When Ukraine restores its territorial integrity and guarantees reliable peace, it will become a source of new global development, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday, speaking via video link at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum conference, Interfax reports.
“Ukraine is capable of replacing fossil fuels from Russia with ‘clean’ energy. We have huge potential in low-carbon energy. Ukraine is capable of becoming a key partner of the European Union for decarbonization,” Zelenskyy said.
He added that Ukraine “will become one of the main suppliers of ‘green’ hydrogen and ‘green’ electricity in the EU. Ukraine’s climatic conditions, free areas, solar energy, and wind energy make it possible to produce ‘green’ electricity at a very competitive cost. Only in three years before the Russian invasion, we built seven gigawatts of renewable energy. The potential is many times greater.”
“Plus, Ukraine can produce tens of millions of tons of green and cheap ammonia. Plus the strongest positions in bioenergy. Plus powerful nuclear power and energy infrastructure integrated with the energy network of the European Union,” he added.
Acknowledging the large losses of Ukraine’s energy sector as a result of missile strikes, Zelensky noted that “this only means that the recovery will be large-scale. I invite your countries and companies to already assess the prospects and join our recovery.”
He thanked Andrew Forrest for the decision of one of the largest Australian private investment groups, which undertook to invest the first $500 million specifically in the initiative for the “green” growth of Ukraine within the framework of the creation of the $25 billion Fund.
Zelensky noted that “the modern economy needs lithium, graphite and other rare earth metals,” and “for some of these resources, we have the largest reserves in Europe.”
“These are already colossal opportunities. Plus production and transport opportunities, plus our potential in mechanical engineering, our work culture and access to the world’s leading markets – this is the basis for the economic growth that everyone so desperately needs,” he said.
