Project Environment and Outlook within the Scope of Technologically Integrated European Green Deal in EU and Ukraine

Abstract

Issues of environmental security, fuel and energy independence have been forming political and economic territories for several centuries. Current events in Ukraine have become a litmus test, which clearly highlights the dangers of resource monopolies and the transfer of economic benefits. The issue of ensuring the energy system in climate neutrality became relevant even before the aggression by Russia. However, today, there is no country, it has not recognized that there is the urgent need to develop and implement effective tools for economic development in a sustainable environment. The modern cost-oriented model of knowledge of economic processes has led not only to the irrational use of natural potential. Large-scale use of natural resources and the irrational organization of production (including agricultural) disrupt the process of their reproduction, which, in turn, leads to the depletion of bioresources and, as a consequence, can lead humanity to ecological catastrophe. Certain solutions have been proposed to address these issues. To ensure the efficient use of the resources of the agricultural sector and the reliable reflection of biological processes, it is proposed to recognize the biological form of capital as self-growing and self-reproducing value, which, in the process of biological transformation, allows obtaining an additional unit of benefits. The study examines, in detail, the promising areas of the transformation of the agricultural sector in the framework of a technologically integrated European Green Deal in the EU. In this study, to determine the potential opportunities for the ecological transformation of agriculture, discrete analytical models of the assessment of the agro-industrial complex of Ukraine were used. Representative data use statistical indicators of Ukraine and, to illustrate potential opportunities, present a comparison of export data to EU countries. In addition, it reveals the realized and potential opportunities of Ukraine’s entry into the European market through the prism of the implementation programs of EU environmental policy. The place and significance of assimilation potential for a reduction in the anthropogenic impact on the environment, and providing the self-restoration of natural resources, are substantiated. It is determined that one of the most effective tools for low-cost reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions is the national-level implementation of environmental-quota trade and the development of organic production. The study includes an analytical assessment of the expected emission reductions from environmental initiatives’ implementation. Prospects for further research are the development of an effective mechanism for the systematic management of the biological potential reproduction of the agricultural sector while reducing anthropogenic impact on the environment.

1. Introduction

For three decades, the world community has been actively developing and implementing an effective mechanism for managing economic processes, which will increase economic potential while minimizing the use of natural resources, ensuring their reproduction while reducing the anthropogenic impact on the environment. Mankind has already reached the critical level of resource potential use, which not only depletes biota but certainly leads to an ecological catastrophe. Under today’s conditions, the implementation of measures for the rational use of resources is not enough; active global solutions are needed to reduce emissions and provide conditions for the reproduction of natural capital. In this context, the European Union has adopted the government’s program “The European Green Deal”, aimed at transforming the EU into a prosperous society with a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy. The main message of the program is the refusal of net greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050 and ensuring economic growth with the minimal use of resources [1,2,3,4,5].

The importance of accelerating a reduction in industrial emissions to achieve the EU’s climate targets by 2050 and fulfilling the commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement is also supported by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, although she notes the high ambition of this strategy [6]. Supporting this position, we want to emphasize that these are not just ambitious environmental plans, for each country they should become a roadmap for strategic development. The Green Course is designed primarily to protect, preserve and increase natural capital, as well as to protect the health and well-being of citizens from environmental risks and impacts [7,8,9].

At the same time, we must not forget the global nature of the economic system, cyclical development and dependence on external conditions. For the third year in a row, the world economy has been paralyzed by a pandemic, which is confirmed by the negative dynamics of the macroeconomic indicators of all countries (falling GDP, reduction in trade, declining real wages with increasing unemployment and inflation). Under such conditions, the implementation of strategic plans not only for sustainable development but also for the economy as a whole, is crucial. This was supported by the President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde, who noted that the new restrictions related to the pandemic, which are currently being introduced in European countries, add uncertainty for all market participants [10,11,12,13].

