To form a long-term climate policy on an MEP basis, the city developed the Zaporizhzhia Sustainable Energy Action Plan through 2030 (SEAP). The Action Plan was completed with support of the USAID Project. To reach its objectives for sustainable municipal energy development, Zaporizhzhia uses German municipalities’ experience. For example, the Zaporizhzhia SEAP approved on 25 March 2015 by the City Council was similar to Berlin’s document.

The complex energy efficiency measures included in the SEAP were based on the results of energy audits conducted in major sectors of the municipal infrastructure. The study was conducted by leading experts of Ukraine who, together with the City Executive Committee and communal utilities, have developed several dozen investment proposals.

The main objectives of the Zaporizhzhia SEAP are divided into three directions: energy, financial and climatic. The energy objectives are based on the concept of “From energy import to export”; the financial ones on a concept very popular in Germany – “A city’s money must stay in the city”, and the climatic ones – “Zaporizhzhia is a green city”.

The USAID Project developed the Registry of Investment Projects in order to present to the city management, banking institutions and potential investors the general technical and economic characteristics of these projects. The registry also includes the expected results of implementing each Zaporizhzhia SEAP project.

Reducing СО₂emissions by 20% by the year 2020 is an impossible task for the city, so the process of reaching the sustainable energy development goal for Zaporizhzhia has been   divided into three periods: through 2020 – reduction of СО₂ emissions by 6% of the baseline (2012) year; through 2030 – by 30%; through 2050 – by 50% of the baseline year.

Implementing the SEAP measures in full before 2030 will reduce CO₂ emissions by 880.5 th. t/year or over 28.25% of the baseline year and reduce annual energy resource consumption by 299,750 th. m³ of natural gas and 345,700 MWh.