A working meeting was held on legislative issues of environmental responsibility

At an extended working meeting, representatives of the Parliament of Georgia, the Government Administration, the relevant ministries, the Business Ombudsman and the private sector discussed the draft resolutions of the government in accordance with the Law of Georgia on Environmental Responsibility.

The meeting was organised by the Eiec of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture.

‘’The Law on Environmental Liability’’ and the relevant government resolutions were presented by the representatives of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture. Participants had the opportunity to submit their views and comments on the law.

The Law on Environmental Liability, adopted in 2021, is based on the principle of "polluter pay" and its purpose is to prevent and eliminate issues related to environmental damage. According to the law, if an enterprise significantly damages the environment as a result of its activities, it will be obliged to provide the necessary financial resources and to eliminate the damage to the environment.

It's worth noting that Georgia is the first country in Eastern Europe to establish an environmental fund. The amount paid to compensate for environmental harm is put into a special account in the state budget called the "environmental fund." The money accumulated in the fund will be used to plan and implement environmental improvement actions.

The draft bylaws of the Law of Georgia on Environmental Responsibility were developed by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture with the support of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Government of Sweden, within the framework of the Governance Reform Fund (GRF) project.