The first public consultation on the Climate Change Law, "Green Book," was held

The first public consultation on the "Green Book" of the Climate Change Law was held in Telavi. The "Green Book" of the Climate Change Law includes the international obligations undertaken by Georgia, the existing national policy, the analysis of the impact of climate change on Georgia, future risks, and international examples of climate law.

The meeting was attended by Maya Bitadze, Chairman of the Environment Protection and Natural Resources Committee; Nino Tandilashvili, Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia; Giorgi Aladashvili, representative of the Kakheti region; Lasha Nakashidze, head of the representation of the Westminster Democracy Foundation in Georgia; and Tamar Aladashvili, director of the Environmental Information and Education Centre.

Representatives of non-governmental and community organisations, representatives of municipalities, students, and interested members of society took part in the consultation. In order to promote the maximum involvement of the population in public consultation, the meeting was held in a hybrid format.

"Georgia has been taking proper action to decarbonize the nation's economy and implementing various measures to prevent the harmful consequences of climate change for years. Along with these achievements, the absence of a national legislative framework for climate change remains a barrier in the field of climate change. The fragmentation of regulations is reflected in the numerous sectoral legislation and by-laws.Based on the above, it is clear how important it is to develop and adopt the law on climate change, which will establish a common legal framework in this area and help to clearly define the requirements for achieving the target indicators taken by the country", said Nino Thandilashvili.

As Maia Bitadze, the chairman of the environment protection and natural resources committee of the parliament, noted, it is good that both the central and local levels understand the importance of the efforts necessary in the implementation of various infrastructural projects, taking into account the consequences of climate change; The involvement of the local population and the government is the key that, after the adoption of the law, will allow us to fulfil all the international obligations that we undertake in the process of climate change.

The "Green Book" of the Climate Change Law of Georgia was developed by the Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Committee of the Parliament of Georgia, in cooperation with the EIEC with the support of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) and the United Kingdom. The purpose of the "Green Book" is to initiate a broad public discussion and consultation for the development of the Climate Change Law of Georgia.

Public consultations will be held in Tbilisi and Kutaisi. After the opinions received within the consultations, the "White Book" of the Climate Change Law will be developed, in which the main principles of the Climate Change Law of Georgia will be reflected.