The purpose of our study is to substantiate the place and importance of the transformation of economic processes in the agricultural sector to reduce anthropogenic impact and ensure the rational use of bioresource potential. The resolution of the defined purpose of the study will be in the context of the following areas: substantiation of the importance of collaborative development of Ukraine and the EU; the importance of the agricultural sector for increasing domestic competitive advantages in European markets and in the implementation of environmental initiatives to reduce anthropogenic impact; and determining the Ukrainian prospects in the framework of the European Green Deal implementation based on the assessment of the expected results from the implementation of certain environmental initiatives.

2. Materials and Methods

The study aims to provide an analysis of Ukrainian agricultural capacity for the EU Green Deal program, and to identify the indicators that are significant for sustainable development in agriculture. The study is based on a dialectical approach to the essence of the green economy and reproductive processes in agriculture. Achieving the objectives is based on a systematic study of the program–target approach. The substantiation of the principles of the transformation of economic processes in accordance with the strategy of the EU Green Deal is based on the use of the widespread statistical and economic-analytical methods of multicriteria research.

The comparative advantages of adopting green development in Ukraine were assessed using analytical tools. To reinforce the justification of the importance of the implementation of the proposed provisions of the European Green Deal, the study performed analytical comparisons (Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3, Figure 4, Figure 5, Figure 6, Figure 7 and Figure 8). To study and identify the links between the studied indicators, in order to model the prospects for sustainable development of the domestic economy, the method of the economic and mathematical evaluation of proportional relationships was used.

There are a lot of opportunities for making farming greener, especially because of climate change, which is inevitable. The EU Green Deal program will help Ukrainian farmers transfer from intensive agriculture practices to more sustainable methods, by providing compensation for financial loses to farmers.

3. Results

3.1. Ecological Transformation and Ukrainian Potential Opportunities

In the modern conditions of ecological lifestyles, due to climate change and declining natural resources, the question of increasing the ecological, socio-economic efficiency of human activity is becoming more acute. The management process involves the widespread use of natural resources, but, due to irrational exploitation, the process of their reproduction is disrupted, which, in turn, leads to depletion of resources and a negative impact on the environment. Until recently, it was believed that the amount of natural capital is unlimited, which led to the levelling or formal determination of prices in proportion to the amount of investment. The environmental state nowadays augurs well the depletion of natural potential, which is not only a limiting economic factor but also requires radical changes in economic conditions to prevent environmental catastrophe. Therefore, understanding the meaning and effects of the biosphere for the existence of mankind actualized the concept of sustainable development. Today, a wide variety of new economic tools, techniques and methods of managing processes within the limited provision of natural resources have been developed. At the end of 2019, the European Commission adopted a government program to transform the European Union into a carbon-neutral continent, the European Green Deal.

The program envisages transformational changes in nine areas: climate; energy; industrial strategy for the circular economy; constant and reasonable mobility; green agricultural policy; biodiversity preserving; zero pollution; financial instruments; and the European Union as a global leader. This is essentially a roadmap for the socio-economic development of the European Union, which means that Ukraine, to maintain and increase its competitive advantages, must, accordingly, synchronize its strategic guidelines.

Today, climate change and green transformations have become a matter of national security for Ukraine and part of Euro–Atlantic integration. This requires not only the development of implementation programs for environmental policy but also justifies the need for legislation collaboration between the European Union and Ukraine. In addition, changes in technical regulations, production standards, climatic norms, environmental rules and conditions of access to the European market should be focused on the effective practical implementation of the new socio-ecological-economic paradigm of management. As Ukraine is part of the European continent and an active participant in trade relations with the EU (Figure 1), this obliges it to join the “Green Course” of Europe.

3.2. The Agricultural Sector as a Key Tool for Environmental Adaptation

An example of the interaction of nature and humans is the process of agricultural production, which combines natural resources, labor, biological resources (living resources, objects and results of work) and traces the anthropogenic impact on the environment along with measures to eliminate it. Under the terms of Ukraine’s accession to the WTO, the agricultural sector should ensure food, energy and environmental security (Figure 2), which puts forward new requirements for providing users with reliable, comprehensive and on-time information that would ensure the effective management of rational resources used with maximum benefits (social, environmental and economic).

