This policy brief is prepared within the framework of the Open Society Georgia Foundation’s in-house project “Monitoring Implementation of the EU-Georgia Association Agreement by the Coalition of Civil Society Organizations”.
Ambient air pollution is one of Georgia’s most acute environmental challenges, one with a significant impact on human health. The Association Agreement between Georgia and the EU is a major tool for improving air quality and decreasing the risks of air-borne diseases, as it requires Georgia to approximate legislation with six major EU directives on air pollution by the end of 2023.
The EU-Georgia Association Agenda 2017-2020 and the Association Agreement oblige Georgia to “enhance approximation with the EU environmental acquis in environmental governance” as well as “integrating environment into other policy areas”. Georgia’s efforts to approximate its legislation in the field of air quality improvement are lagging behind and are being ineffectively implemented, especially in terms of integrating the environment in other policy areas.
The Association Agenda 2014- 2016 requirements – that Georgia creates a roadmap for the ratification and implementation of the Gothenburg Protocol and to fully implement the National Environmental Action Plan 2012-2016 (NEAP), including the improvement of fuel quality and development of the public transport sector – have not been fulfilled.