Governing Climate in Wartime: Mapping Subnational Green Skills for Ukraine’s Recovery and EU Accession

Research on the climate–conflict nexus has largely focused on contexts marked by low industrialisation, weak institutions, and chronic underdevelopment, examining how climate-related risks undermine peacebuilding and heighten conflict recurrence (IPCC, 2014; Koubi, 2019). Ukraine represents a markedly different case: it is a highly industrialised state requiring urgent decarbonisation while simultaneously defending its statehood in a full-scale war, negotiating EU accession, and planning post-war reconstruction. Unlike existing studies, Ukraine’s recovery and integration into the EU demand not only policy reform and technological innovation but also the adoption and implementation of international and EU climate norms. This places significant pressure on public authorities—particularly at the subnational level—to develop the skills necessary to implement and enforce climate and environmental policies. Green skills are increasingly recognised as essential for enabling green transition and sustainable rebuilding. These skills support decarbonisation, renewable energy expansion, and the implementation of the EU environmental and climate acquis. We adopt a definition of green skills as the knowledge, abilities, values, and attitudes required for a resource-efficient and sustainable society, and propose an analytical framework distinguishing between epistemological (awareness and knowledge), operational (implementation), and transformational (policymaking) skills. We map subnational green skills, identify gaps, and analyse the factors shaping them in wartime. The project highlights priority areas for capacity-building essential to Ukraine’s green recovery and EU integration.