The priorities of the European Green Deal are not only to reduce the anthropogenic impact on the environment and save natural resources but also to use the existing dynamic potential of humanity. This actualizes the problems of the theoretical modelling of the economy taking into account environmental constraints. In addition, production processes must take into account the laws of the systemic integrity of natural systems, to ensure the stability of functional metabolic mechanisms in biocenoses and the biosphere as a whole. Failure to take into account the value of natural capital causes inactivity and the inability of the system to solve the socio-ecological and economic problems of society [21].

3.3. Reorientation of Understanding the Economic Essence of Economic Operations

Capital is the dominant concern of an economic system, which reflects the level and priorities of society at a certain evolutionary stage. Failure to take into account the laws of the ecological, socio-economic equilibrium of the economic system leads to the extensive growth of the economy, the depleting use of natural resources at the expense of future generations and the underestimation of the importance of human potential. To ensure highly productive rates of economic growth, it is important to study trends in the formation and use of enterprise capital as the foundation of management (Figure 3). V.V. Balitska argues that capital in the ideology of market reform should act as naturally dominant in economic policy [22].

An important sector of Ukraine’s economy is agriculture, which provides up to 15% of GDP, up to 23% of employment and up to 11% of tax revenues. However, at the same time, agriculture ranks third in terms of emissions among the main sectors of Ukraine’s economy. Over the last decade, our country has developed and implemented many significant steps (including at the legislative level) to green production processes and, as a result, Ukraine is already among the world leaders in reducing greenhouse-gas emissions compared to 1990. The results of predictive modelling by the experts of the Center for Economic Recovery confirm the positive results from the implementation of certain environmental initiatives of agriculture that affect on the greenhouse-gas emissions [3,4,5,9,16,17]. Thus, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine reports a 50% reduction in CO₂ emissions from agriculture comparing 1990 to 2019 (Figure 4).

The agricultural sector plays a key role in Ukraine’s economy, providing 9–14% of GDP, 18–22% of employment and 6–9% of tax revenues. However, the agricultural sector also plays a leading role in the world economy, in particular, Ukraine is one of the leaders in the production and export of many types of agricultural and food products in the world (the share of exports in 2020 was about 40%). This emphasizes that growth in the agricultural sector is the key to the development of Ukraine’s economy, the formation of a positive foreign trade balance and the stabilization of the foreign exchange market. The share decreases in state budget expenditures to support the development of agriculture are explained by the increase in the output of agriculture (

Table 1. The share of state budget expenditures to support agricultural development in the volume of agricultural production during 2014–2020.

Indicator	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
Volume of output in agriculture, EUR billion	23.20	21.77	24.07	26.21	29.95	32.42	32.47
State budget expenditures to support the development of agro-industrial complex, EUR billion	0.15	0.08	0.07	0.20	0.15	0.23	0.25
The share of state budget expenditures to support the development of agriculture in the volume of output in agriculture, %	0.7	0.4	0.3	0.8	0.5	0.7	0.5

).

The results of the invasion of the Russian Federation and the importance of the development of the agricultural sector were felt today not only by Ukrainians, but also by everyone on our planet. It is also quite clear that the restoration and capacity building of the agro-industrial complex is possible only under the conditions of the technological transformation of the sector on the basis of the greening of production processes.

The European Green Deal for Ukraine opens new prospects for cooperation with developed countries, provides opportunities for economic development and strengthens its position in international relations. This can be achieved by increasing the net benefit from economic activity by saving energy and resources. One of the strategies of the European Green Deal, “From farm to fork”, involves transformational changes in the agricultural sector, from the beginning of production to the final consumer. The agricultural sector, combining the effects of economic and natural laws, is unique. Its key objects are living plants and animals, as well as the processes of their biological transformation. Therefore, disregard for biological laws in the general economic system is the root cause of the decline in this industry and, as a consequence, the unbalanced development of society.

