On May 23, the Verkhovna Rada supported five ‘environmental bills,’ which indeed remained unnoticed because of ‘language quotas’ and other issues. However, the result is more important that the reaction, Ukrainian MP Oleksandr Feldman notes. “So, I can only thank the other members of the parliament who supported the bills.”
The initiatives adopted by the Parliament (some of them were adopted in the first reading) are aimed at the development of ‘green tourism,’ the protection of the Carpathian forests, and the radioactive waste management. The special attention should be paid to the Law “On Strategic Environmental Assessment,” which is the first step towards the economy of sustainable development.
Many people underestimate the meaning of environmental issues, because they are the medium-term problems. For example, not so long ago, I’ve read on one of Kharkiv’s websites the news about the detention by the police of a previously convicted man who illegally cut down the trees. I was interested by the headline: “‘A killer of the forest’ destroyed trees in Kharkiv region costing UAH 70,000.” There is only one nuance: any similar estimated amount of damage is understated because it takes only the short-term effect into account.
For example, it is possible to assess the damage from the continuous cutting down of trees in the Carpathians as tens and hundreds of thousands or even millions hryvnias. However, after the felling caused constant floods, which led to deaths of people, the understanding of the damage has changed. When huge sums are allocated from the budget every year to flood relief, the understanding of real size of the problem appears.
It is difficult to assess the damage in specific sums, when the matter is in human lives. According to the information of the World Health Organization, Ukraine is the country with the highest death rate from air pollution (120 deaths per 100,000 population). According to the statistics, every ninth death in the world is connected with air pollution, including in premises. The scientists proved the connection between the pollution and the cardiovascular and oncological diseases. Kharkiv residents living near the Kharkiv coke plant encounter this problem as well, because air pollution increases the risk of various diseases.
The developed countries understand the strategic meaning of environmental policy. Switzerland has recently held a ‘green referendum,’ at which the majority supported the transition from the traditional sources of energy (coal, gas) to eco-friendly ones (for example, solar and wind energy). Abu Dhabi plans the installation of solar panels on the roofs of all buildings. Norway became the first country to completely forbid felling of forests, and launched the construction of the world’s largest wind farm.
The humanity cannot support own existence at the expense of the next generations. Therefore, it will either switch to the ‘green economy’ or have no future. I always knew that sooner or later Ukraine would come to understanding of this simple truth. With cautious optimism it is possible to state that the environmental policy finally appears in Ukraine, however, there is a very long way of economic and, which is more important, mental transformations ahead
