German Federal Minister for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety Carsten Schneider and Parliamentary State Secretary Sören Bartol, Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building, visited Ukraine for an intensive exchange on climate, environment, energy and green recovery. On August 18, they met with representatives of Ukrainian civil society in Kyiv. On August 20, they visited the energy-efficient Sykhiv district in Lviv.
During the meeting with Ukrainian civil society, the Federal Minister and State Secretary exchanged with representatives of Ecoaction, WWF-Ukraine, Greenpeace Ukraine, ReThink, Metalab, Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group (UNCG), and Ukrvodokanalekologiya.
Participants discussed the Build Back Better approach to Ukraine’s recovery, including aligning climate and environmental policies with European standards, protecting biodiversity and ecosystems, strengthening energy, water and urban resilience, and mobilizing green investment. A special area of interest was the situation at the at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant after the Russian drone attack as well as the perspectives on the future energy mix of Ukraine. Federal Minister Schneider showed a high level of interest in the role and approaches of Ukrainian civil society in developing and implementing reforms, monitoring progress, and shaping a long-term vision for Ukraine’s recovery and European integration, including fulfilling the requirements of Chapters 27 (“Environment and Climate”) and 15 (“Energy”) of the European Union (EU) acquis.
Bringing Ukrainian civil society and German partners together provided a valuable platform for exchanging perspectives, discussing current priorities, and strengthening cooperation on Ukraine’s green and resilient recovery.
On August 20, German Federal Minister Carsten Schneider, Parliamentary State Secretary Sören Bartol and Joost Möhlmann, Head of Reconstruction, Energy, Infrastructure and Environment Section, EU Del visited the energy-efficient Sykhiv district in Lviv. They were welcomed by Lviv Vice-Mayor Andriy Moskalenko, Tetiana Afanasieva, property Manager for Multi-Apartment Buildings, Energy Efficiency Project Support Manager, and Yehor Fareniuk, head of the Energy Efficiency Fund of Ukraine. The delegation inspected a renovated multi-apartment building that had undergone comprehensive thermal modernization, including insulation of the walls and roof and upgrades to its engineering systems. Following its participation in the Enerhodim and GreenDIM programs, the homeowners’ association reduced the building’s energy consumption by around 70%.
The visit also highlighted the important role of the Energy Efficiency Fund (EEF) in advancing the thermal modernization and reconstruction of Ukraine’s multi-apartment buildings. The EU and Germany have contributed EUR 80 million and EUR 20 million, respectively, to the Multi-Donor Trust Fund supporting the EEF. Through its established review and verification procedures, the Fund ensures the transparent and accountable use of donor contributions while providing homeowners’ associations with reliable financial and implementation support. The International Climate Initiative of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) funds several IKI projects, which enable the scaling of such high-quality refurbishment projects in Lviv and other cities all over Ukraine.