Thus, Ukraine’s implementation of the postulates of the Green Deal’s European policy justifies the need for the modern recognition of the biological form of capital, which not only generates economic benefits and ensures the efficiency of biota reproduction processes, but also ultimately guarantees sustainable economic development.

The agricultural sector, combining the effects of economic and natural laws, is unique; its key objects are living plants and animals, as well as the processes of their biological transformation. Therefore, disregard for biological laws in the general economic system is the root cause of the decline in this sector of the economy and, as a consequence, the unbalanced development of society. This justifies the need for the modern recognition of the biological form of capital, which not only generates economic benefits and ensures the efficiency of reproductive processes of biota, but also, ultimately, ensures the sustainable development of the economic system. To date, the implementation of these functions is entrusted to biological assets. However, it should be noted that, despite the joint purpose of assets and capital in terms of ability to create economic benefits, we cannot ignore the definition of a hallmark of biological capital—the ability to recover [23,24,25,26,27].

Assets are characterized by direct ownership and control of the entity, the ability to benefit from its future use, and the ability to determine its value. Those assets that have the ability to biologically transform and, as a result, can create their own kind, and create agricultural products or other economic benefits, are biological assets. When an asset acquires the ability to produce and accumulate economic or other benefits, it becomes capital, which is not only an independent factor of production, but also able to create additional value (self-reproduction). In addition, only that part of capital that has the ability to self-renew acquires a biological (living) form [23,24,25,26,27].

Biological capital is a self-increasing and self-renewing value, which, as a result of (in the course of) biological transformations, provides an opportunity to obtain an additional unit of economic, social and/or environmental benefits. The biological capital of the agro-industrial enterprise includes agricultural land, live animals and plants (biological assets), manufactured products and assimilation potential, which reflects the ability to self-reproduce [23,24,25,26,27]. Belonging to the assimilation potential is due to a disregard for the anthropogenic impact of human activities on the environment and the depletion of natural capital, which led not only to the threat of environmental catastrophe and reduced food security, but also the decline in the economy as a whole.

The assimilation potential of an agricultural enterprise is the ability of biological resources involved in economic circulation (land plots, biological assets and agricultural products) to eliminate harmful effects from various sources of pollution, ensuring their self-recovery. Sources of pollution can be harmful substances introduced into the soil, non-compliance with crop rotations, use of heavy machinery that destroys the soil structure, and irrational use of resources, an imbalance of foraging, animal and plant diseases, and more. However, it should be noted that the potential of agricultural enterprises differs due to differences in geographical location, natural and climatic conditions, and the level of the availability of biological resources and opportunities for their continuous quality improvement [23,24,25,26,27,28].

3.4. Adaptive Reorientation of the Agricultural Sector as a Tool against Degradation Processes

Giving priority to market management mechanisms has led to the exhaustive use of biological potential and the decline in certain sectors of agriculture (Figure 5 and Figure 6) due to their low level of adaptability (long production cycle, high capital intensity, significant payback period). Under such conditions, we observe resource-oriented economic processes, without proper capitalization, necessary to ensure the rational self-reproduction of biological capital.

The decline in agriculture, the leading sector of our economy, is unacceptable and requires immediate rehabilitation measures because it is the sector that provides society with the necessary food, as well as solving various social (it provides jobs and reduces poverty) and environmental problems (it requires the optimal use of land resources and reduction in anthropogenic impact).

In modern agriculture, the following braking processes should be noted: low competitiveness, underdeveloped infrastructure, poor cooperation and coordination between buyers and suppliers, dependence on the general economic and political development of the country, weak government support, etc. One of the key factors in climate change and environmental degradation is food systems. Therefore, the production, processing, retail, packaging and transportation of food products make a major contribution to greenhouse-gas emissions; air, soil and water pollution; and have a significant impact on biodiversity. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic emphasized the importance of a reliable and sustainable food system that operates under all circumstances [29,30].

