COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Environmental Implementation Review 2022 Country Report - LATVIA Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Environmental Implementation Review 2022: Turning the tide through environmental compliance
Date: 2022-09-08
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission
Subjects: EU environmental policy, Latvia, application of EU law, biodiversity, circular economy, climate change policy, environmental law, governance, pollution control measures, waste management

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 8.9.2022  SWD(2022) 276 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Environmental Implementation Review 2022      Country Report - LATVIA             Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Environmental Implementation Review 2022: Turning the tide through environmental compliance      {COM(2022) 438 final} - {SWD(2022) 252 final} - {SWD(2022) 253 final} - {SWD(2022) 254 final} - {SWD(2022) 255 final} - {SWD(2022) 256 final} - {SWD(2022) 257 final} - {SWD(2022) 258 final} - {SWD(2022) 259 final} - {SWD(2022) 260 final} - {SWD(2022) 261 final} - {SWD(2022) 262 final} - {SWD(2022) 263 final} - {SWD(2022) 264 final} - {SWD(2022) 265 final} - {SWD(2022) 266 final} - {SWD(2022) 267 final} - {SWD(2022) 268 final} - {SWD(2022) 269 final} - {SWD(2022) 270 final} - {SWD(2022) 271 final} - {SWD(2022) 272 final} - {SWD(2022) 273 final} - {SWD(2022) 274 final} - {SWD(2022) 275 final} - {SWD(2022) 277 final} - {SWD(2022) 278 final}  
 
 
Latvia  1 

This  report  has  been  written  by  the  staff  of  the  Directorate-General  for  Environment,  European  Commission. 
Any comments are welcome to the following email address: ENV-EIR@ec.europa.eu  

More information on the European Union is available on the internet (http://europa.eu). 

Photographs:  

For reproduction or use of these photos, permission must be sought directly from the copyright holder. 

©European Union, 2022 

Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Latvia  2 

Table of Contents 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................................... 3 

PART I: THEMATIC AREAS ...................................................................................................................................... 4 

1. CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND WASTE MANAGEMENT ............................................................................................................. 4 
Measures towards a circular economy ................................................................................................................ 4 
Waste management ............................................................................................................................................. 6 
2. BIODIVERSITY AND NATURAL CAPITAL ............................................................................................................................. 8 
Nature protection and restoration ....................................................................................................................... 8 
Marine ecosystems............................................................................................................................................. 15 
Ecosystem assessment and accounting ............................................................................................................. 16 
3. ZERO POLLUTION ..................................................................................................................................................... 18 
Clean air ............................................................................................................................................................. 18 
Industrial emissions ............................................................................................................................................ 19 
Major industrial accidents prevention – SEVESO ............................................................................................... 21 
Noise .................................................................................................................................................................. 22 
Water quality and management ........................................................................................................................ 22 
Chemicals ........................................................................................................................................................... 27 
4. CLIMATE ACTION ..................................................................................................................................................... 29 
Key national climate policies and strategies ...................................................................................................... 29 
Effort sharing target ........................................................................................................................................... 29 
Key sectoral developments ................................................................................................................................. 30 
Use of revenues from the auctioning of EU ETS allowances .............................................................................. 31 

PART II: ENABLING FRAMEWORK: IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS .............................................................................. 32 

5. FINANCING ............................................................................................................................................................. 32 
Environmental investment needs in the EU ....................................................................................................... 32 
EU environmental funding 2014-2020 ............................................................................................................... 33 
EU environmental funding 2021-2027 ............................................................................................................... 35 
National environmental protection expenditure ................................................................................................ 36 
Green budget tools ............................................................................................................................................. 37 
Overall financing compared to the needs .......................................................................................................... 39 
6. ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE ................................................................................................................................. 41 
Information, public participation and access to justice...................................................................................... 41 
Compliance assurance ........................................................................................................................................ 42 
Effectiveness of environmental administrations ................................................................................................ 44 
Reforms through the Commission’s Technical Support Instrument ................................................................... 45 
TAIEX EIR peer-to-peer projects ......................................................................................................................... 45 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
 
