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Ukrainian draft regulation on industrial emissions and BAT

18.06.2021

In Ukraine, bills are being considered that bring environmental regulation closer to the practices used in the European Union. Thus, the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Ecopolitics and Environmental Management is working on draft law No. 4167 «On the Prevention, Reduction and Control of Pollution Resulting from Industrial Activities.» People’s Deputies note that the bill does not take into account the opinion of business and some already existing regulatory documents.

For example, the norms of Articles 18 and 31 on integrated permits, the procedure for obtaining and refusing to obtain them clearly contradict the Law of Ukraine «On the licensing system in economic activity». Experts note that some provisions of the draft law have vague wording, and so they can be interpreted in different ways. In Ukrainian reality, this means that the document poses high corruption risks.

This bill requires enterprises to implement the best available technologies and management practices (BAT) in four years and carry out eco-modernization at a cost of at least $10 billion. European companies took decades to do this, and they received billions of dollars in subsidies from EU funds. The enterprises of Ukraine, according to the people’s deputy Magera, will not be financed even by the state due to the lack of money in the budget.

With regard to the application of the best available technologies and methods, this part of the bill, according to industry experts, is written out in a very abstract way. The «gimmick» of the document is the requirement to introduce BAT within four years. For comparison: Poland has spent almost 20 years in transitioning to European industrial regulations.

The profile Committee did not listen to the opinion of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, which considers this draft law a threat to the country’s economic security. After all, failure to comply with the law (and it is impossible to comply with it) can stop the entire national industry in one day.

In accordance with the conclusion of the Main Scientific and Expert Directorate of the Verkhovna Rada, draft law No. 4167 does not adapt the provisions of Directive 2010/75/ EC, on the basis of which it was developed.

The EU authorities are co-financing decarbonization together with private business. For these purposes, the European Union has allocated more than 790 billion euros until 2030, of which 10-11 billion euros are provided for implementing new environmental technologies. In general, the EU plans to invest 312.5 billion euros in grants and 360 billion euros in the form of credit support in the green transformation.

People’s Deputy Magomedov expressed confidence that the implementation of European BAT should be based on the technologies available to Ukrainian companies and equipment that can be produced in Ukraine, not in Europe.

In his opinion, for the first issuance of an integrated emission permit, it is necessary to provide a delay of at least 7 years in order to perform eco-modernization. It is also important that the process of granting such a permit is as transparent as possible. In addition, introduction of online monitoring for newly built installations could be a good addition to the draft law.

«It is a pity when those who are responsible for development and implementation of state environmental policy do not understand its essence and do not know the developed countries’ practice of forming environmental regulations. Stimulating (as opposed to forcing) business to perform environmental transformations is mainstream in the civilized world,» — notes Magomedov.

Source: https://www.minprom.ua/news/270295.html

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