The reconstruction of Ukraine

The reconstruction of Ukraine

Environmental standards must not be neglected

Writing this issue inevitably raises the question of what conclusions can be drawn from the findings described. After all, describing the environmental damage caused by war can only be the first step. The most important thing is to repair the damage caused by war and to organize reconstruction in such a way that it is based as far as possible on ecological and sustainable criteria.

The current war in Ukraine, like every other war, is a fossil war. In addition to the incredibly high level of human suffering, this war produces an immense demand for fossil resources, whether in the production of war equipment or in the actual waging of war. Whether tanks, warships or medium-range missiles – they all require fuels and other fossil fuels to be operated and produced.

As enough historical examples show, the enormous destruction of infrastructures leads to a sudden increase in the demand for (fossil) resources in the warring countries following wars and the environment destroyed by wars is not restored to its original state. Against this background of experience with wars alone, it becomes clear what challenges need to be overcome in the face of the climate crisis.

At this point, it can rightly be argued that Ukraine did not choose this war, let alone have any interest in fighting it any longer than necessary. But this is precisely why the conclusion can and must be drawn: Western democracies must support Ukraine in the climate and environmentally friendly reconstruction of the country after the end of the war.

The problems of reconstruction

When a war ends, the period of reconstruction begins for the former belligerent countries. Central infrastructure, houses, apartments and transportation networks have to be rebuilt. Returning war refugees must be accommodated, agriculture must be revitalized and an economy that may have been on its knees – which may have been converted to a war economy for years – must be revived. Understandably, key issues and needs such as housing, clean water and an adequate food supply have the highest priority. The problem is that the immense time pressure to rebuild a country quickly can lead to certain issues being overlooked or neglected. However, once a country or city has been rebuilt, it is difficult to change these problems afterwards.

We are very familiar with this in Germany. Many German cities lay in ruins after the Second World War and in the 1950s, three million apartments were built in the FRG within 15 years^.1 A real building boom occurred in the Federal Republic, and to a lesser extent in the GDR. Reconstruction plans were quickly submitted for large cities such as Cologne and Hamburg. It is not only debatable that many of these reconstruction plans were drawn up by former employees of high-ranking National Socialists^.2 This questionable staffing also continued a trend that had already taken hold in German cities before and during the war years: The car-friendly city. One of the main aims of Cologne’s reconstruction plan, for example, was to improve access to the city center by car^.3 In Hamburg, too, car traffic was a top priority in reconstruction^.4 Large aisles were cut into the cities, six-lane roads were built and all were geared towards individual traffic. The cars brought noise, air pollution and traffic into German city centers, and public life disappeared.

Many Ukrainian civil society organizations have recognized this reconstruction problem. Very early on, the organization Ecoaction, together with other NGOs, warned that reconstruction must be based on a climate-friendly vision of the future, despite the time pressure. According to Ecoaction, this vision should be based in particular on the European Green Deal in order to support Ukraine’s future accession to the EU.

In May 2022, Ecoaction formulated “green principles” for the reconstruction of Ukraine together with over 50 NGOs, scientific institutions and other associations of Ukrainian civil society:

1. Environmental and climate policy, in particular guidelines based on the European Green Deal, must be integrated into all sectors in Ukraine.
2. Reconstruction must focus primarily on sustainable development. Instead of promoting the reconstruction of a resource export economy, high-quality and sustainable production chains should be developed.
3. Development of a sustainable and green economy. Environmental and social legislation and regulatory institutions should promote and monitor this development.
4. Environmental standards should be introduced at all levels and monitored on an ongoing basis. The reconstruction of infrastructure must be carried out to the highest standards and with the best available technology.
5. The basis for reconstruction must be European environmental planning instruments. Environmental impact assessments in particular must be given high priority.
6. Reconstruction plans must be made transparent and must not be drawn up without the participation of the population and civil society organizations.
7. As there is already a great willingness to fund reconstruction from many different sources, these funding sources must be transparent and operate according to international guidelines^.5

Ukraine National Recovery Plan

An initial reconstruction plan for Ukraine has now been drawn up. From the 4. – On July 5, this was presented at the Urkaine Recovery Conference in Lugano, Switzerland^.6 The aforementioned Ukrainian environmental NGO Ecoaction has analyzed this plan and commented on it. For the organization, there is a unique opportunity after the war for Ukraine to become a pioneer in climate protection and sustainability if the right course is set for reconstruction.

