LETTER OF THE UKRAINIAN NGO CLIMATE CHANGE WORKING GROUP

Kiev, October 20, 2000

Mr. Myhailo Gladiy
Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine,
Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Comission on Climate Change

Dear Mr. Gladiy,

The Sixth Conference of Parties to the Climate Change Convention (COP6) that will take place in The Hague during November 13-24, 2000 is approaching. This conference should become a crucial stage in the international climate change process. It is expected that decisions will be taken on issues defining the course of the future process. Furthermore, positions of Parties or groups of Parties will be defined.

Being a Party to the Climate Change Convention and a potentially important member of the future international climate change process, Ukraine should also define its position and act in accordance with it both in The Hague and in future. Such a position should be based on principles of sustainable development and Ukraine’s national interests.

Ukrainian NGOs, including members of the NGO Climate Change Working Group and other undersigned organizations, state their following positions regarding COP6-related issues and recommend that these positions be taken into consideration by the Government of Ukraine in developing the official position of Ukraine on this matter.

The majority of the undesigned NGOs has agreed on the following:

1. Projects on sinks should be excluded from Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation Mechanism (JI).
2. International Emissions Trading should be prohibited.
3. Nuclear power-related projects should be excluded from CDM and JI.
4. Projects on construction of large hydro power plants should be excluded from CDM and JI.
5. The priority should be given to:

1. energy efficiency and energy saving technologies; and
2. use of renewable energy
6. Start of JI projects before the first commitment period should be permitted.

Respectfully,

Volodymyr Berezin
Director Environmental-Cultural Center “Bakhmat”

Oksana Bilobran
Student, Clinical Program Charitable Foundation ‘Ecopravo-Lviv”

Svitlana Boychenko
Scholar Secretary Ukrainian Geographical Society

Igor Buksha
Director NGO “Ecoforest"

Yuriy Vasidlov
President “Our Home” Association

Petro Grytsyshyn
Director Western Center of the Ukrainian Branch of the World Laboratory

Andriy Konechenkov
President Public Organisation “Future Age Energy”

Andrew Koriagin
Chairman of the Council “Kyiany” Association

Volodymyr Kuznetsov
Director NGO “Ecologia Media Group”

Vasyl Levchyshyn
Department Director Center for Municipal and Regional Development

Tamara Malkova
Director Charity Information Publishing Center “Green Dossier”

Volodymyr Pasternak
Deputy Director NGO “Ecoforest”

Semen Polnariov
Chairman of the Board League “Ukrainian Quality”

Yuriy Reznikov
Deputy Head Khmelnitskiy Oblast Society for Nature Protection

Nadia Sosonkina
Climate Coordinator Ukrainian Society for Sustainable Development

Yuriy Urbanskiy
Deputy Chairman National Ecological Center of Ukraine

Serghiy Fedorynchyk
Head, Information Center Ukrainian Environmental Association “Zeleny Svit”

Roman Khimko
Chairman, Public Council Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine

Mykola Cherniavskiy
Chairman Lviv Branch of the National Ecological Center of Ukraine

Volodymyr Shevchenko
Head, Energy Commission Ukrainian Environmental Association “Zeleny Svit”