.On October 12, 2023, a public hearing on the draft Climate Act was held at the Ministry of Climate and Energy (MCE).
The Climate Law is intended to provide a legal framework for Latvia’s climate policy, and its goal is to ensure climate change mitigation and climate resilience in order to achieve climate neutrality no later than 2050, ensuring that national climate targets are met in accordance with European Union and international commitments, while taking into account ecological, social, and economic sustainability.
In total, more than 150 objections and proposals were raised during the public consultation on the Climate Law, but only a small portion of them were taken into account, leaving several key issues still up in the air. For example, which sectors will face the greatest pressure to reduce GHG emissions by 2030. Specifically, the draft law does not address how the -17% GHG emissions reduction target will be distributed among sectors not yet included in the Emissions Trading System (ETS)—transportation, industry, agriculture, small-scale energy, and waste management. The Ministry of Economics and Climate (KEM) proposes addressing this issue through the National Climate and Energy Plan for 2021–2030, an updated version of which KEM promises to submit to the Cabinet of Ministers for review by the end of the month.
While presenting the new draft law, experts from the Ministry of Economics and Climate Change (KEM) also explained the planned expansion of the ETS system—the new ETS2 system—whose implementation will cover the use of fuel and heating in buildings, road transport, and other sectors not included in the current ETS system. However, given that the draft law includes only the main elements and content of ETS2, while the technical details will be clarified in Cabinet of Ministers regulations delegated by the draft law, industry representatives still have a number of unanswered questions regarding the practical aspects of ETS2 operations, which the Ministry of Economics and Climate Change (KEM) plans to address by organizing working groups dedicated to ETS2 operators.
During the public consultation, the ban on the geological storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) in Latvia’s geological formations, as included in the draft law, also became a major topic of discussion. Several industry representatives proposed removing this ban from the draft law, noting that it would hinder the conduct of appropriate research; however, the Ministry of Economics and Climate Change (KEM) insisted on the precautionary principle, explaining that the ban was included to minimize safety risks. Industry representatives insisted that they are prepared to finance such research, but that this would not be possible if the law fundamentally prohibits CO2 storage.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development insists on the need to adopt the new Climate Law by the end of this year.