Mitigating environmental impact of energy activities challenging, yet creates new opportunities, say OSCE meeting participants in Kyiv

KYIV, 16 April 2013 – Ways to strengthen co-operation on new, renewable and cleaner energy sources, and promoting green growth, innovation and technology transfer are key topics of discussion between officials and experts from 57 OSCE participating States at a high-level meeting in Kyiv today.

“Environmental footprint of energy-related activities, renewable sources of energy, energy savings and energy efficiency were chosen by the Ukrainian Chairmanship in 2013 as topics that would unite all the participating States in an open discussion of the challenges and opportunities faced by the OSCE in the economic and environmental field,” said the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara in his opening address.

“Making our energy-related footprint more sustainable will be a challenge – quite possibly, the main problem for our generation to resolve,” he added. “The good news is that the solutions to this challenge hold the potential for green job creation, innovation in our economies, and ‘green growth’. “

To untap the potential, Kozhara said, stable investment climate, predictable regulatory regime, adopting national legislation, encouraging good corporate governance, as well as public private partnerships are necessary.

Halil Yurdakul Yigitgüden, the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, spoke about “potentially critical security and stability implications” of energy production and use.

“The OSCE can provide a platform for dialogue for the exchange of best practices and information on renewable energy,” said Yigitgüden, stressing the importance of stronger involvement of civil society and the private sector in this debate.

“Making use of its political character, OSCE can provide support to its participating States with regard to relevant international and regional legal instruments, conventions and protocols, and facilitate the implementation by participating States of existing mechanisms aiming at preventing negative impact of energy-related activities on the environment.”

The meeting is part of the 21st OSCE Economic and Environmental Forum. The results of this meeting will complement the conclusions of the 1st Preparatory Meeting, organized last February in Vienna, and pave the way to the Concluding Meeting of the Forum, to take place in Prague on 11-13 September 2013.