Georgia’s path to a carbon-neutral future

The Georgian Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture hosted a conference on Georgia’s decarbonisation pathways in July. The event was supported by the IKI project “Developing capacities for climate policy in Southeast & Eastern Europe, South Caucasus and Central Asia”.

At the conference, the Government of Georgia unveiled its Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategy 2050 (LT-LEDS). The LT-LEDS was officially adopted in April 2023 with support from the European Union and the UNDP via the EU4Climate programme.

The LT-LEDS sets the stage for Georgia’s carbon-neutral future and will be instrumental in updating the national Climate Action Plan, outlining a clear roadmap towards sustainable, low-emission growth.

Ongoing support from the IKI project

With support from the IKI project, the Georgian Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture will update the country’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) for the period of 2024–2025.

Georgia adopted its first 2030 National Climate Strategy and 2021–2023 Action Plan (CSAP) in 2021. The CSAP is a mechanism for planning and implementing coordinated efforts to achieve the targets set out in the NDC. The strategy covers objectives for reducing greenhouse gas emissions while also addressing future priority areas. As an integral part of the strategy, the CAP includes specific activities to achieve these goals. In its current form, the CAP is a detailed three-year (2021–2023) implementation plan.

In the last six years, the project has been providing advisory support in the following areas:

• Developing the updated NDC and CSAP
• Developing the Monitoring and Reporting Scheme
• Elaborating long-term decarbonisation pathways for the transport sector
• Preparing policy and feasibility studies for the agricultural sector
• Elaborating a roadmap for the Climate Change Law and conducting educational activities to raise awareness about climate change

Discussing decarbonisation pathways

More than 70 representatives from the government, parliament, diplomatic corps, civil society and the media attended the conference and discussed Georgia’s decarbonisation pathways.

The conference was opened by Otar Shamugia, Georgia’s Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture. This was followed by opening remarks from Pawel Herczynski, the EU Ambassador to Georgia, and Ernst Peter Fischer, the German Ambassador to Georgia.

The German Ambassador complimented Georgia on its recent adoption of the LT-LEDS and stressed the importance of further action as the Georgian Government begins to elaborate its new Climate Action Plan for 2024–2025.

Outlook

Looking ahead, Georgia’s plan to update the CAP demonstrates its continued commitment to translating the LT-LEDS and CSAP into concrete actions and measures to achieve the country’s climate targets. It is likely that the energy, transportation and industrial sectors will continue to be critical focus areas for mitigation efforts. As the new Climate Action Plan takes shape, the agriculture and forestry sectors may also be expected to adopt more sustainable practices given their potential vulnerability to climate change impacts.

More information on the LT-LEDS and CSAP can be found on the official website of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture. The platform provides current progress reports, policy documents and relevant data, encouraging transparency and engagement with stakeholders in the climate action process.