Ecology, Economics, Lithuania, Markets and Companies
International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics
Wednesday, 24.04.2024, 16:19
Lithuania needs to spend EUR 14 b on climate change over 10 yrs - president
A part of these costs has to be covered from the EU budget,
according to the president.
"For Lithuania to meet its commitments in 2030,
additional measures may require as much as 14 bn euros, of which almost 10
bn euros will have to be allocated from the state budget," Nauseda
said at a foreign policy conference in Vilnius.
"This is a high price that we will not be able to pay all
by ourselves," he added.
The EU aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at least by
40% by 2030. The individual target set for Lithuania is to cut these
emissions by 9%.
The main challenges Lithuania faces in meeting these
commitments come from an increase in areas of arable land in the country
and its old vehicle fleet.
Nauseda is leaving on Thursday for an EU summit to hold
talks on climate change and the bloc's next multiannual financial
framework.
The EU's member states will discuss whether to approve the
commitment to shift to a climate-neutral economy by 2050.
The Lithuanian president and the Latvian and Estonian
prime ministers warned in a joint letter in late November that EU spending
cuts in the next budget would undermine climate change ambitions.
Lithuania sees the current EU budget proposals as
unacceptable, mainly due to the proposal to slash cohesion policy funding for
the country by around one-fourth.
"Such ideas threaten to complicate structural reforms
and, unfortunately, implement the 'two-speed Europe' model, which is definitely
not something we want," Nauseda said on Wednesday.
According to the president, Lithuania is firmly committed to
the goal of a climate-neutral economy by 2050, but
"transformations of this scale require sustainable financing
that must be envisaged in the multiannual financial framework".
"The same rules must apply to all member states,
including access to support from the Just Transition Fund," he said.
Talks on the bloc's next multiannual budget are expected to
be completed next year.