Ecoaction welcomes the basic orientation of the Ukraine National Recovery. However, the NGO emphasizes that while it is understandable that the increase in GDP and the development of the economy in Ukraine are given such high priority in the plan, this must under no circumstances happen at the expense of sustainable and environmentally friendly development. Ecoaction is particularly critical of the fact that environmental controls and regulation in Ukraine are being weakened in order to ensure rapid reconstruction^.7 Only recently, the parliament suspended the important environmental impact assessment (EIA) for infrastructure projects. Although this step is understandable in times of war, it is unacceptable. According to Ecoaction, the EIA must be reinstated immediately after the war at the latest^.8 Ecoaction also criticizes the planned expansion of nuclear energy, deregulation of access to the subsoil and the planned expansion of live animal husbandry, especially in large farms^.9

In a position paper, Ecoaction analyzed the reconstruction plan presented at the conference and made the following demands:

• Focus on deregulation for small and medium-sized companies in compliance with European environmental criteria.
• Integrating climate-friendly technologies into Ukrainian agriculture.
• Introduction of a circular economy in Ukrainian agriculture and reduction of animal waste.
• Freeing the soil from the legacy of war – above all with natural measures
• Promotion of organic farming.
• Reduction in land use for livestock farming and a fundamental reduction in livestock farming.
• Greater focus on small farms.
• Strong focus on stopping drainage – New strategy for water use in rivers.
• The adaptation of Ukrainian agriculture to the EU Green Deal.
• Improving the quality of life in rural regions so that they do not just become production locations.
• Strong expansion of renewable energies – Over 40 percent of operational renewable energies in Ukraine were destroyed by the war^.10
• Reduction of nuclear energy.
• Phasing out fossil fuels.
• Reducing the focus of hydrogen exports from Ukraine.
• Reduction of waste production in Ukraine by switching processes to recycling, composting and bioenergy production.
• Increased monitoring of compliance with environmental protection standards, especially in water and nature conservation.
• Restoration of nature reserves in Ukraine.
• Re-introduction of the environmental impact assessment.
• Introduction of air pollution monitoring.
• Raising environmental protection standards to the requirements of the Paris Climate Protection Agreement.

UfU’s demands on German politics

For the Independent Institute for Environmental Issues, it is clear that we must not leave Ukraine alone in the task of sustainable reconstruction. It is in everyone’s interest to support Ukraine in its climate-friendly reconstruction. In June 2022, Ukraine was granted EU accession candidate status. This status also means that Germany has an obligation to support Ukraine in its development towards EU membership. Last but not least, our past obliges us towards Ukraine. Eastern Ukraine, which is once again embattled today, experienced terrible atrocities at the hands of the National Socialists during the Second World War. Cities such as Mariupol and Kharkiv, which are now under attack from Russia, were part of the fighting between the Wehrmacht and the Soviet Union during the Second World War. Around a quarter of the Ukrainian population died as a result of the Wehrmacht’s war of extermination, including 1.5 million Jews^.11 Based on this historical guilt, we have a special responsibility to support Ukraine, which has now once again fallen victim to an attack, in rebuilding the country.

We are therefore calling for strong support for Ukraine in its reconstruction, both financially and with expertise. This includes support from the German government as well as from German civil society, including its numerous institutions. UfU has therefore been involved in the development of key points for an ecological reconstruction program for Ukraine in the German government’s Ukraine Task Force from an early stage.

