April 12, 2018. Representatives of the delegation of Iran Urban Economics Scientific Association (IUESA) paid a visit to the Department of Regional Studies and Tourism KNEU.

During the joint meeting the ways of further scientific cooperation in the direction of urban policy, green economy, regional studies were discussed. The Head of the delegation Seyed Mohsen Tabatabaei Mozdabadi, Ph.D. in Educational Administration (Allameh Tabatabaei University, Tehran, Iran) presented his vision regarding the current trends and prospects of the green economy and sustainable development in the world and particularly in Ukraine, focused on the significant role of the Association agreement between EU and Ukraine for the modernization of the Ukrainian economy, and emphasized also the importance to expand close relations with Islamic Republic of Iran in mutual implementing the concept of sustainable development and the introduction of green technologies.

Seyed Mohsen Tabatabaei Mozdabadi 

Ph.D. in Educational Administration,

 Allameh Tabatabaei University, Tehran, Iran

Green Economy In Ukraine: Challenges And Opportunities

Global forecasts indicate that by 2030, global energy demand will increase by 45%, and the global oil price will reach $ 180 per barrel.The greenhouse emissions will increase by 45%, which will be 5 times higher than the Earth’s absorption of these gases, and the average global temperature will increase by 6 degrees, environmental degradation and annual water shortages will cost $ 70 billion to biota and about a billion people live with less than $ 1 a day in the world (Bushehri,2012). With this evidence, the global economy should be reconsidered. The traditional and old patterns of economics seem to have left enough damaging effects and an international flow to transition to the green economy should be applied. In this context, there is a common misconception that we cannot both maintain economic development and maintain environmental sustainability.There is a theoretical basis that if natural resource management practices consider preserving and sustaining these resources, it will hit the economy and reduce job opportunities.However, experimental data suggests something else and does not endorse this theory. Research and studies by economists and ecologists show that environmental policies and efforts to maintain environmental sustainability have not prevented economic development. In addition, there is a lot of evidence that economic development will be followed by environmental health.It goes without saying that it should be treated with caution. Are global powers that are responsible for all environmental destructive effects really wanting to solve the problem? Do they want to take action to stop and brake the destructive process of development or want to promote neoliberal developmental patterns with other colors and promote globalized neoliberalism? (Lander, 2011).

The Green Economy was first launched in October 2008 as a systematic United Nations response, in collaboration with international agencies and the United Nations Environment Program, to address the economic crisis and to help governments and other decision-makers re-formulate policies, investments and public spending. It was founded on the part of the environmentalists (Export group Meeting, 2011).In June 2012, twenty years after the summit, the United Nations held the Sustainable Development Conference Rio + 20 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In short, the focus of the conference was that the green economy is the basis of sustainable development and poverty reduction.The green economy is a system of economic activities related to the distribution of goods and services, which leads to the improvement of the well-being of human being in long-term and at the same time it does not expose future generations to environmental dangers.This economic pattern, called "low carbon economy", "green growth", "green jobs", "circular" or "cyclical" economies, and environmental economics, and the ecological economy, is becoming an urgent necessity.

Green economy, as international custodians and partners say, is a unique path to global development. They propose that an annual percentage of global GDP be invested in green economy. On a global scale, $ 630 billion in renewable energy investments, such as wind energy, solar energy and bioenergy, will create 20 million new jobs by 2030.According to this economic perspective, investments in the integrated management of water resources, organic farming, transport and energy, water management plans and flood control, forests, cities, tourism, etc. should be increased.It should be noted that green economy is not just a clean energy generation but also includes all the processes of reprocessing, and all the mechanisms that produce lower-energy products. These products can be from fluorescent bubble lamps to organic food. Another point about the green economy is that it depends on the local and regional conditions that require different approaches and follow different patterns.With this interpretation, the transition to a green economy and the financing of an environment-based economy has become a necessity today. According to the International Energy Agency, by 2030, an investment of $ 550 billion is needed annually, if we are to reduce current greenhouse gases by half as much as now, and about 50% of this investment should be spent in developing countries.A promising point is that the private sector invested $ 150 billion in clean energy technologies in 2008, which was motivated by the post-crisis financial crisis, but in order to achieve better results, investment should reach $ 600 billion by 2020.In the area of environmental finance, banks can also be active. In this context, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) outlines areas of cooperation, particularly on carbon financing and carbon credits, through the innovative mechanisms for banks, in order to realize the Millennium Development Goals. One of the measures in this regard is the efforts of the Belgian Bank Fortis (FORTIS) to provide environmental credit and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.FORTIS, known as the Carbon Bank, as the leading advisor in this field, offers a wide range of financial services to both companies and organizations through shares or through debt (UNDP, 2009). With these interpretations, various countries today have developed comprehensive plans for the transition to a green economy in the form of long-term plans. This is done on urban and regional scale. Similarly, Ukraine has taken important steps, but it still has a long way to go.

