ІНТЕГРАЦІЯ ЕКОЛОГІЧНОГО ПИТАННЯ В УКРАЇНСЬКИЙ ПОЛІТИЧНИЙ ПРОСТІР: ПРОБЛЕМНІ АСПЕКТИ

The article attempts to identify the key socio-political determinants which prevent the integration of the environmental issue into the political space of modern Ukraine. They are: 1) low level of political competence of «eco-parties» leaders, internal party struggle, inability to create political alliance sand compromises with major political players and speculating on environmental issues. All these reasons led to the Green Party being discredited in the opinion of Ukrainian voters; 2) declarative-formalized attitude of politicians to environmental issues, mostly in the election programs of Ukrainian political parties, environmental aspects are formally mentioned, in populist and declarative ways, and environmental legislation and mechanisms for its implementation are imperfect and in reality do not solve environmental problems; 3) environmental paternalism of Ukrainians, despite the recognition of the priority of the environmental issue and the awareness of personal responsibility for the ecological future, the Ukrainian shave a paternalistic attitude and desire to redirect the responsibility for solving environmental problems to Power, whose confidence index is critically low; 4) the «routinization of the state crisis», the transformative processes of the Ukrainian democratic state formation, with systemic crises in the political, economic and social fields led to the ecological issue being pushed from the centre of political life. The article emphasizes that responsibility for Ukraine's environmental future is a two-sided responsibility, both of politicians and voters, and the delay of environmental problems resolution will inevitably lead to a large-scale «environmental crisis». To sum up, «The world is changing, and environment protection, climate change prevention, a sustainable economy must become the lens through which the authorities must look at all other sides of life» (Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine O. Semerak, 2018), we hope this will become a political imperative for Ukraine's environmental policy and, therefore, a guarantee for Ukraine’s environmental future. Key words: environmental movement, environmental problems, environmental crisis, environmental policy, eco-parties and green parties, electoral process, environmental competence, environmental paternalism.