The following criteria are decisive for us:

• An early discussion of the reconstruction.
• Promotion of democracy
• Introduction of transparency rules.
• Strong environmental legislation.
• Comprehensive educational offers.
• Introduction of a trust company.

Discussing reconstruction at an early stage

We can learn a lot from the examples of our own reconstruction in Germany and the transformation of the GDR after reunification. The current climate crisis makes it clear how important it is that the same mistakes are not made in the reconstruction of Ukraine as in Germany. Both Ecoaction and the UfU make it clear that reconstruction must be adapted to the long-term goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. The key issue here will be how to avoid ecological and democratic aspects being disregarded due to the time pressure. A mere transfer of knowledge and good financing will not be sufficient here. Since there will probably be no time after the end of the war to hold public debates about the right development in Ukraine – which would be desirable in itself – opportunities should be used parallel to the war to discuss the advantages of socio-ecological concepts and measures compared to conventional reconstruction processes with relevant people from Ukraine in order to achieve a broad foundation for such a green orientation. It is assumed that post-war development will be strongly driven and influenced by a small number of stakeholders.

Promotion of democracy

Ecoaction rightly emphasizes that sustainability in reconstruction means all sectors. This includes not only the future energy supply and structural change in the Donbas region, accompanied by the phase-out of coal, but also a strong democracy and civil society. UfU is particularly concerned about the development of governance and the return to democratic structures after the war. The role of civil society and guaranteeing the rights of civil society under international agreements should be emphasized here. Ukraine needs an independent press and a functioning civil society. Support for this from the Ukrainian state and not just from abroad will be a relevant factor for democratic development in the country. In addition, there should be commissioners or special institutions to monitor state activities (Federal Audit Offices, ombudspersons). During the war, democratic rights were restricted in Ukraine. These must be gradually returned.

Introduction of transparency rules

The implementation of transparency rules through the active involvement of an independent press and civil society is crucial for a strong civil society. Building trust in democratic reconstruction processes can only succeed through comprehensible decisions and a minimum standard of transparency rules. This also requires institutions such as ombudsmen and ombudswomen or transparency officers with corresponding rights of intervention in order to prevent suspicions of corruption and unlawful favoritism from the outset.

Strong environmental legislation

Ukraine needs strong environmental legislation, not least for its accession to the EU. Legal protection in environmental matters plays a particularly important role in the latter. The environmental impact assessment (EIA) and access to justice are important EU-wide rights that must also apply in Ukraine for EU accession to be possible. As the environmental impact assessment is highly relevant for the construction of infrastructure and therefore also for the reconstruction of Ukraine, Ukrainian civil society must be supported in its demands for the reintroduction of the EIA.

Comprehensive educational offers

Another aspect is the expansion of educational opportunities. This is about creating green jobs and launching a skills offensive. The dimension of the skills offensive seems important to us here. In addition to the economy, there is also a need for appropriate qualification offers for new “green” jobs to be created in administrations and authorities, universities and colleges. The UfU has therefore proposed the creation of corresponding educational start-ups or comprehensive new types of green training institutions in order to effectively flank the socio-ecological change and respond to the need for further training and qualifications in a tailored manner.

Introduction of a trust company

Based on the experiences in East Germany with the Treuhandanstalt after 1990, the establishment of a reconstruction agency has already been discussed from time to time. From the UfU’s point of view, this should be supported. A reconstruction program needs a central and new institution. This should be a 10-year reconstruction agency that manages the programs, communicates them to the public and acts as a service provider for the economy and society. The agency should report directly to the president or prime minister.

Read more:

• The Ukraine National Recovery Plan can be found here: https://www.urc2022.com/urc2022-recovery-plan
• The Ecoaction statement can be found here: https://en.ecoaction.org.ua/analysis-of-ukraines-post-war-recovery-plan.html