Ukraine and Climate Change
This paper is devoted to Ukraine and its climate. Area of the country is 603 549 square kilometers (Central Intelligence Agency). It has land borders with Russia, Belarus, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Rumunia and Moldova. Also the country has maritime borders with Georgia, Bulgaria and other countries. Thus, one can say, that Ukraine is a quite big country with more than forty million people. The main ethnic group is Ukrainians and their main religion is Orthodoxy (Central Intelligence Agency). It should be noted that the population of the country is decreased gradually. The main reasons of it are war in the Eastern Ukraine, the unstable economic situation, huge inflation, ecological problems and low living standards in general.
Ukraine is located in the favorable climatic zone: temperate climate that is characterized by sufficient rainfall and long warm period. Ukraine differs by fertile soils with high humus content. Agriculture plays an important role in the economy of the country. It is also a huge part of the country’s export. The government provides subsidies and lower taxes for those, who open new companies in agriculture. At the same time, there is no clear formed farm industry in Ukraine. A lot of people are in poverty in the villages.
Ukraine has all conditions for the highly profitable agricultural industry. The traditional occupation of Ukrainian nation was аn agriculture. It has always been an important part of Ukrainians’ life, their traditions and culture. The high involvement in agriculture has positive aspects as well as drawbacks. For example, high-plowed areas causes a lot of erosion processes. Many animals and plants were on the verge of extinction (Spence). In this case, the most important environmental risks are desertification, increasing in the average annual temperature, decline rainfall and flooding of vast areas in Odessa and Kherson regions (Central Intelligence Agency). Another great risk is linked to the ecological problems as a result of war in the Eastern Ukraine.
The population has decreased in the villages. A lot of people move to the cities. It can increase atmospheric emissions and environmental burden in general. Climate change can significantly impact on the agriculture of Ukraine: forest area and forest steppe will decline, the hermitage will cover larger areas, processes of weathering will blow away the fertile layer of the earth.
Nowadays, government of the country does not be involved in climate change mitigation properly. At the same time, Ukraine is an active participant of all major international conventions and protocols in the context of climate changes (including, Kyoto protocol and others). One of the main goals of Ukrainian government if reducing GHG emissions (Riddel). For example, at the UN International Conference on Climate in Paris the President of Ukraine said that in 2030 the level of GHG in Ukraine will not exceed 60% of the 1990 level. In this case, it is necessary to carry out reconstruction of destroyed businesses, infrastructure, railways, oil and gas pipelines, water supply, as well as social facilities.
The most important activity that government must conduct is an intensification of agriculture. There are following results which are expected as a result of those activities: arable land reduction, two and more harvests from one area, breeding of new more productive types of wheat and other agricultural crops. Investments in climate change mitigation can save current level of agriculture or even increase it. Anyway, Ukrainian government must pay more attention to current climate and ecological problems of the country.
If I was a leader of Ukraine, I would actively participate in climate change mitigation. Firstly, I review taxes on cars and so-called luxury objects (for example, huge houses, bikes, private yachts and planes). Secondarily, it needs to replace almost all equipment that is used in agriculture. Thirdly, it needs to urge the rural population do not move from villages, develop own business in farm industry with some lower taxes and subsidies.
Works Cited
Central Intelligence Agency,. “The World Factbook. Ukraine. Geography. ”. Cia.gov. N.p., 2016. Web. 11 Mar. 2016.
Central Intelligence Agency,. “The World Factbook. Ukraine. People and Society.”. Cia.gov. N.p., 2016. Web. 11 Mar. 2016.
Riddel, Mary. "How Do Long-Shot Outcomes Affect Preferences For Climate-Change Mitigation?". Southern Economic Journal 80.3 (2014): 752-771. Web.
Spence, Samara. "Three Structural Changes For A New System Of International Climate Change Mitigation Agreements Based On The WTO Model". Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law 44.5 (2011): n. pag. Print.
