Addressing the Needs of clean Energy transition Willingness of UKRAINIAN cities Leveraging Innovative Financing Examples and measures

Introduction

Since the beginning of 2022, Ukraine has entered an unstable period characterized by the mobilization of the national army and the defense of its own territories. This military crisis has led to a series of consequences: significant human losses, a lack of primary resources, and difficulties in ensuring basic services.

Impact on Energy Infrastructure

Among these, the country's energy infrastructure has suffered considerable damages, resulting in service disruptions and interruptions for the population. Consequently, restoring clean energy services and prioritizing the reconstruction process have become pivotal.

Importance of Energy Solutions

For this reason, efficient building design, cleaner power/heating systems, and more reliable energy infrastructure have become increasingly important in shaping Ukraine's strategic role in the overall EU energy scenario.

Project Overview

With these premises, the ANEW-LIFE project aims to define guidelines and establish a favorable context for initiating and promoting green energy initiatives at the municipality level throughout the country.

Collaborative Efforts

In this regard, ANEW-LIFE brings together experience from clean energy initiatives (EnGreen, Blue Energy Revolution, 5thVOLT, Climate Alliance) and financing sectors (Alternative Financing IFN, Enersave Capital) to support Ukrainian cities in developing and deploying their own energy strategies and plans.

Community Involvement

This will be accomplished through the involvement of groups of citizens, local institutions, and NGOs (DIXI, Ecoclub) already active in the energy sector. Additionally, a dense capacity-building campaign (BER) will be conducted, and the most appropriate financing mechanisms for energy interventions will be identified, including:

1. Green bonds
2. Donorship
3. Private/public partnerships
4. Crowdfunding
5. Energy communities

Implementation Strategy

The proposed bottom-up approach to be implemented at the municipality level will be validated in three lighthouse cities (Zhytomir, Kalush, Nyzhin). This will also target a wider replication campaign in a further ten Ukrainian cities (four of which have signed letters of support) and ten other EU cities.

Feedback and Development

Municipalities' feedback will be crucial to developing a catalogue of clean energy solutions coupled with appropriate financing measures to be promoted in Ukraine and Europe, fostering policies, incentives, and investments.

Stakeholder Engagement

The stakeholders' project community will play a central role and will include city representatives, financing institutions/ethical banks, policymakers, and international cooperation actors, all brought together with the common objective of validating and promoting ANEW-LIFE project results.