Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia

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The First Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, Nino Tandilashvili, participated in Hungary's 7th Ministerial Conference of Environment and Health.

During the Ministerial Conference, the high-level representatives of Environmental and Health Agencies from 53 countries included in the World Health Organization in the European region highlighted solutions, achievements, and challenges in the European region's environmental protection field and health policy.

The First Deputy Minister participated in a panel discussion together with the high-level representatives of the European Commission and officials of different countries.

Mrs. Tandilashvili discussed the measures taken by the Government of Georgia and important achievements in preventing environmental pollution.

"In recent years, we have taken active steps to improve air quality in the country. Based on the legislative amendments of 2020, Georgia moves forward to fully transitioning to the European air quality management system. 7 stationary and 2 mobile stations were added to the ambient air quality monitoring network and with the support of the donor organizations this number will be doubled this year. The National air quality standards and monitoring criteria are harmonized with EU legislation", said Mrs. Nino Tandilashvili.

The First Deputy Minister noted that reducing air pollution from the transport sector is a priority for Georgia; In recent years, fuel quality has improved significantly - the national standards for the quality of gasoline and diesel correspond to Euro 5 standards. At the same time, state control of fuel quality and corresponding sanctions were significantly tightened.

The First Deputy Minister spoke about the issues regarding the Euro 5 standard imposed by the Government of Georgia on the import of cars from January 1, 2024, the ban on the export of catalysts, and the control of vehicles with visible emissions on the roads by the Department of Environmental Supervision.

The steps taken by Georgia in regulating industrial enterprises were also emphasized. According to the First Deputy Minister, industrial enterprises were obliged to conduct continuous monitoring of emissions in the air online, and sanctions were increased for violating the requirements of the air protection legislation.
Mrs. Tandilashvili called attention to the recently passed Law "On Industrial Emissions", emphasizing that the mentioned law will significantly help to prevent environmental pollution from the industrial sector.

At the conference, The First Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, Mrs Nino Tandilashvili, First Deputy Minister of IDPs from the Occupied Territories of Georgia, Mrs. Tamar Gabunia, Minister of Environmental Protection of Germany, Mrs.  Steffi Lemke and Mr. Hans Kluge, Regional Director for Europe at the World Health Organization (WHO) signed the Declaration of Cooperation initiated within the framework of the World Health Organization Environment and Health Europe process towards human biomonitoring.

The seventh conference of the Ministers of Environment and Health was held in Budapest under the patronage of the Hungarian President, H.E. Katalin Novák.