INVESTMENT SUPPORT FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVITIES IN UKRAINE

Abstract

The article deals with the current trends and problems of investment support for environmental activities in Ukraine. The concept of "investment support for environmental activities" is defined as a set of investment resources needed to implement environmental protection measures aimed at conservation, improvement and efficient use of natural resources potential. The features of environmental investment are ascertained. They include: attracting a large number of environmental managers; direct connectivity with natural processes, orientation not only to restoration of natural environment, but also to prevention of negative human impact on nature; systemic implementation in time and space; visibility, transparency, distinctness, clarity of goals. The immediate objective of environmental investment is not making profits. The result of this type of investment is the production of public good that cannot be appropriated by a single individual and that will be used by all members of society. Within the major areas of environmental activities we single out the main types of environmental investment: resource-saving, resource-reproducing, environment-protecting, natureconserving. The state of investment in environmental activities in Ukraine during 2000-2011is analyzed. In the process of this analysis the upward trend of both the total expenditures of business entities on environmental protection (except for 2009), and capital investment and operating costs has been discovered. It was noted that a very high share of operating costs on environmental protection (68-81% of total costs during 2000-2010, 65.1% in 2011) and a very low percentage of capital investment (within 19-32%; 34.9% in 2011) are still witnessed in Ukraine. At the same time 74.9% of fixed assets in Ukraine have finished their service life-cycle and need replacing. Expenditures on the operation and maintenance of the environmental facilities of such level of deterioration are significant, but their efficiency is low. It has been emphasized that a significant share in the structure of capital investment and operating costs on environmental protection in Ukraine responds to purification of wastewaters, waste anagement and air and climate protection. The main source of investment in the environmental protection and efficient environmental management is own funds of the enterprises. The share of public funds in the structure of sources of financing environmental activities is insignificant, unstable, fluctuating, thus, demonstrating periodic alternation of growth and contraction. The conducted study shows that compared to the potential need in the investment in environmental activities, the available investment resources are small in amount and are used inefficiently. The main reasons for the insufficient investment support for environmental activities are systematized in the article. Regional peculiarities of attracting investment in the area of environmental activities are clarified by the authors. The research of investment inflows into Ukrainian regions shows a significant deviation from uniform distribution, indicating the concentration of capital investment in a limited number of regions. The highest expenditures on environmental protection (in absolute indices) during 2009-2011 were immanent to such oblasts as: Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Lugansk. The most dangerous industrial facilities polluting the environment are situated in these oblasts. On the contrary, the lowest expenditures were observed in Ternopil, Transcarpathian and Chernivtsi oblasts. The growth rates of investment at the regional level are also studied in the paper. Hereby, it is underlined that Kiyv oblast underwent significant changes during the studied period. Investment has been increased also in other regions: the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the City of Kyiv and Kharkiv oblast. However, the decreasing growth rates of capital investment and operating costs during the study period were witnessed in Ternopil, Khmelnytsky, Luhansk oblasts.It was found out that capital investment in the protection and efficient use of natural resources from the state budget is allocated to the regions unevenly as well. The ways to accelerate investment in environmental activities in Ukraine, which include: improvement of environmental and investment legislation, particularly in the areas of taxes, credit and pricing policies; identification and implementation of measures aimed at resolving priority environmental issues; creation of a favorable investment climate; use of the system of economic incentives, namely: providing tax discounts for the sales of eco facilities, benefits given for accelerated depreciation of purifying equipment, subsidies, soft loans for environmental equipment, etc.; ensuring of transparency of formation and use of funds for environmental protection measures and, in particular, of targeted ecological purposes are identified by the authors.