Unclassified ENV/EPOC/EAP/M(2013)4
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Unclassified ENV/EPOC/EAP/M(2013)4 Organisation de Coopération et de Développement Économiques Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 17-Apr-2014 ___________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________ English - Or. English ENVIRONMENT DIRECTORATE ENVIRONMENT POLICY COMMITTEE Unclassified ENV/EPOC/EAP/M(2013)4 TASK FORCE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION PROGRAMME FOR CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE, CAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA SUMMARY RECORD OF THE 2013 ANNUAL MEETING OF THE EAP TASK FORCE 17-18 September 2013, Tbilisi, Georgia A draft version of this document was circulated to meeting participants for endorsement through a written procedure. The comments that were received were integrated into the text. The attached document is, therefore, the final Summary record of the 2013 meeting of the EAP Task Force. ACTION REQUIRED: For information. For additional information, please contact: Mr. Brendan Gillespie, Environmental Performance and Information Division, Environment Directorate, tel: +33 1 45 24 93 02, fax: + 33 1 44 30 61 83, e-mail: [email protected] English JT03356368 Complete document available on OLIS in its original format - This document and any map included herein are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of Or. English international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area. ENV/EPOC/EAP/M(2013)4 ANNUAL MEETING OF THE EAP TASK FORCE 17-18 September 2013, Tbilisi Summary Record Overall information about the meeting 1. The Annual Meeting of the Task Force for the implementation of the Environmental Action Programme (EAP Task Force) was organised on 17-18 September 2013 in Tbilisi. It was hosted by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection, and the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia. The meeting was attended by government officials from nine countries of Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA), Romania, and eight OECD members. Representatives of the European Commission, EBRD, the European Investment Bank, UNECE, UNEP, UNIDO, four Regional Environmental Centres, as well as the NGO and business community were also present. The high-level segment on 17 September engaged Ministers of Environment from Georgia and Armenia, as well as the Deputy Minister of Finance from Georgia. Per total, over 60 people participated in the meeting (see Annex 1 for the list of participants). 2. The meeting was co-chaired by the EAP Task Force’s Co-chair Mr. Jurgen Keinhorst (Germany) and Ms Nino Sharashidze (Georgia). Mr Gheorghe Constantin (Romania), Chair of the EECCA Working Group of the European Union’s Water Initiative co-chaired the water-related segment of the meeting together with Ms Sharashidze. Welcome and adoption of the draft agenda 3. The EAP Task Force: Noted the opening remarks by Mr Jurgen Keinhorst, EAP Task Force Co-Chair who, in acknowledging the 20th anniversary of the EAP Task Force, stressed that the keys to its continued success were the impact its activities had on policies and institutions in the region, and its ability to adjust to shifting demands and the needs of specific countries; Adopted the Draft Agenda [ENV/EPOC/EAP/A(2012)4] without amendment. High level segment on green growth 4. The high-level segment aimed to discuss lessons learned from the implementation of green growth policies in OECD and EECCA countries with a focus on the opportunities and obstacles for ensuring policy coherence: Delegates noted the introductory presentation delivered by Mr Brendan Gillespie, Head of Division, on behalf of Mr Simon Upton, the OECD Director for Environment; Ms Khatuna Gogaladze, Minister of Environment and Natural Resource Protection of Georgia, stated the importance of policy coherence and implementation as part of green growth strategies, and provided an overview of her country’s efforts in this respect. 2 ENV/EPOC/EAP/M(2013)4 Minister Gogaladze acknowledged the assistance provided by the EAP Task Force to countries in identifying the most effective ways for integrating environmental and other policies. She underlined the need for further work in several fields, such as, most importantly, the practical use of economic instruments, the reform of regulatory frameworks, and entrepreneurship development while ensuring efficient use of energy and natural resources. Minister Gogaladze emphasized that the recent launch of the EaP GREEN programme is very timely and presents an example of how the international community could assist countries to move together towards green economy; Mr Aram Harutyunian, Minister of Nature Protection of Armenia, stressed the need for better