From 2021, Ukraine actively implemented European standards for the monitoring, verification and reporting of greenhouse-gas emissions, and launched a quota-trading system. It is emissions trading that can be an effective and transparent tool for Ukraine to achieve low-cost reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions. Due to the implementation of this investment tool, the private sector mobilizes, investments are attracted and international cooperation intensified. Ukraine has several models of selling environmental certificates, forecast estimates of which confirm the effectiveness of this tool for the development of the agricultural sector as a whole, as well as direct and sustainable financial benefits and opportunities for farmers. In addition, today’s carbon market is promising globally, which means that prices will rise significantly [11,16,28].

However, it should be noted that the reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions in Ukraine is caused primarily by reduced production, falling incomes, lack of a stable investment climate, instability of public policy and loss of markets. In reality, the domestic economy is quite energy-intensive, so, considering the sale of environmental certificates as a leading investment tool, you should understand the algorithm for its implementation.

3.5. Priority Tools for Low-Carbon Agriculture

The basis of the European Green Deal scheme is not just an unconditional reduction in emissions, it is about ensuring economic growth with the most rational use of available resources with the predominance of environmental integrity (Figure 7). Ukrainian farmers need to think about how to implement and upgrade production processes, reduce emissions, increase financial stability, competitiveness (including in the European market) and open access to new financing instruments. The key in this direction is the introduction of environmentally friendly resource-saving technologies, such as no-till systems or organic production.

The European Green Deal project provides an opportunity to simultaneously promote climate protection, food security and income security, as well as make agriculture suitable for combating climate change. It is appropriate to consider the farm-to-fork strategy as an opportunity for farmers to use new business models, which should actively contribute to the goal of creating a zero-carbon Europe by the middle of the century. Another argument in favor of the urgent need for the transformation of agriculture is increasing droughts, floods, forest fires; the emergence of new pests; and the associated crop failure [30].

The new strategy, “From farm to fork”, is aimed at promoting a closed-loop economy based on biological solutions for energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources; reducing the use of chemical pesticides and antimicrobials; ensuring farmers have access to a range of quality plant varieties adapted to the pressures of climate change; promoting sustainable food processing; reducing food losses and waste; promoting sustainable food consumption; and making the best use of EU space technology to support precision farming and domestic food security EU in case of agricultural crises [25,26,29].

Noting the importance of transformational changes and the transition to a low-carbon economy, Kristalina Georgieva notes that we need to accelerate the transition to low-carbon management mechanisms. Reducing greenhouse-gas emissions by eliminating fossil fuels, increasing energy efficiency, switching to renewable energy sources, and improving land use and farming methods is probably the only way to prevent an environmental catastrophe [31]. Today, its closeness is felt by the whole world at all levels, and, most importantly, we have the constant, irreversible destructive impact on people.

Sources of funding, including activities of agricultural enterprises, are essential for the process of reproduction management. The shortage of financial resources provokes disruptions in production at each stage of reproduction, due to its peculiarities. Understanding this, the EU Green Deal also provides fiscal incentives and financial assistance to EU countries that have unequal “starting” positions in the transition to environmentally friendly and economical technologies [6,13].

Revealing the prospects for the use of green certificates as an investment tool, consider a comparative assessment of the expected agronomic and economic benefits of agricultural producers from the introduction of modern environmental production technologies (

Table 2. Comparative assessment of the benefits of using ecological production technologies by Ukrainian farmers.

Machinery	€/ha	Ha/Std	Std/ha	CO2/Gr/m2
Normal tillage
	25	1.5	0.6	60
Plow	60	0.8	1.25	81
Harrow	37	1.2	0.8	27
Seeder	30	3	0.3	6
Rolling/weeding	9	4	0.25
Result	161	х	3.2	174
Minimal tillage
Cultivator	25	2	0.5	168 g/m2 CO2 remain. This corresponds to 1.68 tons of CO2 per ha/year, which generates income for the farmer through certificates on the stock exchange (now 50.00 EUR/ha)
Harrow	37	2	0.5
Seeder	30	3	0.3
Rolling/weeding	9	4	0.3
Spray	14	7.5	0.13
Result	115	х	1.73
Direct sowing
Spray	14	7.5	0.13	-
Seeder	30	3	0.3	6
Rolling/weeding	9	4	0.25	-
Result	53	х	0.68	6

).

