Ukraine wants to introduce new rules for sustainable investments: Ministry of Economy presents draft law

The Ministry of Economy and Environment of Ukraine has presented a draft Law “On Taxonomy of Sustainable Economic Activities and Sustainable Investments”. The document is intended to introduce uniform rules for assessing investment projects according to environmental sustainability criteria and bring Ukrainian legislation closer to European Union standards.

The presentation of the draft law took place on July 17 with the participation of representatives of business, specialized associations, the financial sector, experts and the public.

What the draft law provides

The document introduces a unified system for classifying types of economic activities according to environmental sustainability criteria.

It is expected that this will allow the state, banks, investors and businesses to use the same approaches to assessing investment projects, and will also make the financial market more transparent.

A separate goal of the draft law is to combat so-called “greenwashing” – cases when companies position their activities as environmentally safe or sustainable without sufficient grounds.

Why is this needed?

The Ministry of Economy emphasizes that Ukraine’s post-war recovery will require significant investments in the development of energy, industry, transport and infrastructure.

According to Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine Oleksandr Krasnolutsky, it is necessary to create an investment project assessment system compatible with European standards now.

“This will create clear rules for investors and help attract financing for sustainable development projects,” he noted.

Who worked on the document

The draft law was prepared by the Ministry of Economy and Environment of Ukraine together with the Ministry of Finance, the National Bank of Ukraine, the National Securities and Stock Market Commission, the Green Transition Office and international partners.

The department expects that the adoption of the law will contribute to attracting sustainable investments for the reconstruction of Ukraine and accelerate the country’s integration into the internal market of the European Union.