Tbilisi: The Government of Georgia is all set to introduce significant changes in laws relating to environmental protection. The new amendments will bring Georgian laws in line with European Standards.
The Government of Georgia supported the amendments to the Law of Georgia “On Environmental Protection” initiated by the Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture.
The changes involve the introduction of a system for authorizing, monitoring, reporting and verifying greenhouse gas emissions.
The regulation under new amendment for specific industrial and aviation activities will make it mandatory to obtain authorization for the emission of greenhouse gases, which includes preparing a monitoring plan and submission to the authority issuing the authorization.
Notably amending the law is part of fulfilling the obligations defined by the Agreement on Association with the European Union and the Treaty establishing the Energy Union.
It also directly relates to the EU’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading System (ETS) and Carbon Boundary Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
The requirements of the Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system for greenhouse gas emissions will apply to greenhouse gas emissions from January 1, 2026. The regulation will allow the national regulator to assess the adequacy of the country’s climate policy and relevant measures.
As per new amendments carrying out any industrial activities will be subject to the authorization of greenhouse gas emissions. Any activity without a decision on authorization is punishable by a fine of 1000 GEL.
Failure to submit a report in the prescribed form and within the time limit will initially result in a warning; repeated violations will attract a fine of 1000 GEL.
Similarly a violation of the obligation to monitor the emission of greenhouse gases will have 800 GEL as a fine and a repletion of violation will have a fine of 2000 GEL.
The Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture prepared the amendments to the Law of Georgia “On Environmental Protection” in close cooperation with the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, the Energy Union and an international expert invited as part of the European Union’s technical assistance.