Thus, direct sowing brings agronomic and economic benefits to farmers, in particular, we have 70% cost savings and 80% time savings—compared to the conventional system and 55% and 60% savings, respectively—compared to the minimum. In addition, there would be more humus in the ground and the opportunity to obtain environmental revenues from the introduction of advanced resource-saving CO₂ technologies.

Another key tool in the implementation of the European Green Deal for Ukraine may be organic production (Figure 8). According to the monitoring of the Ministry of Economy in 2020, it was established that, in 2019, the total area of organic land amounted to 468 thousand hectares (1.1% of the total area of agricultural land in Ukraine), which is 20% more than in 2018. At the same time, there were 617 operators of the organic market; 470 of them were agricultural producers.

The organic market in Ukraine is developing dynamically, which is facilitated by the territory, geographical location, proximity to potential international buyers and fertile chernozems. Domestic organic products are bought mainly by EU countries, so in 2020 Ukraine ranked 4th out of 124 countries in terms of imported organic products to the EU. In 2020, 2.79 million tons of organic agri-food products were imported into the EU, 7.8% of which were Ukrainian (217.2 thousand tons).

The largest consumers of domestic organic products are the Netherlands, the USA, Germany, Lithuania, Austria, Great Britain, Poland, Canada, Italy, Switzerland. Ukrainian producers also export to Australia and some Asian countries, including China, Vietnam, India and Japan. The main export products are cereals, oilseeds, honey, eggs, vegetables and fruits. Sunflower meal, flour, sunflower oil, sunflower meal, apple concentrate and birch sap are also exported.

Analytical assessment of the formation of efficiency of organic farming products in terms of the agronomic, technological, biological, energy and economic factors of its formation confirms the high potential of organic production in ensuring the reproduction (including conditions for self-reproduction) of bioresource potential and implementation of the strategy “From farm to fork”. The development of the organic sector is particularly important and promising for farmers, consumers and the state as a whole, especially in the context of the implementation of the project, food security, healthy eating and environmental protection [32,33]. An important prerequisite for the further development of the domestic organic sector is the formation of a national legal framework harmonized with European legislation and effective public policy.

3.6. New Management Areas

The practical implementation of these environmentally friendly resource-saving initiatives to reduce emissions requires a reorientation of economic conditions, which is caused by the strategy of the green development of modern society. This requires a change not only in technological characteristics but also in the general mechanism for managing the activities of agricultural enterprises. The systematic impact of the economic conditions in agriculture, anthropogenic changes in nature and constantly changing economic conditions make new demands on the information support of the management process, which, today, does not properly reflect the social and environmental aspects of economic activity.

The ecological transformation of economic conditions, due to European-Green-Deal adoption, causes their complete reorientation, aimed at ensuring food security, the development of active markets for diversified agricultural products, the rational use of biological resources and more. In addition, external and internal factors influencing the development of socio-economic processes are changing, increasing the impact of conditions of uncertainty and instability. Under such conditions, the issues of the informatization of production processes are becoming increasingly important, when the possession of timely, relevant and reliable information is a guarantee of progress.

Effective management of the formation and use of biological capital is possible under the conditions of creating appropriate information and an analytical environment, which determines the qualitative criteria for reproduction at different levels of management. Both the appropriate level of information support and analytical data processing are not only the key functions of the management process and guarantee the interaction of the industry reproduction processes but also provide a predictable perspective. Modern economic conditions make dynamic demands on the information–analytical management system, as a prerequisite not only for the effective formation and use of biological capital but also its self-reproduction, taking into account socio-environmental and economic–institutional factors.

The priority of the modern management of the reproductive processes of agriculture is to meet the information needs of users of different time levels of management. At the same time, the information base should be flexible and easily accessible, with the possibility of long-term use and mandatory analytical thinking. For this purpose, it is necessary to form information flows and the scheme of their methodical processing and realization, takin into account not only the current tasks of the reproduction management of biological capital but also coverage of the strategic purposes of enterprise activity. Thus, the main task of reproduction management is the transition from unstructured and qualitatively unbalanced data flows (databases) to the formation of a matrix-type information system based on indicative content, which allows making effective management decisions.

