Dubai’s Hilshaw Group awarded contract for Ukraine’s Climate Change Mitigation Roadmap

Dubai-based Hilshaw Group and Kyiv's Tech & Change Management Consultancy ‘Green – Z’ have initiated the process to mitigate the effects of climate change on Ukraine’s $18.6 billion agriculture sector.

The companies inked a contract whereby Hilshaw Group will conduct an impact study as the first phase of the process.

Ukraine is home to 41.5 million hectares of agricultural land, which covers 70 per cent of the country's total land bank. Agriculture is the country’s most significant export and helped generate nine per cent of its GDP In 2019.

Data from earlier this year suggests last year as the hottest in Kyiv. With the reality of climate change becoming impossible to ignore globally, Ukraine’s supremacy and dependency on the agricultural sector increase its exposure to the negative impacts of Climate Change. The changes are not limited to Kyiv. The resulting scarcity of rain resulted in the loss of 570,000 hectares of winter crops due to prolonged droughts and unusually intense spring frosts and additional losses of 200,000 hectares of corn and lower crop yield.

Lack of rainfall is one of many negative aftermaths of climate change in Ukraine, and a new range of practices and technologies need to be employed to address these inevitabilities.

The impact study and resulting mitigation roadmap that Hilshaw Group has been commissioned to execute, would help evaluate the plan, methodology and the way forward, while justifying the cost vs benefits of each proposition and possibility. Hilshaw Group’s submission qualified against three European organisations.

Hilshaw Group primarily invests in low supply and finite assets and opportunities. The company has allocated $175 million towards UAE real estate, specifically towards the facilitation of the Remote Work Visa program to help mitigate the global post pandemic work culture. The group has also been appointed as the exclusive advisor and financial consultant for the $7 billion ‘Athi River Green Smart City’ in Nairobi, Kenya.

"Besides being a business, we are passionate Ukrainians who believe in the progress of local brands and businesses as part of the Nation's progress. To be able to assist the country's nine per cent GDP contributor would be an absolute honour. We are overwhelmed to have partnered with qualified professionals like Hilshaw Group to help navigate this mission to success," said Zavgorodnii Dmytro, CEO, Green Z Consultants.

“Our alignment with Hilshaw Group is not limited to the Impact Study alone, but extends to the implementation of the mitigation strategies and plan as well,” he added.

"It is an absolute honour to be appointed to assist with a project that is perhaps one of the most significant concerns of economic and national interest to Ukraine. While the surface strategies to negotiate through the changing weather seem apparent, an in-depth understanding of future concerns alongside a robust, self-contained investment strategy is needed to mitigate effects and achieve the required long-term benefits through practice change and technology. In addition to cloud seeding, domiciled reservoirs, and networked irrigation, the impact study will reveal a complete roadmap not just to preserve but increase the agricultural sector's contribution to the country's GDP,” said Lal Bhatia, chairman, Hilshaw Group.

Ukraine was responsible for 57 million tonnes of grain export to international markets in 2019/20, which amounted to 16 per cent of global grain exports. The impact study is aimed towards preserving and increasing these records.

business@khaleejtimes.com