Stakeholders met in Vilnius on Tuesday to discuss life after the war.
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00:00 Despite the war still raging on, the EU and Ukrainian government are starting preparations
00:07 for the postwar reconstruction of the embattled country, with the aim of rebuilding it better
00:12 and greener once the fighting is over.
00:15 The European Commission, Ukrainian government and businesses all gathered in Vilnius on
00:20 Tuesday to discuss the necessary preparations, saying that once the war ends, reconstruction
00:25 plans must already be in place.
00:29 The war started by Russia has had devastating effects on nature in the country, for example
00:34 the destruction of the Kharkov water dam, which resulted in the worst human-made ecocide
00:39 since the Chernobyl nuclear plant incident in 1987.
00:45 We have a unique opportunity to build back better and greener.
00:49 So when we talk about cities that were destroyed, we talk about the sustainable planning of
00:55 those cities, integrating the most recent knowledge.
01:02 I'm very pleased to see so many architects across Europe who are actually devoting their
01:08 time.
01:09 When we talk about public buildings which massively were destroyed, hospitals, schools,
01:15 kindergartens, they all will have to be energy efficient.
01:20 They all will have to be powered with renewable energy.
01:24 Ukraine currently has the most landmines in any European country and around 34 animal
01:28 species have disappeared due to the fighting.
01:32 The country`s forests have also suffered serious losses.
01:36 But the biggest challenge is not only restoring nature, but also to have a climate neutral
01:40 economy after the war finishes.
01:43 For this Ukraine needs to transform its energy network, rebuild public and residential buildings
01:48 in an energy efficient way.
01:50 The reconstruction of the country is a tempting opportunity for many European countries who
01:54 have already signaled their interest.
01:57 Representatives of the building industry as well as water and waste management companies
02:01 also took part in the discussions in Vilnius.
02:04 We are not talking about just about international support like directly support to restore something.
02:11 No, we are talking about some investments.
02:15 And first of all, we need to cooperation with investors to build new facilities, to build
02:21 new technologies, to build new maybe industries, but using best available technologies in a
02:29 European way, like in European legislation signed.
02:33 According to the European Commission, the reconstruction of Ukraine will have a massive
02:36 cost and Russia must pay for it.
02:41 The challenge will be to convince the six million Ukrainians currently living in Europe
02:45 to move home and contribute to the rebuilding efforts.
02:49 Thank you.
02:50 (car engine revving)
02:54 (whooshing)