As someone deeply involved in shaping Ukraine's post-war green recovery, what do you see as the greatest opportunity to build back not just better, but more sustainably and more independently from fossil fuel dependence?

 

I keep thinking about what "post-war" means. Because people simply want to go back home as quickly as possible. But now it’s the fourth year of full-scale invasion, so we’re really talking about reconstruction during the war. People want their homes and energy systems back—just building back. But building back better is an opportunity to improve lives, align with EU standards, and build more autonomous, resilient infrastructure, especially since the first large-scale Russian attacks on the energy sector in autumn 2022. Since then, we’ve advocated for renewables and storage for critical infrastructure. When we called on municipalities, hundreds responded wanting renewables for hospitals, schools, administrative systems, and water supply systems. We try to make sure that whatever kind of sustainable resolutions we're talking about, they also make sense today. Of course, we are both defending the country and rebuilding, while at the same time talking about the EU integration. So everything is happening quickly. Things change quickly.

 

But when it comes to EU integration, Ukraine has made enormous progress already. From 1st April, the full European energy building standard (nZEB) is in place for all new buildings in Ukraine. This means more autonomous buildings, more on-site renewables, and better energy use.

 

We did a study released last year in Bucha: to rebuild damaged buildings the way they were before: €100m to rebuild to current standards, €200m to a very good Class A energy efficient standard, and for net-zero: €300m. So this is how the price changes very quickly when you want to build back better, at least when it comes to the more sustainable infrastructure. For the moment, we lack long-term loans with long payback periods. Human resources are limited, too; many people are scattered around Europe or fighting, but we are already seeing some veterans retraining as renewable energy installers and so on.

 

Ukraine could also help Europe’s transition: producing not just renewable energy but the equipment needed too, helping Europe reduce its dependency on China. This is something that Ukraine could definitely offer beyond just critical mineral extraction. We already have engineers, factories producing renewable energy equipment, and the potential to contribute meaningfully to Europe’s security, not just defence, but also energy security.

 

This is our opportunity to leapfrog into better infrastructure standards and a more sustainable, secure, and integrated European future.

 

 

In your experience, how has civil society's role evolved during the war: and how essential is it now in ensuring that Ukraine's reconstruction stays aligned with environmental and democratic values?

 

Well, it's a historical background. Civil society works at different levels. There are local CSOS and those who work at the national level. I think something that has changed a lot is that there are now organisations who work on an international level too, and also engaging in national advocacy.

 

When it comes to the local level, if we talk purely about reconstruction, of course, there are organisations who are helping people on the spot to rebuild, even just to do small things. But this is important. Also, there are organisations that are monitoring reconstruction. First of all, we want to ensure that the reconstruction that is done now is of better quality. So, whatever kind of corruption issues there may be, there are local organisations in place that have started monitoring this.

 

We have the EcoClub in Rivne, which is working with the communities on renewable energy projects. They take them through the whole process from the feasibility study to implementation, and then teach them how to use the system. On the national level, since 2014, civil society organisations at the national level started working very closely with government agencies, with parliament members, basically helping draft the legislation. Since the 2022 invasion, again, civil society organisations have become super important. We have the RISE Coalition, which was formed by more than 50 organisations from Ukraine that are working on reconstruction. Thanks to people from this coalition, Ukraine launched the DREAM platform. This is a platform where you can track all of the reconstruction projects, where you can basically see every project, know what it is all about, and find out the end result. So this is a system that provides transparency of reconstruction.

 

Together with our platform, Build Ukraine Back Better, we are more than 80 organisations now. We are working with European and Ukrainian organisations together, proposing different criteria of what reconstruction should be like and making sure that green sustainability aspects are part of that.