It must be said clearly at the outset: the European Union's Green Deal is not directly transposed into Georgian legislation. This page describes what actually exists: the climate protection regime of the environmental protection law with the authorization of greenhouse gas emissions, the institute of strategic environmental assessment, and the framework of international treaties — precisely this last being the channel through which Georgia assumes international climate obligations.
The Legal Space: What Exists and What Does Not
The Green Deal is the internal policy programme of the European Union and has not been transferred into Georgian legislation as a separate act. The climate core of national legislation lies in the environmental protection law: its climate protection chapter establishes the norms of greenhouse gas emissions and reduction measures. Accordingly, the question of "Green Deal compliance" resolves in practice into how an activity satisfies the national climate requirements and how the system of international treaties works.
Georgia concludes, ratifies, denounces, or accedes to international treaties and agreements in the field of environmental protection in the manner established by legislation. An international treaty or agreement, if it does not contravene the Constitution of Georgia, has superior legal force with respect to domestic normative acts — this means that climate obligations that have entered through treaties stand above national norms.
The National Climate Protection Regime
For the purpose of protecting the earth's climate from global changes, the subject of activity is obliged to observe the norms of emission of gases causing the greenhouse effect in the atmosphere and to carry out measures for their reduction; the emission is regulated on the basis of the integrated pollution control system of the environment.
For activities defined by a government decree, an authorization of greenhouse gas emissions is mandatory — an individual administrative-legal act issued for an indefinite term. The authorization is issued, apart from aviation activities, by the National Environment Agency, and for aviation activities by the Civil Aviation Agency.
The application for authorization contains a description of installations and activities, information on raw and auxiliary materials, data on emission sources, a draft monitoring and reporting plan, and a non-technical summary. The authorization includes a monitoring plan and reporting obligations; the holder submits annually, no later than 31 March of the relevant year, a verified report.
The authorization may be declared lost in force if the activity has not started within 5 years of receipt or was suspended for 2 calendar years without substantiated repair or renovation works. This is the real, applicable mechanism of climate compliance — at the level at which it concerns a concrete emitter.
Strategic Environmental Assessment
In the cases provided for by the Environmental Assessment Code, a strategic document is subject to strategic environmental assessment, carried out by the procedure established by the same code. This institute reaches climate issues from above: the consideration of environmental impact in strategic documents takes place precisely through this assessment.
An important sanction: a strategic document subject to strategic environmental assessment that has been adopted or approved without carrying out the procedures provided for by the code is void. Thus the environmental legality of a strategic document without undergoing the assessment is called into question.
What This Means for Business
If you are planning your activity in the context of the green transition, you have three real questions: whether you satisfy the national climate norms; whether you need a greenhouse gas emissions authorization according to the list defined by government decree; and whether your strategic document is subject to strategic environmental assessment. At the level of international obligations, the matter is resolved through the system of treaty ratification.
The Mechanism of International Cooperation
Georgia concludes, ratifies, denounces, or accedes to international treaties and agreements in the field of environmental protection, in the manner established by legislation — those treaties that regulate Georgia's relations with other states, unions of states, and international organizations. This mechanism is the lawful path for introducing climate obligations: what enters through a treaty stands above domestic normative acts.
The practical conclusion follows: climate requirements of European orientation apply to Georgia not through the direct norms of the Green Deal but through the treaties the state assumes by accession or ratification. Therefore, in a compliance assessment one must first establish which treaty is in force, and only then — what it requires.
The Green Deal compliance page rests on three realities: the national climate regime with greenhouse gas norms and authorization; strategic environmental assessment at the level of strategic documents; and the system of treaties at the level of international obligations. The three together show where the real legal foundation of climate compliance lies — and where there is merely an international political agenda.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Green Deal transposed into Georgian legislation?
No, not directly. There is a national climate regime — greenhouse gas emission norms and authorization — and the framework of international treaties.
What is the priority of an international treaty?
If a treaty does not contravene the Constitution of Georgia, it has superior legal force with respect to domestic normative acts.
Who issues the greenhouse gas authorization?
The National Environment Agency; for aviation activities — the Civil Aviation Agency.
When is a strategic document void?
When it is subject to strategic environmental assessment and has been adopted without the procedures provided for by the code.
How We Help on Legal.ge
Green Deal compliance requires a precise reading of environmental obligations. On Legal.ge you can consult an experienced lawyer who will assess your duties under the climate protection and assessment norms. Submit a request on the site and get qualified assistance.