The European Parliament has called on Ukraine not to build wind turbines in the highlands of the Carpathians
The European Parliament adopted a resolution expressing concern over the construction of wind farms in the high-altitude regions of the Carpathians. In particular, MEPs drew attention to plans to install 30 wind turbines on the Runa mountain pasture.
The resolution emphasizes that wind energy is a safer and more sustainable alternative to fossil fuels, but its development should not come at the expense of nature conservation areas.
“**The European Parliament expresses concern over the development of wind farms in the high-altitude nature conservation areas of the Carpathian Mountains in western Ukraine, in particular the planned installation of 30 wind turbines on the Runa Plateau; emphasizes that wind energy is a safer and more sustainable alternative to fossil fuels, and calls on Ukraine to realize its significant potential for wind energy development outside protected areas; emphasizes that renewable energy production and nature conservation in Ukraine should not be mutually exclusive, as there are other areas already designated for energy infrastructure development that do not contain unique natural habitats or virgin forests and have existing access roads,” the resolution states.
Iryna Fedoriv, head of the “Holka” civic initiative, emphasized that environmentalists, journalists, and conservation organizations have been opposing the construction of wind turbines in the Carpathian highlands for over a year, raising this issue with the Verkhovna Rada and the Cabinet of Ministers.
“**Of course, during wartime the country needs wind turbines, but not in the highlands. This destroys the mountains: to raise the blades to the peaks, forests must be cut down to build roads. A petition to the president by veteran and biologist Andriy Tupikov, demanding the immediate development of legislation to protect the Carpathians, has gathered over 26,000 signatures. But the minister in charge, Oleksiy Sobolev, didn’t even find the time to meet with the petition’s author. What’s more, the government has given the green light for construction on Mount Runa. At the parliamentary level, however, we managed to block an attempt by representatives of the Opposition Platform—For Life party to push through a legislative initiative. They fell one vote short. “We have entered the names of every member of parliament who voted ‘in favor’ into the tool ‘You Can Recharge the Country.’ Ukrainians need to know who is advocating for the destruction of the Carpathians,” Fedoriv stated.
According to the civic initiative, representatives of nearly all parliamentary factions and deputy groups voted in favor of allowing the construction of wind farms in the Carpathians, with the exception of “Holos” and “European Solidarity.”
The document was adopted on July 8 following the European Commission’s progress report on Ukraine’s progress toward the 2025 enlargement package, according to the civic initiative “Holka.”
According to a study by Imperial College London, in the first three months of this year, one-third of the country’s electricity came from wind power plants.
