Environmental Policies
#13Key Findings
Despite a discrepancy between existing goals and policies, Lithuania falls into the upper-middle ranks (rank 13) with regard to environmental policies. Its score on this measure is unchanged relative to its 2014 level.
The country’s greenhouse-gas emission reduction target is only 9% by 2030. Longer-term goals are more ambitious, but existing policies are deemed insufficient to reach them. Environmental protection expenditure is well below the EU average.
About 25.5% of energy was produced from renewable sources in 2019. Regulatory and financial incentives are provided for wind and solar power, with a 100% renewables goal set for 2050. Tax policy is used in only a limited way to address pollution and climate change externalities.
Progress has been made in reducing reliance on landfills and increasing recycling. However, waste generation is expanding. Water supply and sewage infrastructures are improving, but a significant share of the population still lives in facilities lacking connection to wastewater treatment plants.
The country’s greenhouse-gas emission reduction target is only 9% by 2030. Longer-term goals are more ambitious, but existing policies are deemed insufficient to reach them. Environmental protection expenditure is well below the EU average.
About 25.5% of energy was produced from renewable sources in 2019. Regulatory and financial incentives are provided for wind and solar power, with a 100% renewables goal set for 2050. Tax policy is used in only a limited way to address pollution and climate change externalities.
Progress has been made in reducing reliance on landfills and increasing recycling. However, waste generation is expanding. Water supply and sewage infrastructures are improving, but a significant share of the population still lives in facilities lacking connection to wastewater treatment plants.
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How effectively does environmental policy in your country protect and preserve the sustainability of natural resources and environmental quality?
10
9
9
Environmental policy goals are ambitious and effectively implemented as well as monitored within and across most relevant policy sectors that account for the largest share of resource use and emissions.
8
7
6
7
6
Environmental policy goals are mainly ambitious and effectively implemented and are monitored within and across some of the relevant policy sectors that account for the largest share of resource use and emissions.
5
4
3
4
3
Environmental policy goals are neither particularly ambitious nor are they effectively implemented and coordinated across relevant policy sectors.
2
1
1
Environmental concerns have been largely abandoned.
In 2016, Lithuania signed the Paris Agreement, in which it (along with other EU members) committed to reducing greenhouse emissions by 40% in comparison to 1990. Compared to 2005, Lithuania has committed to reduce emissions by 9% by 2030 (excluding sectors which participate in the EU Emissions Trading System).
As noted in a recent OECD survey, there is a discrepancy between the country’s ambitious medium- and long-run climate-change goals and existing policies, which are deemed insufficient to achieve them. In particular, taxation is used in a very limited way to tackle pollution and climate-change externalities. The Ministry of Environment has proposed a new (and higher) level of taxation on automobiles, but the proposals have met with considerable criticism, and were in fact rejected by the parliament in early 2022 (at least in their current form). Furthermore, Lithuania does not provide adequate financing for environmental needs – in fact, environmental protection expenditure as a share of GDP has been declining over recent decades, and is substantially below the EU average.
The proportion of energy produced from renewable sources in Lithuania reached 25.5% in 2019, above the country’s Europe 2020 target of 23%. The National Strategy for Energy Independence (amended in 2018) includes further regulatory and financial incentives for the use of wind and solar energy, with the goal of having all domestic production of energy be based on renewables by 2050.
The OECD has emphasized the considerable progress made in reducing reliance on landfills, and shifting to recycling and composting. Nonetheless, it also pointed to increased wage generation, and the need to move to a cross-sectoral circular economy.
Water-supply and sewage infrastructures have improved substantially over the years thanks to the use of EU structural funds. However, the provision of adequate connections to the public water supply still remains a challenge in some areas. Moreover, wastewater treatment is inadequate in some respects, with significant differences evident between rural and urban areas. In 2019, only 79% of the population lived in facilities connected to wastewater treatment plants, and this share has been rising only very gradually over the last decade. However, the government plans to raise this proportion to 85% by 2025 and 95% by 2030 (OECD). In February 2017, the European Commission initiated an infringement procedure against Lithuania for failing to comply with EU wastewater-treatment requirements. Furthermore, the OECD survey has emphasized that “water pollution is worsening across the country.” In particular, mineral fertilizers in agriculture and “insufficiently treated wastewater” are causes for concern.