Ukraine has 48 million inhabitants and 603 thousand square kilometers of land in Eastern Europe with $ 113 billion of GDP, of which 53 percent industry, 13 percent agriculture, 31 percent services and 3 percent construction.Less than 2 percent of the country’s population is below the poverty line, with a living income of $ 1.9 a day, 70 percent of the population is urban, urban population growth is zero, and the country’s unemployment rate was 9 percent in 2016.It ranked first in iron ore mining, second in coal mining, and third in electricity generation in Europe. The country has a fertile soil for agriculture, one of the best-performing soils in the world, and is generally one of the richest countries in the Eurasian region. However, according to the World Bank, the country’s economy is based on low-value, crude oil exports and its per capita income is about $ 8,000.Depreciation of assets and reliance on obsolete technologies, especially in mines and materials, will increase energy consumption and resource consumption, and consumes 1.5 times the European average. The combination of these with the Crimean crisis and its issues led to a 10% decline in GDP in 2015, followed by environmental problems.As the ecological footprint is 2.8 hectares per person and in the Environmental Performance Index this year is 109th among 180 countries.This has paved the way for the 2015 Sustainable Development Strategy for Ukraine 2020 and moves forward with ambitious goals toward economic reform with a focus on preserving and promoting the environment.This action plan takes into account Ukraine’s consideration of EU programs and the transition of Ukraine’s economy to the green economy in areas such as improving energy performance, energy market reforms, reviewing subsidies, improving housing services, developing renewable energies, creating favorable conditions for small businesses, urban development, renovation of the environmental policy reform, etc.

Conclusion and Suggestions

The macroeconomic reform in Ukraine is a necessity today, and it undoubtedly has the power to become a modern and leading economy in Eastern Europe. The country has lost opportunities in 1991 and 2004, and despite the recent crisis and the Crimea, there are still signs of great hope.The economy of Ukraine in 2016, according to the World Bank, has grown at a 2.3 percent growth rate, although showing signs of passing crisis, but this growth is still below the global average, and thus a barrier to macroeconomic programs. Inflation has fallen, dropping from a terrible figure of 43% to 12%, since 2015, and the increasing trend of poverty has been reduced and controlled.The reserves of the National Bank of Ukraine from $ 4.6 billion in 2015 reached $ 13.3 billion in 2016. Nevertheless, the budget deficit and financial pressures on the government are still high and reliance on extraction and sale of coal are among other constraints.However, it seems that Ukraine’s economy should rely on its strengths to modernize and move to the green economy. As it was said, the country is rich in mineral resources and holds 5 percent of the world’s mineral resources. Ukraine has the first place in terms of reserves of non-metallic minerals in Europe and the world. In agriculture, it enjoys 25% of the world’s black earth (Chernozyom), one of the most important exporters of cereals, and it has a high potential in the field of car manufacturing and exports of machines. However, it is suggested that Ukrainian authorities should follow new paths to overcome the current situation and achieve sustainable and green economy. Technological modernization, adherence to important political economic treaties, such as the euro, and the expansion of communications and economic relations with countries such as the Islamic Republic of Iran, which have high potential can be influential and constructive.

References

Bushehri, Fareed (2012) GREEN ECONOMY IN THE ARAB REGION TEEB Capacity-building Workshop for MENA Region, BEIRUT, LEBANON

Lander, Edgardo (2011) The Green Economy: the Wolf in Sheep’s clothing

OECD (2016) Report on Green Transformation in Ukraine

 V I M O N T, P I E R R E(2016) UKRAINE’S INDISPENSABLE ECONOMIC REFORMS

World Bank (2017) Ukraine Economic Update ---

Yele center, Yale university (2017) Global metrics for the environment: Ranking country performance on high-priority environmental issues