Roundtable: Renewable Energy and District Heating

In the field of WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) in Ukraine, the need to restore access remains critical, and the gap between available and required funding continues to widen. According to RDNA4, approximately US$ 0.7 billion in damages occurred between December 2023 and December 2024, bringing the total to US$ 6.4 billion since February 2022. This underscores the urgent need for increased attention and stronger support to the WASH sector, as well as the importance of upholding the fundamental human right to safe water and the provision of relevant critical services. These needs in water, sanitation, and district heating are caused by the constant damage inflicted on critical infrastructure by widespread Russian attacks and active combat operations in the east and south, as well as ongoing infrastructure degradation; combined with the limited capacities of local authorities and actors to rehabilitate WASH stations and infrastructure. An estimated 8.5 million people are in urgent need of WASH assistance, particularly access to safe water and relevant services.

The widespread damage to Ukraine's energy infrastructure in the first half of 2024 resulted in the loss of 30-49% of the country’s total energy generation capacity. This includes Combined Heat and Power (CHP) stations, which caused significant losses in both electricity and district heating for affected communities. These heating and electricity shortages disrupted the functionality of vital social institutions, such as hospitals, schools, IDP collective/transitional centers, elderly care facilities, as well as public infrastructure like water and sewage stations, interfering with access to public services. Additionally, the impact severely affected the residential conditions of the affected populations, potentially leading to further displacement, as it is impossible for households to survive without both services during harsh winter conditions.

This event focused on two interrelated topics regarding WASH services:

• Renewable energy as a backup and sustainable solution for ensuring the continuity of life-saving WASH services in emergency settings.
• District heating as an essential WASH service at both the communal and institutional levels.

Through this Round Table which was conducted around the 4th European Humanitarian Forum (Brussels, 19-20 May 2025) People in Need (PIN) aimed at following up on the events dedicated to ensuring proper and sustainable WASH services in Ukraine in the context of the armed conflict, conducted in Kyiv on 29 January 2024 and in Brussels on 17 April 2024 under the Project ACCESS funded by the European Union; to facilitate the identification and prioritisation of the needs and challenges in ensuring access to sustainable WASH services in Ukraine; to discuss and commit to concrete steps in overcoming these challenges; in addition to promote collective advocacy for more consorted and focused efforts aimed at ensuring the fundamental right to safe water in the war-affected people in Ukraine.

Organizers: People in Need (PIN) WASH Cluster in Ukraine