In the Environmental Performance Index 2020, Lithuania was ranked 35th out of 180 countries (only 24th in the EU), with good rankings in the areas of biodiversity and habitat (9th), but mediocre or poor rankings in the areas of waste management (24th), pollution emissions (26th), agriculture (20th), ecosystem vitality (25th), air quality (33rd), water resources (37th), sanitation and drinking water (57th), heavy metals (57th), and especially ecosystem services (135th). Inadequate legislation and ineffective enforcement in the field of pollution control failed to prevent substantial damage to the environment when a major fire broke out in a tire-recycling facility in Alytus in October 2019. The country’s municipal-waste recycling rate was 45.1% in 2020 (EU average 47.8), down from 48.1% in 2017.
To sum up, while the goals of environmental policy are ambitious, particularly with regard to emissions cuts and the expansion of renewable energy capacities, supporting policies are not implemented consistently. The conservative-liberal coalition government formed after the parliamentary elections of 2020 devotes considerable attention to climate-change mitigation policies in its program. However, after one year, few actual measures have been implemented, though it is likely that the national plan for the use of the Resilience and Recovery Fund financed by the EU for 2021 – 2026, which prioritizes green policies, might act as an important incentive to advance in this area.
Citations:
OECD, OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: Lithuania 2021, https://www.oecd.org/development/oecd-environmental-performance-reviews-lithuania-2021-48d82b17-en.htm
COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT, country report Lithuania 2019: https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/file_import/2019-european-semester-country-report-lithuania_en.pdf
The Article 17 EU Habitats Directive Reports available at http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/knowledge/rep_habitats/
The Environmental Protection Index is available at https://epi.yale.edu/
As noted in a recent OECD survey, there is a discrepancy between the country’s ambitious medium- and long-run climate-change goals and existing policies, which are deemed insufficient to achieve them. In particular, taxation is used in a very limited way to tackle pollution and climate-change externalities. The Ministry of Environment has proposed a new (and higher) level of taxation on automobiles, but the proposals have met with considerable criticism, and were in fact rejected by the parliament in early 2022 (at least in their current form). Furthermore, Lithuania does not provide adequate financing for environmental needs – in fact, environmental protection expenditure as a share of GDP has been declining over recent decades, and is substantially below the EU average.
The proportion of energy produced from renewable sources in Lithuania reached 25.5% in 2019, above the country’s Europe 2020 target of 23%. The National Strategy for Energy Independence (amended in 2018) includes further regulatory and financial incentives for the use of wind and solar energy, with the goal of having all domestic production of energy be based on renewables by 2050.
The OECD has emphasized the considerable progress made in reducing reliance on landfills, and shifting to recycling and composting. Nonetheless, it also pointed to increased wage generation, and the need to move to a cross-sectoral circular economy.
Water-supply and sewage infrastructures have improved substantially over the years thanks to the use of EU structural funds. However, the provision of adequate connections to the public water supply still remains a challenge in some areas. Moreover, wastewater treatment is inadequate in some respects, with significant differences evident between rural and urban areas. In 2019, only 79% of the population lived in facilities connected to wastewater treatment plants, and this share has been rising only very gradually over the last decade. However, the government plans to raise this proportion to 85% by 2025 and 95% by 2030 (OECD). In February 2017, the European Commission initiated an infringement procedure against Lithuania for failing to comply with EU wastewater-treatment requirements. Furthermore, the OECD survey has emphasized that “water pollution is worsening across the country.” In particular, mineral fertilizers in agriculture and “insufficiently treated wastewater” are causes for concern.
