Abandoning coal will give Ukraine three times more jobs in renewable energy

Ksenia Omelchenko

Closing coal enterprises will cause the loss of 56 thousand jobs by 2030. Instead, 161,000 jobs could be created in the renewable energy sector (RES).

These are the results of the study, "Economic consequences of the gradual abandonment of coal use in Ukraine until 2030," conducted by the Aurora Energy Research analytical center with the support of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Bureau Kyiv – Ukraine.

According to the so-called "transition scenario," which shows the optimal way to gradually replace coal with renewable energy, Ukraine will create 161.3 thousand new jobs in the RES sector, 45,000 permanent ones, and 116,000 temporary ones.

In addition, the study shows that over the next 10 years:

• maintaining mines at the expense of taxpayers is 427 million euros more expensive than closing mines, paying compensation, and retraining employees;
• the transition from coal to renewable energy can give 50% higher tax revenues to the budget of Ukraine;
• the energy transition will help attract investment, which will lead to an overall increase in GDP by 15%;
• Ukraine's energy sector can generate 50% less CO2 emissions from refusing to produce coal-based electricity.

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