Green Deal is opportunity to live in better environment - Melnis

RIGA - The European Union's (EU) Green Deal is an opportunity to live in a better environment, Climate and Energy Minister Kaspars Melnis (Greens/Farmers) said on Thursday at the conference "Integration of Climate Change Policy into Sectoral and Regional Policies".

The minister pointed out that Latvia has great potential make the energy, transport and agriculture sectors greener, while developing the financial sector.

Melnis also said that climate policy is a horizontal issue and in order to achieve climate goals, stakeholders need to have a common understanding and close cooperation. "The state, including local governments, are the ambassadors of the green policy, setting the example and delivering what the Green Deal gives us," he said.

The minister stressed that municipalities have many tools to contribute to climate goals, but this requires knowledge.

Thanks to support from the Norwegian Financial Instrument, the Norwegian grant project "Integration of Climate Change Policy into Sectoral and Regional Policies" was launched in 2020 together with the Central Statistical Office, the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre and the Norwegian Environment Agency. The overall objective of the project was to improve the development and implementation of climate policies at national and local level and to integrate them into sectoral policies.

The main activities of the project were the development of climate policy planning tools and the integration of climate policy into sectoral and regional policies.

Solvita Degaine, project manager at the Strategic Coordination Department of the Climate and Energy Ministry, told the conference that the project involved three partners, 118 experts and 15 Norwegian experts.

The project has produced 11 studies and several tools, including an assessment of climate change to date and updated future climate change scenarios for Latvia up to 2100. The national early warning system has also been improved, including the development of five new warning criteria, as well as an assessment of shoreline change and solutions to reduce coastal erosion.

At the same time, the national greenhouse gas inventory by sector has been improved, regional climate change indicators have been developed, and a model for assessing greenhouse gas mitigation measures at regional level has been developed.

Among other things, the project has developed a number of proposals to mitigate climate change in sectors such as construction, insurance, sustainable transport infrastructure and spatial development planning.