Ukraine receives two Fossil of the Day Anti-awards in Copenhagen

Ukraine was awarded this most dubious honour over its dismal climate targets and refusal to disclose how money received from selling emissions credits was being used

Fossil Awards Day 2: World’s Shame Rains on Ukraine

The world’s shame rained on Ukraine today as the Eastern European nation was singled out for not just one but two Fossils dishonours. Ukraine swept first place for having the single worst climate target in the world then collected third prize for refusing to tell anyone how it is using its money from selling emissions credits. Second place, for their shameful oil and gas subsidies, went to an association of industrialized non-EU countries known as the Umbrella Group.

FIRST PLACE: UKRAINE
Ukraine wins first place for having the single worst carbon emissions reduction target in the world: a -20% reduction from 1990 levels… which means a 75% increase from current levels. The semi-technical term for this sort of “reduction”–note the quotation marks–is hot air. It’s this hot air that was sold to Japan; it’s this kind of hot air that is boiling the climate; and it’s this kind of hot air that will keep Ukraine and other dedicated emitter in the Fossil rankings until they see the light.

SECOND PLACE: THE UMBRELLA GROUP (Industrialized non-EU countries: Canada, Iceland, Japan, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Norway, Russian Federation, Ukraine, United States and Australia)
A fossil for the Umbrella Group for proposing in this morning’s SBSTA plenary that carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects should qualify as CDM projects. The brollies have gotten used to subsidizing the coal and oil industries in their own countries–but do they really have to subsidize the same dirty companies in developing countries too? The CDM should be reserved for projects that move developing countries towards actual clean energy solutions. Umbrella Group, good luck capturing and sequestering your Fossil Award!

THIRD PLACE: UKRAINE
Ukraine wins third–and its second Fossil of the Day… of the day!–for refusing to tell anyone how it is using its money from selling emissions credits. Ukraine has sold Japan €300 million worth of emissions permissions. It’s required by its own treaty obligations to explain where that money is going. But when Ukraine’s NGOs asked, their government refused to answer. The transparency fight is now in court–but perhaps the shaming power of the Fossil Awards will bring Ukraine’s government to relent.