 
Latvia  3 

Executive summary 

The  main  challenges  identified  in  past  Environmental 
to 
Implementation  Reviews 
implementation  of  EU  environmental  policy  and  law  by 
Latvia were: 

(EIRs)  with 

regard 

  waste  management,  particularly  increasing  recycling, 
reducing 

collection  and 

separate 

rolling  out 
landfilling;  

  resource 

lessen  the 
exposure of Latvian businesses to rising resource cost. 

intensity  to  be  reduced  to 

There  has  been  good  progress  in  addressing  the  first 
challenge  with  waste  management.  The  ‘national  waste 
management  plan  2021-2028’  incorporates  the  new  EU 
waste targets and requirements. Latvia’s recycling rate of 
39.6% 
in  2020  for  municipal  waste  represents  an 
improvement,  but  it  has  nevertheless  fallen  behind  as 
regards its re-use and recycling targets. With its reform of 
waste  management  regions  and  introduction  of  the 
deposit  system  for  plastic  and  glass  bottles  in  2022, 
Latvia is taking steps in the right direction. 

As to the second challenge,  there has been no progress. 
With EUR 0.94 generated per kg of material consumed in 
2020, resource productivity in Latvia is still less than half 
of  the  EU  average  and  the  circular  use  of  material 
dropped to 4.2%, or less than a third of the EU average. 
As  a  positive  development,  the  circular  economy  action 
plan  2021-2027  was  adopted  and  Green  Public 
Procurement  constituted  27%  of  all  public  procurement 
in Latvia in 2020 in financial terms. The  national  circular 
economy  action  plan  needs  to  be  strengthened  with 
more  detailed  and  targeted  actions, 
funding  and 
implementation. 

approach 

to  ecosystem 

Latvia  faces  significant  challenges  in  relation  to  the 
protection of biodiversity. According to the latest report 
under  the  Habitats  Directive,  Latvia  ranks  No. 24  in  the 
EU-27  as  regards  the  conservation  status  of  its  habitats. 
Less  than  10%  of  them  are  assessed  as  having  a 
favourable conservation status. Latvia needs to develop a 
comprehensive 
services, 
mainstream  biodiversity  conservation  and  sustainable 
use in other sectors, notably forestry and agriculture, as 
90%  of  its  EU-protected  forests  and  grasslands  are 
assessed as having bad or poor status.  At the same time, 
bioenergy  is  gaining  momentum  Latvia,  as  it  is  the 
number one exporter of wood pellets in the EU. For the 
Natura  2000  network,  Latvia  has  designated  all  Sites  of 
Community Importance as Special Areas of Conservation, 
but  there  is  no  legal  certainty  as  to  the  species  and 
habitat  types  for  which  each  of  the  sites  has  been 
designated.  Additionally, Latvia  has persistently failed to 
set  sufficiently  detailed  and  quantified  conservation 
objectives and measures corresponding to the ecological 

requirements of the natural habitat types and the species 
concerned.  As  regards  organic  farming,  Latvia  performs 
well and ranks No. 6 in the EU. 

