Kyiv, 22 April 2019 – On the Ukrainian National Environment Day, the United Nations Development Programme in Ukraine (UNDP) with the support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) has held a tree planting campaign in the city of Kaniv, Cherkasy Oblast. Around 200 paulownias, fast growing and beautiful “energy” trees, have been planted in the city center to make it greener and cleaner. Local authorities and citizens joined the activity to fight climate change and mitigate its negative effects.

Climate change pose a serious threat to the environment and the planet overall, putting human health, their well-being and livelihood at risk. According to the UN special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C, issued by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2018, if the global warming is not limited to 1.5°C by the end of the century, the consequences, such as extreme weather conditions, sea level rise, natural hazards, land degradation, some animal species extinction and other negative impacts on the ecosystem can hardly be eliminated. The Report, among the possible solutions and measures to fight climate change and limit global warming, presents the urban tree planting activity. The process of planting trees in the cities helps reduce CO2 emissions, improve the air and water quality, set control over the temperature rise, enhance livelihoods, address land degradation and reduce the impact of such disasters as cyclones, storms and floods.

“UNDP supports Ukrainian cities on their sustainable and energy efficient path and celebrates Ukrainian Environment Day this year in Kaniv by conducting a green campaign on tree planting. With this action, we would like to engage more Ukrainian citizens into the ecological initiatives and remind them of the importance of climate action to fight climate change in Ukraine,” said Sergii Varga, the manager of the UNDP/GEF “Removing the Barrier to Attraction of Energy Efficiency Investments in Public Buildings in Small- and Medium-Sized Cities of Ukraine on the Basis of the ESCO Model” project.

Through the “Removing Barriers to Increase Investments in Energy Efficiency in Public Buildings in Ukraine through the ESCO Modality in Small and Medium-Sized Cities” and “Development and Commercialization of Bioenergy Technologies in the Municipal Sector in Ukraine” projects, implemented with the support of GEF, UNDP also helps Kaniv to renovate the public buildings as per the energy efficiency standards. In particular, UNDP cooperates with Kaniv on ESCO projects implementation, provides assistance in energy audits conduction and energy management systems introduction. As a result, UNDP conducted 3 energy audits in Kaniv in 2018.

Additionally, UNDP has helped with the renovation of the kindergarten “Teremok” in Kaniv, including insulation of the facade and roof, changing of all windows and doors. Using the financial support mechanism, developed under the UNDP projects’ implementation, 20% of the renovation costs will be covered by the city and 80% - by a loan from Oschadbank. Assistance in the application process for this loan was provided to the city by UNDP.

Background information:

The National Environment Day is celebrated annually in Ukraine on the third Saturday of April in accordance with the Presidential Decree “On Environment” #855/98. In 2019, the National Environment Day is celebrated on April 20 in Ukraine.

The UNDP project “Removing Barriers to Increase Investments in Energy Efficiency in Public Buildings in Ukraine through the ESCO Modality in Small and Medium-Sized Cities,” implemented with the support of GEF, is designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This is done by creating a favorable legal, regulatory, and market environment, and building institutional, administrative and technical capacities to promote energy efficiency measures in public buildings in small- and medium-sized cities of Ukraine, including hospitals, schools, governmental and higher education facilities, kindergartens, orphanages, pharmacies, employment centers, libraries, and museums. The project also covers the creation of a single nationwide energy consumption database, along with the Energy Management and Monitoring System for Ukraine.

Media inquiries: Yuliia Samus, UNDP Communications Specialist, yuliia.samus@undp.org