Natalie Kushko

Natalie Kushko is a senior sustainable low emission economic development, climate change, and international carbon markets expert with over 20 years of experience in inter-governmental UNFCCC negotiation, extensive on-ground experience on UNFCCC flexible mechanisms, climate change policy-making and implementation on international and national levels, as well as regional level in emerging markets of Eurasia region. Furthermore, she has over 10 years of extensive professional experience working with international development cooperation projects (EBRD, GIZ, UNDP, USAID, among others). Ms. Kushko currently is a Team Leader of national and international experts and firms supporting the GoU on second Ukrainian NDC development under Paris Agreement EBRD, also providing international legal expertise and, planning and supervising transparent and inclusive stakeholders’ consultation process for over two years on second NDC development process. She served as Team Lead of UNDP project providing support to Ukrainian Parliament on sustainable energy and environment issues.

Earlier, Ms. Kushko managed Ukrainian 2050 Low Emission Development Strategy development process under Paris Agreement, including transparent and inclusive stakeholders consultation process and drafting the Strategy policy document as a Task Leader on LEDS under USAID Project for over 36 months on developing the Strategy as the very first transparent and inclusive stakeholders’ consultation process introducing best international practices for such process; she also provided support to the GoU on national climate change and low emission development policy-making;  she was a management team member of multi-million project and managed national and international sub-contractors. She managed the process of national climate change legislation development and adoption process by the GoU, namely – State Climate Change Policy Concept till 2030 and its Action Plan. She also served as an Advisor to the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine on climate change issues, including UNFCCC negotiation process, national climate change and low emission policy making and climate change cross-sectoral inter-ministerial coordination. Ms. Kushko serves as member/alternative member of UNFCCC CDM Executive Board since 2012.

Previously, she served as Advisor on climate change and sustainable development to various GoU officials, local authorities, including Head of State Environmental Investment Agency, Lviv City Mayor and Parliament Members. Before that, Ms. Kushko has been working for the world leading carbon aggregator Ecosecurities Group Plc as Ukraine Country Coordinator/Origination Team dealing with JI projects identification, development and implementation support in Eurasia region. Ms. Kushko also served as Eurasia Coordination sustainable development program’s Executive Director of Ukraine’s National Accounting NGO as a part of USAID project on Sustainable Business Development. She worked as Senior Agribusiness Expert with the EU TACIS project developing first agribusiness supply chains in Ukraine and managed private business entities