Japan demands that funds allocated to Ukraine under the Kyoto Protocol be returned, Ukrainian Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Andriy Mokhnyk said. "The agreement itself stipulates $800 million but no funds were moved in three months. Thus, Japan has already announced its issues and readiness to break off the agreement and to stop cooperation," Mokhnyk said.
According to the Kyoto Protocol provision, Ukraine will be obliged to return all funds it has received, Mokhnyk said. “So the Ministry of Ecology [and Natural Resources] has drafted several changed to the resolutions No. 1404 and 444, which could unblock and continue these activities,” he said.
It has been reported that in the framework of the Kyoto Protocol Ukraine sold Japan quotas on greenhouse emissions. The two countries signed the agreement in March 2009 and an annex to it was signed in September 2013. The changes stipulate extending the period of using funds while implementing major projects.
Ukraine and Japan have agreed upon over 500 projects, which will be carried out with the funds received from selling Japan units of cutting emissions in the framework of the obligations under the Kyoto Protocol. The total cost of these projects is estimated at Hr 3.8 billion and over Hr 0.5 billion were sent on financing them.
The Kyoto Protocol was passed in Kyoto (Japan) on December 12, 1997. It stipulated the order and principles of joint implementations of obligations to cut greenhouse emissions by concluding special agreements between the parties of the protocol. The document came into effect on February 16, 2005.
