Ukraine

June 2013 Ukraine Delegation to U.S. Host: Cleveland Council on World Affairs

September 2013

U.S. Delegation to Kiev & Rivne Ukraine.

Program Director, Melissa Prager, and CSE Energy Consultant, Professor John Perkins led a delegation of five U.S. experts including Kari Matsko of POGCO to Ukraine to share with NGO and local government leaders the U.S. experience with environmental and health impacts of hydraulic fracturing and examples of alternatives. Both Ukraine and U.S. participants showed examples of successful solar installations.

Ukraine, and the rest of Europe, looks to the U.S. as the only example of a developed fracking industry and hears little of the opposition. Because of its desire to become energy independent from Russia, the Ukrainian government closed a deal with major oil and gas companies to pursue fracking contracts. While there we heard from Kharkiv residents who expressed grave concerns about being ground zero for high volume horizontal fracking which recently commenced by Shell.

Along with the disappointing decision to pursue fracking in Ukraine, the fight for democracy and justice can be seen today, in the turmoil in the streets. Public health systems are very weak, and without that, environmental and health impacts will not be tracked as fracking moves forward.