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New Carbon Finance Project at Ukraine Landfill
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Lugansk, Ukraine, June 2009-Methane burns near coal mine shafts and the air stinks at the Alexsandrovsk Landfill in one of Ukraine’s largest industrial regions. The toxic site is one of many environmental hot spots in Ukraine that are a deterrent to economic and social progress. In response, a bank and a private firm have signed an agreement to work with local government and the United Nations Development Programme to address the issues at the landfill in Lugansk. Video: Lugansk Landfill Ready for Change The self-burning methane—or marsh gas—at the site are the residue of past coal mining. With Ukraine already among the top 30 CO2 emitters globally, the Alexsandrovsk Landfill emits tonnes of methane. More locally, the emissions create dirty, smelly and unhealthy air for nearby residents. To change that, the Lugansk Regional State Administration, Fortis Bank, Nadra Luganshchyny Ltd. and the UNDP will work together to develop a facility to secure the toxic fumes and offset the carbon. The agreement launches a new project, ‘Lugansk Landfill Gas Recovery,’ at Aleksandrovsk. The new facility will use modern waste management systems to capture 600 cubic meters of biogas, half of which is pure methane. The gas is then to be incinerated at the site. As part of the process, the incineration will also be used to generate electricity for local use, reducing individuals’ use of fossil fuels. Crucially, the captured gas is also to be burned in a contained space, rather than open areas. Doing so will keep the unpleasant smell of burning methane from spreading into nearby towns and villages. Ultimately, the project plans to capture 120,000-140,000 tonnes of CO2 by 2012, helping to reduce Ukraine’s contributions to climate change. Nadra Luganshchyny will implement the project and Fortis Bank (PNB Paribas Group) will purchase the carbon credits. The carbon finance facility project also is the first Kyoto Protocol initiative in Ukraine and the second in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet republics, the Commonwealth of Independent States. Such carbon capturing facilities are also a key part of Millennium Development Goals, UNDP benchmarks for reducing poverty by 2015. Beyond Ukraine, the project also aims to be a model for countries with similar environmental issues. In the long-term, Ukraine’s vast reserves of methane could also move from a being a negative to positive for the country. According to Oleksandr Antipov, governor of the Lugansk Region, the fuel could be tapped in the future to help Ukraine meet its energy needs. Such a programme would also ease the economic burden on Ukraine as it currently pays high prices to import fuel—a situation Antipov calls absurd. Ukraine’s annual consumption amounts to 66 bn cubic metres of gas, Antipov says, with 4.6 bn consumed in Lugansk Region alone. At the same time, Antipov says coal bed methane resources are vast in Lugansk Region. According to expert assessments, the coal bed methane resources exceed 8 trn cubic metres. “It is a huge reserve and it will take us many years to do something with this,” he said, while noting financing and technology will need to be in place to help Ukraine take advantage of its gas reserves. In the meantime, the new project at Alesandrovsk represents progress and a breath of fresh of air for Ukraine. “This agreement is the first in Ukraine and second in Eastern Europe and the CIS,” Jens Wandel, Deputy Director and Regional Centre Director for the UNDP in Europe and CIS, said. “We are very happy to congratulate our Ukrainian colleagues on signing this ecologically, socially and economically important agreement.”
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