“Ukraine has declared the goal of becoming climate neutral by 2050, but there is a catastrophic lack of money for industry. Even in the presence of laws and strategies, the state cannot finance full decarbonization. Experts warn: without real resources, the “green” transition risks remaining declarative. This is stated in the analysis from EcoPolitics. At the end of 2025, the interdepartmental group approved the project of the updated Dovgostrokova”, — write on: ua.news
Ukraine has declared the goal of becoming climate neutral by 2050, but there is a catastrophic lack of money for industry. Even in the presence of laws and strategies, the state cannot finance full decarbonization. Experts warn: without real resources, the “green” transition risks remaining declarative. This is stated in analysis from EcoPolitics.
At the end of 2025, the interdepartmental group approved the draft of the updated Long-term strategy for low-carbon development of Ukraine until 2050. The document looks ambitious, but professional sources indicate a gap between the declared goals and the real possibilities of their financing. Ukraine, as a member of the Paris Climate Agreement, undertook to reduce emissions by at least 65% by 2030 and achieve climate neutrality by the middle of the century. For comparison, in the EU only in 2023, revenues from the emissions trading system amounted to 43.6 billion euros, and these funds are used to finance industry and “green” projects.
In Ukraine, the emissions trading system is still only at the planning stage. The existing ecological tax is not aimed at the modernization of enterprises, and the only specialized instrument — the Decarbonization Fund — does not cover the need. According to calculations, about 102 billion euros are needed for the “green” transition of industry, while the planned financing of the fund is only 182 million euros, that is, 0.17% of the need.
A significant part of the available funds is directed to energy-efficient community projects, not to industry. This creates a structural problem: the reduction in emissions is not due to modernization, but due to deindustrialization caused by war and economic decline.
A similar situation is observed in the sector of renewable energy. The share of “green” electricity in Ukraine has increased to 17.3% by the middle of 2025, but this is rather a consequence of the destruction of traditional generation, rather than the systematic development of RES. Achieving the goals of the National Energy and Climate Plan by 2030 requires about $40 billion in investments, with more than 75% of the funds not having proven funding sources.
The government admits that international programs, bilateral agreements and resources of the Ukraine Facility can be potential sources of funding, but there are no concrete details of how to attract funds yet. Experts warn that without clear financial mechanisms, climate goals risk remaining on paper.
The European Business Association (EBA) warns that the government’s proposed industrial decarbonization program may not only fail to ensure the inflow of “green” investments, but also create risks of deindustrialization if real sources of financing are not identified.
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