Budget of Green Country project to amount to UAH 2 bln – Minister of Natural Resources

Planting one billion trees under the Green Country project in the next three years will require UAH 2 billion, which will be attracted through forestry activities, the Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine Roman Abramovsky told the Green Deal portal.

"In terms of cost, we calculated that about UAH 2 billion is needed for three years. Most of it will be provided through activities of state forestry without raising funds from the state budget," the Minister commented on the initiative of President Volodymyr Zelensky at the all-Ukrainian forum "Ukraine 30. Ecology."

"Along with this, we plan to increase budget expenditures through forestry activities. Already this year, as the president said, following the results of the first quarter, the income of the forestry industry increased by UAH 1 billion," Abramovsky said.

The Minister said that, by the end of the year, it will be possible to increase revenues to the state budget and significantly increase the profitability of the industry by destroying timber sales schemes and holding transparent auctions, as well as by competing for a scarce resource.

Abramovsky also said that Ukraine must submit the draft of the Second National Determined Contributions of Ukraine (NOV2) to the Paris Agreement to the Secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change by July 31, but consultations with business are still ongoing.

"The consultations with business and associations are not over yet. There are some disagreements, but business already starts to understand the importance of everyone's contribution to climate change. We have more conversations on this issue with representatives of large and medium-sized businesses. I think there will be no resistance [to the NOV2 project] by the authorities," the minister said in a comment to the Green Deal portal.

The goal of the President's project Green Country is to increase the forest area in Ukraine by one million hectares in ten years, of which one billion trees are planned to be planted in the next three years.

On April 1, 2021, the Ministry of Ecology presented a draft order of the Cabinet of Ministers On Approval of the Second National Determined Contributions of Ukraine to the Paris Agreement and launched a public consultation procedure. This document proposes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the national level by 65% ​​by 2030 from the level of 1990.

Source: www.en.interfax.com.ua