The Legal Framework of Emission Permits
The emission of harmful substances into the environment in Georgia is regulated by the Law of Georgia on Environmental Protection, which builds the normative basis for how permissible emission limits are set, how the state issues an environmental decision, and how the greenhouse gas authorization regime operates. If your enterprise plans to release harmful substances into the atmosphere, this page explains which norms apply to each concrete pollution source, who approves those norms, and which administrative act is required before the activity may lawfully begin.
The emission permit system rests on three pillars. The first is the permissible limit norms for the emission of harmful substances into the environment and for pollution of the environment by microorganisms. The second is the environmental decision, the administrative act through which the state admits an activity. The third is the authorization of greenhouse gas emissions, a separate regime created for climate protection. Analysing all three pillars together determines the full set of requirements facing the operator of an emitting installation.
Per-Source Permissible Emission Limit Norms
Under the law, the permissible limit norms for the emission of harmful substances into the environment and for pollution of the environment by microorganisms are developed for each concrete source of pollution, taking into account its technological features and the background pollution of its location, in such a way that the concentration of emitted substances and microorganisms at the site does not exceed the level of permissible concentration. This means the norm is not uniform for all enterprises: it is individually adapted to the technological profile of each source and to the ambient state of the environment around it.
These norms are determined once every five years by the regulation on permissible limit norms for the emission of harmful substances into the environment and for pollution of the environment by microorganisms, which is developed and approved by the ministry. The five year cycle ensures periodic renewal of the norms in line with technological and scientific progress, which for an enterprise means that an indicator which satisfies the requirements today may no longer be sufficient after the next revision.
Environmental Load Norms and Quotas
Emission regulation is reinforced by the institution of environmental load norms. When natural ecosystems, landscapes and other territories are used and developed, their permissible load norms are established. Environmental load norms encompass quotas for the use of natural resources, which are set at the state level taking into account the principles of sustainable development, while quotas for the use of individual types of natural resources are set at regional and local levels.
The ministry likewise develops and approves the environmental load norms once every five years, by the regulation on environmental load norms. The normative foundations of emissions and loads are therefore systematically refreshed, and an enterprise is expected to follow these updates, because ignorance of the applicable norms does not release from liability. For operators, this creates a compliance horizon measured in five year planning windows, within which monitoring obligations and production technology must keep pace with the tightening or adjusting of the norms.
The Environmental Decision as the Permitting Act
In order to carry out an activity on the territory of Georgia, taking into account the ecological, social and economic interests of society and the state, as well as the protection of human health, the natural environment and cultural and material values, an environmental decision is required. This individual administrative legal act is precisely the permission often colloquially called an emission permit: it fixes which emissions and under which conditions are admissible for a concrete source.
Before an environmental decision is issued, in order to identify and study the possible impact on the environment, the environmental impact assessment procedure is carried out in accordance with the Environmental Assessment Code, and the questions related to the issuance of the environmental decision are likewise determined by that Code. In addition, the law introduces an important innovation: for activities subject to the integrated environmental permit under the Law of Georgia on Industrial Emissions, an integrated environmental permit becomes mandatory with effect from 1 September 2026. This means that large sources of industrial emissions will move to a unified, integrated permitting regime in which emissions to air, water and waste obligations are handled within a single instrument.
Greenhouse Gas Emission Authorization
For climate protection the law establishes a distinct institution. In order to protect the climate of the earth from global changes, the subject of an activity is obliged to observe the norms for the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and to carry out measures for their reduction, while the emission of greenhouse gases is regulated on the basis of the integrated pollution control system.
For the activities determined by a resolution of the Government of Georgia, a greenhouse gas emission authorization is required. It is issued, except for aviation activities, by the National Environment Agency within the ministry system, and for aviation activities determined by government resolution, by the Civil Aviation Agency. The application must describe the installations and activities, including technologies, that may cause greenhouse gas emissions, provide information on raw and auxiliary materials whose use may cause emissions, information on the emission sources, a draft monitoring and reporting plan, and a short non technical summary. The authorization is an individual administrative legal act and must contain the name, identification number and address of the operator, a description of the activity and emissions, a monitoring plan approved together with the authorization decision, and reporting obligations.
The authorization is issued for an unlimited term, but it may be declared invalid if the activity is not started within 5 years from obtaining the authorization, or if the activity is suspended for 2 calendar years and the operator cannot substantiate that repair or renovation works were carried out during that period, or upon the request of the operator. Any planned change of an operating condition that may affect greenhouse gas emissions must be notified to the issuing authority immediately, and proposals for amending the monitoring plan are submitted no later than 31 December of the relevant year. The authorization may be transferred in whole or in part to another person, together with the rights and the corresponding obligations, on the basis of a joint application examined under simplified administrative proceedings.
Monitoring, Reporting and Verification
Although the greenhouse gas authorization is unlimited in time, it operates under a continuous verification mechanism. The operator is obliged to conduct monitoring of greenhouse gas emissions on the basis of the monitoring plan, in accordance with the categorisation of installations, the flows of emission sources and the applicable methodology. Every year, no later than 31 March of the relevant year, the operator must submit an annual report on greenhouse gas emissions, which must be verified by a verifier in the appropriate form.
Submission of the report to the issuing authority discharges the reporting obligation, and the authority, within 5 working days of receiving the verified report, ensures its publication on the environmental information portal — these detailed operational requirements enter into force on 1 January 2028. Within the scheme of carbon offsetting and reduction for international aviation, the requirements for monitoring, reporting and verification of carbon dioxide emissions are established by an order of the director of the Civil Aviation Agency. Such transparency reduces the risk of concealed emissions and gives the public the ability to exercise control based on information.