water resource management within a green growth strategy, and presented his country’s progress in implementing an integrated approach to water resources management; Mr David Lezhava, Deputy Minister of Finance of Georgia discussed the difficulties of allocating budget resources for long-term issues when governments are faced with immediate social needs, and constraints related to collecting more revenue through higher taxes. He acknowledged the role that donor aid could play in providing finance; Delegates suggested that OECD/EAP Task Force could support EECCA countries to develop green growth strategies by assisting them to develop scenarios, and organising policy dialogues about how policy objectives could be achieved. The policy dialogue process could be supported by inviting experts to share OECD experience and developing policy papers on topics of high interest; Delegates asked the OECD/EAP Task Force secretariat to work more closely with international and local banks in order to promote responsible investment alongside green investment, and help governments establish frameworks that are supportive to green initiatives; Delegates also re-iterated the need to address policies targeting consumption more systematically, e.g. product taxation and green procurement, as an important complement to policies targeting production; Delegates noted the work done by Kazakhstan and Ukraine to develop their national green growth strategies, the newly enacted Green Economy Plan of Switzerland, and the availability of a review of green economy opportunities in the Russian Federation. Programme implementation and plans for 2014 5. The EAP Task Force: Discussed and endorsed the 2013 progress report on the implementation of the EAP Task Force programme of work (September 2012 – August 2013) [ENV/EPOC/EAP(2013)8]; Discussed and endorsed the draft OECD/EAP Task Force programme of work and budget for 2014 [ENV/EPOC/EAP(2013)9]; Expressed appreciation for the substantial financial support provided for the work of the EAP Task Force, and called upon donors to maintain their support in order to meet co-financing requirements, notably those of the European Commission. 3 ENV/EPOC/EAP/M(2013)4 Green growth policies: focus on removing fossil fuel subsidies 6. The EAP Task Force: Noted the presentations by Ms Malgorzata Kicia (European Commission, DG Environment), Mr Frans Oosterhuis, IVM Institute for Environmental Studies (the Netherlands), and Mss. Nelly Petkova and Caroline Gomes Noguiera (OECD), and agreed that a key condition for reforming environmentally-harmful subsidies (EHS) is to identify them and ensure their transparency; Discussed the study prepared by the OECD secretariat on EHS in the energy sector in Kazakhstan, invited Kazakhstan to deepen and extend its work in this area in light of the recommendations provided, and called on the OECD to provide any requested support; Supported the further application in EECCA countries of existing tools for analysing the economic, environmental and social impacts of subsidies. Water as a driver for green growth 7. The EAP Task Force: Took note of the presentation by the OECD secretariat on the policy framework that had been developed within that Organisation to manage water for green growth and its relevance for EECCA countries. Discussed how water management features in national (green) development strategies in EECCA counties and in the Green Economy Plan of Switzerland; Discussed the benefits (and challenges) attached to the reform of water harmful subsidies, based on a recent project implemented by the OECD in Kyrgyzstan; several countries signalled their interest for the issue; Discussed the results of the OECD project on business models for rural water supply and sanitation in Moldova, and agreed that this approach could be replicated in other EECCA countries; Took note of information shared by Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Belarus, the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Uzbekistan about their national priorities, and recent policy reforms. Highlights of on-going and planned work by RECs 8. The EAP Task Force Welcomed the opportunity to be informed about progress in the work of the Regional Environmental Centres (RECs) which, as agreed in 2009, is now a regular feature of EAP Task Force meetings; Noted presentations by the REC Caucasus, REC for Central and Eastern Europe, REC Russia and REC Central Asia on progress achieved and their plans for 2014; 4 ENV/EPOC/EAP/M(2013)4 Invited RECs to further develop their proposal of setting up a regional water knowledge platform, and to discuss it with all relevant parties, most importantly the EEA, OECD and UNECE; the forthcoming meeting of the EUWI’s EECCA Working Group on 24-25 October 2013 in Helsinki provided a good opportunity to