On May 23-24, 2022, the project “U_CAN: Ukraine Towards Carbon Neutrality” was launched at the Technical University of Dresden. The project concept was presented in a warm atmosphere at the university’s Information Center, with the participation of international partners from eight European countries. From the Ukrainian side, eight cities participated: Lviv, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi, Ivano-Frankivsk, Vinnytsia, Kharkiv, and Kherson.
Kyiv was represented by Ukraine’s leading technical university, the National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute.” The project’s implementation at the university, under the leadership of Director of the Institute for Energy Saving and Energy Management (IEE) Oksana Vovk, involves four departments: the Institute for Energy Saving and Energy Management (IEE), the Physical-Technical Institute, the Faculty of Linguistics, and the Institute for Applied System Analysis.
At the kickoff meetings, scientists and partners defined the goals, key sectors, stakeholders whose insights and knowledge should be incorporated into certain decisions, as well as potential technologies and practices for support. They plan to organize training and capacity building sessions. A public platform for the project will be launched shortly after the start to provide updates, progress, and the U_CAN knowledge bank in accordance with open science principles.
The main tasks presented by the IEE include:
- Training and capacity development. This task involves developing a “Climate Neutrality of Cities” guide to share findings from other project work packages. The course will target city officials, planners, master’s students, and relevant stakeholders. The guide will be distributed both offline and online, primarily among network partners in Ukraine, and will be promoted by other Ukrainian partners in their city networks. It will provide a comprehensive understanding and practical application of proposed city climate neutrality methodologies and decision-support tools. The IEE will also develop and conduct a webinar on “Decarbonization of the Energy Sector.”
- Guide “Climate Neutrality of Ukrainian Cities.” This guide will target city officials, planners, master’s students, and relevant stakeholders, focusing on future-oriented methodologies and decision-support tools, ensuring a comprehensive understanding and practical application of achieving climate neutrality in urban areas. Main topics include implementing climate neutrality, stakeholder roles, energy efficiency in urban planning and construction, green solutions for transportation infrastructure, waste management and circular economy, monitoring and evaluating implemented solutions, political and management frameworks, funding climate neutrality projects, and best international practices.
The first kickoff meeting laid the foundation for teamwork and set the stage for realizing ambitious plans. The added value and expected effects of the project are achievable through the involvement of a wide range of higher education students, government officials, and business representatives. It aims to spread European experience in improving the well-being of EU regions among stakeholders to prevent socio-economic and spatial disparities, which is highly relevant for Ukraine during the post-war recovery period.
Together, we are moving closer to the European Union and preparing for fruitful work under a peaceful sky!
https://datashare.tu-dresden.de/s/TQk2ACHPjmY6Zxz