In the Environmental Performance Index 2020, Lithuania was ranked 35th out of 180 countries (only 24th in the EU), with good rankings in the areas of biodiversity and habitat (9th), but mediocre or poor rankings in the areas of waste management (24th), pollution emissions (26th), agriculture (20th), ecosystem vitality (25th), air quality (33rd), water resources (37th), sanitation and drinking water (57th), heavy metals (57th), and especially ecosystem services (135th). Inadequate legislation and ineffective enforcement in the field of pollution control failed to prevent substantial damage to the environment when a major fire broke out in a tire-recycling facility in Alytus in October 2019. The country’s municipal-waste recycling rate was 45.1% in 2020 (EU average 47.8), down from 48.1% in 2017.
To sum up, while the goals of environmental policy are ambitious, particularly with regard to emissions cuts and the expansion of renewable energy capacities, supporting policies are not implemented consistently. The conservative-liberal coalition government formed after the parliamentary elections of 2020 devotes considerable attention to climate-change mitigation policies in its program. However, after one year, few actual measures have been implemented, though it is likely that the national plan for the use of the Resilience and Recovery Fund financed by the EU for 2021 – 2026, which prioritizes green policies, might act as an important incentive to advance in this area.
Citations:
OECD, OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: Lithuania 2021, https://www.oecd.org/development/oecd-environmental-performance-reviews-lithuania-2021-48d82b17-en.htm
COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT, country report Lithuania 2019: https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/file_import/2019-european-semester-country-report-lithuania_en.pdf
The Article 17 EU Habitats Directive Reports available at http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/knowledge/rep_habitats/
The Environmental Protection Index is available at https://epi.yale.edu/
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To what extent does the government actively contribute to the design and advancement of global environmental protection regimes?
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9
9
The government actively contributes to international efforts to design and advance global environmental protection regimes. In most cases, it demonstrates commitment to existing regimes, contributes to their being advanced and has introduced appropriate reforms.
8
7
6
7
6
The government contributes to international efforts to strengthen global environmental protection regimes. It demonstrates commitment to existing regimes and occasionally contributes to their being advanced and/or has introduced some appropriate reforms.
5
4
3
4
3
The government demonstrates commitment to existing regimes, but does not contribute to their being advanced and has not introduced appropriate reforms.
2
1
1
The government does not contribute to international efforts to strengthen global environmental protection regimes.
Lithuanian policymakers do contribute to international efforts to strengthen global environmental-protection regimes, but this policy area is not perceived as a government priority. Lithuania has demonstrated commitment to existing regimes (especially those promulgated by the EU or promoted by its institutions) by incorporating international or European environmental provisions into national legislation or strategic documents and implementing them. For example, in 2012, the Lithuanian parliament approved a national policy strategy on climate-change management as a further step in implementing Lithuania’s commitments in the area of climate change and energy. Although Lithuanian policymakers are not usually active in advancing global environmental strategies, Lithuania contributed to the Warsaw Climate Change Conference in 2013 as part of its presidency of the European Council. In addition, Lithuania successfully initiated the 2013 U.N. resolution on cooperative measures to assess and increase awareness of environmental effects related to waste originating from chemical munitions dumped at sea. In 2019, Lithuania approved a National Energy and Climate Action Plan for 2021 – 2030 as well as a National Progress Plan for 2021 – 2030, in accordance with the Governance of the Energy Union Regulation. The country’s institutions are most active at the regional level, for instance addressing issues related to the Baltic Sea. In recent years, concerns about the safety of the Astravyets nuclear power plant, currently under construction in neighboring Belarus, have become an important issue. Lithuania has outlawed the use of electricity derived from Belarusian nuclear power plants, and is trying to dissuade other Baltic countries from buying it.
Citations:
National Energy and Climate Action Plan of Lithuania for 2021-2030 https://ec.europa.eu/energy/sites/ener/files/documents/lt_final_necp_main_en.pdf
Citations:
National Energy and Climate Action Plan of Lithuania for 2021-2030 https://ec.europa.eu/energy/sites/ener/files/documents/lt_final_necp_main_en.pdf