«NET-ZERO» ECONOMY AND THE RENEWABLE ENERGY MARKET THROUGH THE PRISM OF CARBON NEUTRALITY

Carbon and climate neutrality are on the agenda in most countries of the world. Ukraine is no exception. The development of a «net-zero» economy in innovation leader-countries is characterized by zero carbon emissions, the use of «green» technologies, and institutional encouragement of economic agents for their widespread implementation. The purpose of the article is to offer the author’s vision of the concept of developing a carbon-neutral economy on the path to establishing a «net-zero» economy in Ukraine, to identify support tools to encourage economic agents to «adhere» to environmental friendliness, carbon, and climate neutrality in business, and to present the socio-economic and environmental effects and losses from the operation of renewable energy sources. To achieve the purpose, methods of analysis and synthesis, grouping, comparison, graphical and tabular methods were used, which allowed for a comprehensive study of existing scientific developments on the issues of carbon and climate neutrality of economies, to solve the tasks set for scientists, and to outline the prospects for future research in terms of the formation of a «net-zero» economy in Ukraine. The article substantiates the features of the implementation of carbon and climate neutrality and the development of a «net-zero» economy. The socio-economic and environmental effects and losses from the operation of renewable energy sources are presented. A comparative analysis of total electricity production and electricity production by different types of energy sources in Ukraine in 2015–2023 is conducted. The possibilities of establishing a «net-zero» are considered. The practical value of the study lies in the author’s suggestions provided, in particular: it makes sense to create hydrogen hubs across Ukraine in the post-war period and include large industrial facilities that are motivated to invest in renewable energy sources in them; a central place in sustainable urban development should be given to the decarbonization of housing, which has socio-economic benefits, makes energy affordable, creates jobs that require skills with new technologies, and improves the level of well-being of citizens in general; the post-war reconstruction of the Ukrainian economy should be implemented through the introduction of breakthrough innovations and the transition to the VI technological level in all industries