Ukraine is planning to speed up its shift to clean, green electricity, citing Russia’s drone and missile attacks on its electricity infrastructure as a catalyst to build a more resilient grid.
The attacks have taken out 40% of Ukraine’s power infrastructure, leading to electricity shortages in the middle of winter, Reuters reports. That makes it a priority this year for the country to redesign the system to rely on smaller power stations and generating facilities, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said earlier this week.
“Plans for the decarbonization of energy and the green transformation remain relevant,” he told a government meeting. “The war has made these challenges even more urgent.”
While simultaneously repairing damage and boosting security at Ukraine’s imperilled nuclear plants, “we will use the potential of renewable energy—solar, wind, hydrogen generation, hydrogen technologies—more actively,” Shmyhal said .“The Russian attacks push us towards fundamental reform—building a decentralized energy system. It will be less vulnerable to enemy attacks.”
In October, Reuters writes, Energy Minister German Galushchenko said Russia had damaged or disabled 50% of Ukraine’s solar facilities and about 90% of its wind farms.
Shmyhal’s comments reflect just one of the ways in which climate and energy have become a focal point in global geopolitics, with major economies introducing big, new energy transition incentives and often criticizing each other for potential violations of international trade regimes. The U.S. Inflation Reduction Act includes a Buy North American clause that was greeted with a collective cheer by Canadian negotiators but deep resentment in the European Union, where legislators put finishing touches on the world’s first carbon border adjustment mechanism late last year.
“Climate is becoming an integral part of numerous economic sectors; it’s not just energy anymore but also industry, farming, buildings, or transport,” Joanna Pandera, president of the Forum Energii think tank, told Bloomberg in mid-December. “The world needs to ensure that trade plays by the green rules, too.”
