Development of Sustainable Energy — a Priority of Ukraine’s State Policy
The development of renewable energy and the improvement of energy efficiency are among the key priorities of Ukraine’s state policy. In the context of war and the country’s recovery, particular importance is placed on creating financial, regulatory, and institutional mechanisms that make investments in the energy sector as predictable, secure, and fast as possible for businesses and communities.
These issues were central to the 4th Ukraine Resilience Business Forum, which was attended by First Deputy Head of the State Agency on Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving of Ukraine, Mariia Malaia. Participants discussed not only investment opportunities for the development of renewable energy but also strategic issues related to strengthening Ukraine’s energy resilience and security.
“The State Agency on Energy Efficiency, without waiting for the end of the war, has taken a large-scale and unprecedented step — it has created an innovative financial instrument: the State Decarbonization and Energy Efficiency Transformation Fund of Ukraine.
Its foundation is a portion of the CO₂ emissions tax, which forms a sustainable revolving financing mechanism for energy efficiency and decarbonization projects. Since January 1, 2024, this instrument has been fully operational through the Decarbonization Fund of Ukraine.
Its mission is to empower businesses and municipalities by reducing investment risks and providing access to long-term concessional financing — in the form of subsidized loans and leasing of energy-efficient equipment,” said Mariia Malaia.
According to projections, the implementation of supported projects will ensure the generation and substitution of more than 135,000 MWh of energy annually, as well as reduce CO₂ emissions by more than 40,000 tons. Beneficiaries include food industry enterprises, meat processing plants, baby food factories, hospitals, water utilities, and other critical and social infrastructure facilities.
Importantly, every million hryvnias invested by the state stimulates additional investment from businesses. This creates an effective public-private partnership model, through which the total volume of investments in decarbonization projects has already exceeded UAH 2 billion.
In addition to concessional financing programs for businesses, the Fund implements a number of other state support instruments. These include energy audits and energy certification of public authority buildings, installation of solar power plants with energy storage systems on administrative buildings, and the digitalization of natural gas consumption metering.
The Decarbonization Fund also serves as a coordination platform for attracting international support. Through this instrument, international financial institutions and private investors can contribute to strengthening Ukraine’s energy resilience on mutually beneficial terms — through grant programs, co-financing of projects, interest rate compensation, guarantee mechanisms, and other tools to reduce investment risks.
The development of such mechanisms is an important component in building a modern, resilient, and competitive energy system in Ukraine that aligns with European climate goals and supports the country’s economic recovery.
The State Agency on Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving of Ukraine expresses its gratitude to the Luxembourg-Ukraine Chamber of Commerce for the invitation and for organizing such an important platform for dialogue between the government, business, and international partners.
