Ukraine has sold Japan 15 million assigned amount units of greenhouse gas emissions, Serhii Orlenko, head of the National Environmental Investment Agency, said at a press conference.

The funds were transferred on July 29 within the framework of the second tranche under the agreement of 2009 reached with Japan on selling assigned amount units, the agency head noted.

However, he refused to disclose the amount of the funds transferred citing confidentiality of the information. The funds will be then channeled into implementation of a range of energy efficiency projects, according to Orlenko.

The agency plans to carry out energy safety projects in the social sector (schools, hospitals), in particular, in about 550 establishments in Crimea, Sumy, Ivano-Frankivsk and Luhansk regions in 2010-2011. Under the agreements, the second tranche is final.

In 2009, Japan provided the first tranche for 15 million assigned amount units of greenhouse gas emissions Ukraine sold.

Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko anticipated in 2009 that the 15 million assigned amount units would be sold for UAH 4.5 billion within the frames of the first tranche.

As Ukrainian News reported, Ukraine and Japan made an agreement in March 2009 to sell 30 million of assigned amount units of greenhouse-gas emission.

An Assigned Amount (AA) is the total volume of greenhouse gases that each Annex B country is allowed to emit during the first commitment period (The five-year Kyoto Protocol Commitment Period is scheduled to run from calendar year 2008 to calendar year-end 2012) of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. An Assigned Amount Unit (AAU) is a tradable unit of 1 ton CO2 equivalent.

Ukraine ratified the Kyoto Protocol on February 4, 2004.

The protocol sets limits on greenhouse gas emissions for each country.