With the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome just months away, leading voices from the European Commission, Ukrainian government, civil society and the renewable energy sector came together yesterday for a public dialogue hosted by Ukrainian climate campaign group Razom We Stand, focused on how the Ukraine Facility’s Pillar II can be mobilised to accelerate Ukraine’s green energy recovery.

The webinar, titled “Making Pillar II Work: Public Dialogue on Financing Renewables through the Ukraine Facility,” covered the necessity for international financial institutions to prioritise renewable energy solutions in Ukraine as part of a broader reconstruction strategy centred on long-term energy security and sustainability. Despite clear support for rebuilding Ukraine with a focus on prosperity and energy security through clean energy, much of the international funding still lags behind when it comes to real, on-the-ground renewable energy development.  

The event, hosted online with the support of the European Climate Foundation (ECF), attracted participants from across Europe and Ukraine.

Maxim Bevz, Team Lead on Renewable Energy Campaigns and Green Rebuilding of Ukraine at Razom We Stand, opened the session by stating:

“From 2024 to 2027, the Ukraine Facility focuses on supporting micro financial stability and delivering public services that enable sustainable recovery, reconstruction, and modernisation. Structured around three strategic pillars — budget support, investment de-risking, and program implementation — it aims to mobilise private capital, especially for small businesses. Today’s webinar highlights Pillar II, which plays a central role in activating the private sector for recovery. Our new report provides insights on making this Facility truly effective.”

The event covered the launch of a new brief from Razom We Stand assessing existing Renewable Energy Systems (RES) investment under the Ukraine Facility and International Financial Institutions (IFs) programs. It outlined actionable policy steps to better align Pillar II funding with Ukraine’s climate and energy goals.

Speakers:

• Oksana Khliupina, Head of Corporate Finance at KNESS, said: “Unfortunately there is not enough publicly available information. In our article, we provided as much as we can find in the market and found that the financial deployment on the pillar two initiative will only begin in 2025, and lacks a clear timeline schedule. What are the next steps and and what should we expect from this? We definitely need to work on preparing companies, small or medium sized, for the deployment of pillar two and for preparing projects and companies to meet the demands of the IFs.”
  
• Charles-Antoine De Crombrugghe, Policy Officer at the European Commission (DG ENEST), stated: “The objectives are really about crowding in investments by European and Ukrainian companies, as well as Ukrainian public authorities. We’re speaking about more than 500 billion EUR worth of needs for the reconstruction and, as far as the destruction is still ongoing, the needs are still tantamount. The investment areas are multifold: it’s about energy, access to finance, human capital, transport, agri-food and critical raw materials. Ukraine’s solar and wind industry can really be the shining beacon of Europe on the green transition.”
  
• Oleksandra Betliy, Researcher at the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting, said:
  “Ukraine has approved plans to implement reforms, and help Ukraine have a stronger economy. What is already good is that this money from the second pillar works for both Ukrainian and international joint ventures with European companies, which can enjoy financing guarantees for working and investing in Ukraine.” 

In summary, event participants called for these key points:

• Transparent tracking of all Pillar II energy allocations
• Clear prioritisation of decentralised renewable energy projects
• Public engagement mechanisms in investment decision-making

And an urgent shift away from fossil fuel-based infrastructure