4. Discussion

Research [21,23,31,34] provides grounds to argue about the relevance of environmental management. We have enough research to determine the significance of the outlined issues, assessment of threats and probabilistic consequences in terms of individual industries and countries [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20]. In addition, many specialized programs for sustainable development have already been developed and implemented today. However, there are still some gaps that hinder the full implementation of key strategies for environmentally friendly human existence. First of all, in our opinion, it is necessary to change the key benchmark, because today the research of the green economy is based on the principles of expected benefits, i.e., the key hypotheses are that we obtain financial growth. This approach is a-priori erroneous because, first, the participants are different both in their resource capabilities and in the level of readiness for absolute recognition (implementation) of the bio-priority and the size of the received expectations. Developers of targeted programs for sustainable development (including the Green Deal), understand the urgent need for the transformational reorientation of economic processes and rely on the holistic implementation of each participant’s tasks. However, in practice, we often see that the possibility of maximizing financial results can offset environmental and social expectations. That is why we believe that all measures to ensure the sustainable development of society (including the Green Deal) should be adapted to the real opportunities (social, environmental and economic) of each country and region in its composition. The implementation mechanism should be based on the principle of “goal–contribution–result”, i.e., first we have a goal (defined, for example, by the Green Deal), then each participant in economic relations (from individual to entity) determines the amount of its contribution to achieve the goals, and, as a result, developers assessing the importance of participants’ contributions for the most effective achievement of goals can mark them (for example, using fiscal tools). That is, we propose a change in priorities, not only encouraging the support of sustainable development strategy, but forming an environmentally conscious community, which, due to the dual participation of economic relations, ensures the rational use of natural resource potential while progressing humanity.

It is quite understandable and important to implement the mission of the European Green Deal, which stimulates the development of Member-State economies, and transforms modern climate and environmental threats into opportunities in all areas. It is a progressive strategic tool for the rational use of natural resource potential, while ensuring improvement in human health and quality of life. There are a lot of discussions on the implementation of this course not only in Ukraine, as it has a significant impact on trade and economic cooperation with the EU, but also in European business society. Some note the ambition of the strategy, others emphasize the urgency of practical action. Understanding the importance and prospects for Ukraine, we cannot discuss its unpreparedness for full acceptance, which is primarily due to funding problems. There is a need for the European Union to consider an individual approach for different countries and, in particular, Ukraine, taking into account its potential. The implementation of an individual program for Ukraine’s adoption of the Green Deal will create opportunities for our country to significantly transform and develop the economy, innovation, energy, agriculture, transport, construction, etc. For the European Union, it is another powerful means to achieve European Green Deal goals and make Europe the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050.

5. Conclusions

Thus, the issues of energy efficiency, prevention of environmental pollution, and rational use and reproduction of resources are a priority for the sustainable development of Ukraine. However, remembering the words of Leonardo da Vinci “Being willing is not enough, we must do”; combating climate change, ensuring the rational use of natural capital and realizing opportunities for its reproduction must become the quintessence of world science and practice. One of the most effective mechanisms for Ukraine’s entry into the European market is the transformation of economic mechanisms following the terms of the European-Green-Deal transformation program for the carbon-neutral continent. The agricultural sector is a leader in Ukraine’s economy, so it occupies a key place in the model of the implementation of the European green course. The main tools of the model are: opening the land market; the modernization of readjustment systems; an increase in state support for agricultural producers (in particular, organic and environmentally friendly producers); emission reductions; the introduction of technologies of minimum tillage; the use of slow-release or controlled-release fertilizers or nitrification inhibitors; reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions by livestock by improving the diet of the industry; and the opening of the market of ecological certificates. Reliable pricing for carbon emissions is a key investment tool that can provide a dynamic increase in funding for environmental technologies, which will significantly improve energy efficiency [35,36].