BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 23
By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
Georgian representatives met with European Union (EU) and Energy Community counterparts to discuss how to ensure that Georgia’s climate and energy legislation works to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with EU standards, Trend reports with reference to the website of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
The meeting was organized as part of the EU4Climate program that is funded by the EU and implemented by the UNDP in the six Eastern Partnership countries: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Armenia and Ukraine.
The focus of discussion was a roadmap developed to assess Georgia’s current climate policy, pinpoint challenges and gaps and propose a way forward.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the Energy Community, an international organization that unites EU member states and neighbors in trying to create an integrated pan-European energy market.
The roadmap presented at the workshop is focused on the laws and policies that will help Georgia control emissions generated by fluorinated greenhouse gases and ozone-depleting substances. It covers national energy and climate plans and a monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) system for greenhouse gases.
Georgia’s carbon dioxide equivalent emissions amount to around 17.6 million tons per year (2.37 tons per capita), which is significantly lower than emissions in the world’s largest economies, but still higher than in some of the Eastern Partnership countries. The energy sector is responsible for the largest share of emissions (62 percent), followed by agriculture (19 percent), production and industry (12 percent) and waste (7 percent).
The EU4Climate program is designed to assist Georgia and other Eastern Partnership countries in mitigating climate change and adapting to its effects by introducing climate-sensitive policies and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The program is funded by the EU and implemented by UNDP, building on the achievements of past cooperation programs in the European Neighborhood. Drawing on a total budget of EUR 8.8 million, the four-year EU4Climate program will continue until the end of 2022.
“In the framework of the EU4Climate program, we are examining Georgia’s climate policies and legal framework to reveal the gaps and present recommendations,” said Alexandre Darras, Team Leader on Connectivity, Energy, Environment & Climate Change at the EU Delegation to Georgia.
According to him, this roadmap will assist Georgia in fulfilling climate and energy commitments undertaken under the EU Association Agreement and the Energy Community Treaty.
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