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OSTAP SEMERAK
Co-founder
Mr. Ostap Semerak is a Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine, 2016-2019, and a Member of Ukrainian Parliament, 2007-2012, 2014-2019, with 20 years of experience in government and policymaking.
During his service as a Minister, Mr. Semerak led Ukraine's Paris Climate Agreement ratification and drafted necessary regulations for renewable market development. He has implemented the Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for the Community's action in the fileld of water policy. Ostap has also advocated for adoption of the Bill on environmental impact assessment, which introduced European model of the procedure in accordance with the requirements of the Directive 2011/92/EC.
In 2018, Ostap has approved the 2050 Low Carbon Development Strategy, making Ukraine one of the first nine countries to do that worldwide.
In 2017-2019, together with Connie Hedegaard, former EU Commissioner for Climate Action, Ostap co-chaired the Climate Action Group, where shared Ukraine’s energy efficiency and transition targets. Thanks to Mr. Semerak’s efforts, Ukraine could fulfil international commitments under the EU Association Agreement, the Energy Community Treaty, and the UNECE environmental agreements; we also joined IRENA and entered top 20 counties with the highest Climate Change Performance Index.
Ostap Semerak has always been an ideologist of reintegrating the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in order to create a powerful renewable energy production park in Ukraine. His goal is to turn the large abandoned territory into the most innovative technological and scientific site in the world that will definitely become a promising element of Ukraine's future green economy. Two solar power plants successfully operate in the zone already, and more renewable capacities will be installed soon.
Mr. Semerak had obtained B.A. in Physics from Ivan Franko Lviv National University and an M.A. in Politics from National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.