Solidarity in Wartime: EU-Ukraine Green Transition Cooperation

Environmental issues and energy cooperation have been a constant presence in the EU and Ukraine cooperation since the early 1990s. With the adoption of the European Green Deal (EGD), Ukraine has made it a priority to align its policies in the EGD relevant policy fields with the EU, often going beyond what is required in its Association Agreement or as part of the ongoing accession process. The Russian full-scale invasion did not bring energy transition cooperation with the EU to a halt. On the contrary, it has given it a new impetus. Green energy transition is widely discussed as one of the pillars of Ukraine’s reconstruction and recovery as well as of its Europeanisation. Renewable energy features prominently in these initiatives, both region-wide and on the level of municipalities, driven by the shared strategic objective of building a green and decentralized energy system that is resilient and aligned with the EU. This paper evaluates these more recent policy initiatives, with a particular focus on the renewable energy, by analyzing key policy texts (by the EU, the European financial bodies such as the EIB, by some EU member state ministries and by the Ukrainian government) as well as grey literature (civil society and media reports). Theoretically, it builds upon the literature on energy democracy and environmental justice as well as on the critiques of extractivism and energy dispossession. By putting the normative aspects of energy transition cooperation to the fore, it contributes to the workshop theme of international solidarity and explores how solidarity is constructed and practiced through the EU-Ukraine green transition cooperation.