear Policy and Nuclear Safety of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Civil Network OPORA.
Members of the Government, international experts and representatives of the public discussed the current issues related to the establishment of Energy Efficiency Fund in Ukraine, i.a. the law that will regulate the activity of the Fund.
Opening the discussion, Olexander Dombrovski, Acting Head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Fuel and Energy Complex, Nuclear Policy and Safety, said that energy efficiency is the number one issue in the reform of Ukraine’s economic sector. MP noted that already for 3 years in Ukraine has been running a Warm Loan Program, and thanks to the support of European partners and a successful work of Ukraine’s government, it is being executed quite effectively. “However, the funds allocated to the program are insufficient. Therefore, this brings up a question as for the necessity to vote for the establishment of the Energy Efficiency Fund”, he said.
Chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy Saving and Energy Efficiency Oleksiy Ryabchyn, commenting on the role of the Fund, stressed that the aim of the Fund is to reduce energy consumption in Ukraine and improve the situation of those Ukrainians who do not have enough finances to implement energy efficiency measures.
In his turn, Peter M. Wagner, Head of the European Commission’s Support Group to Ukraine, highlighted that the Energy Efficiency Fund is a qualitative step forward to improve energy efficiency, and a new qualitative step regarding international support for energy efficiency measures in the household sector in Ukraine.
Representative of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety, Jürgen Keinhorst, underlined that the German government regards the energy efficiency reform among top priorities for Ukraine. According to him, it is important to launch the program “in order to attract investments that would lead to reduction of energy efficiency consumption, and thus, decrease the need in subsidies and burden on the budget”