for 

infringement  procedure 

On  pollution  reduction,  the  emissions  of  key  air 
pollutants  have  decreased  significantly  in  recent  years, 
except  for  ammonia.    In  the  context  of  the  National  Air 
Pollution  Control  Programme,  Latvia  is  encouraged  to 
take  actions  towards  reducing  air  pollution  emissions 
from  the  main  emission  sources.  On  sustainable  water 
management, despite improvements in compliance over 
the  years,  in  respect  of  which  EU  funding  has  been 
fundamental,  Latvia’s  failure  to  comply  with  the  Urban 
Waste  Water  Treatment  Directive  is  still  subject  to  an 
reliance  on 
ongoing 
individual  and  other  appropriate  systems  (IAS),  such  as 
septic tanks, as well as the lack of appropriate treatment 
of  urban  wastewater  entering  collecting  systems  in  one 
agglomeration (Olaine). For groundwater, 100% achieves 
both  good  chemical  and  quantitative  status.  However, 
only  21.1%  of  all  surface  water  bodies  reach  good 
ecological  status  and  10.6% have  good  chemical  status. 
Latvia  is  among  the  Member  States  facing  the  greatest 
challenges 
from 
agriculture. A high  number of surface waters  have been 
found  to  be  eutrophic.  Eutrophication  is  affecting  both 
inland  and  marine  waters.  An  acute  eutrophication 
problem  in  97%  of  the  Baltic  Sea  represents  a  problem 
shared  with  neighbouring  states.  An  extremely  high 
proportion  of  the  waters  in  the  region  are  assessed  as 
not achieving good eutrophication status. 

tackling  nutrient  pollution 

in 

low 

support 

(RRP).  The 

to  provide 

financing  continues 

EU 
for 
environmental  implementation  and  can  be  used  in  a 
broader  context.  Latvia  did  not  include  any  measures 
directly  benefiting  the  environment  in  its  recovery  and 
resilience  plan 
level  of  planned 
biodiversity  spending  in  the  European  Union  Cohesion 
Policy  Programme  2021-2027  does  not  match  Latvia’s 
biodiversity  investment  needs.  Latvia’s  environmental 
financing  gap (additional to a  baseline  financing  level  of 
1.37% of GDP in 2014-2020) is estimated   to be  at  least 
an  additional  0.37%  of  GDP  and  has  to  be  addressed 
is 
through 
recommended  that  Latvia  devise  an  environmental 
financing  strategy  to  maximise  opportunities  for  closing 
this  gap  by  bringing  together  all  relevant  administrative 
levels  and  to  ensure  an  increased  level  of  financing  for 
the environment. This would be very helpful in improving 
the  main 
law 
implementation  challenges:  circular  economy  and  waste 
management,  protection  and  restoration  of  nature  and 
pollution reduction. 

environmental  policy 

financing  measures. 

additional 

and 

EU 

It 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
 
Latvia  4 

Part I: Thematic areas 

1. Circular economy and waste management

Figure 1: Circular material use rate (%), 2010-20201 

Resource  productivity  expresses  how  efficiently  the 
economy  uses  material  resources  to  produce  wealth. 
Improving  resource  productivity  can  help  to  minimise 
negative 
impacts  on  the  environment  and  reduce 
dependency on volatile raw  material  markets. As  shown 
in  Figure  2,  with  EUR  0.94  generated  per  kg  of  material 
consumed in 2020, resource productivity in Latvia is  less 
than half the EU average of EUR 2.08 per kg. 

Measures towards a circular economy 

The new circular economy action plan adopted in March 
2020 is one of the main building blocks of the European 
Green Deal. The EU’s transition to a circular economy will 
reduce  pressure  on  natural  resources  and  will  create 
sustainable  growth  and  jobs.  It  is  also  a  prerequisite  to 
achieve  the  EU’s  2050  climate  neutrality  target  and  to 
halt biodiversity loss. The  action plan contains initiatives 
for the entire life cycle of products, aiming to reduce the 
EU's  consumption  footprint  and  to  double  the  EU's 
circular  material  use  rate  by  2030.  It  targets  how 
products  are  designed,  promotes  circular  economy 
processes,  encourages  sustainable  consumption,  and 
aims to ensure that waste is prevented and the resources 
used are kept in the EU economy for as long as possible.  

The  circular  material  use  rate  is  a  good  indicator  of  an 
economy’s circularity, as it includes all the materials that 
are fed back into our economy. Large discrepancies in the 
circularity  rate  exist  between  countries.  To  help  achieve 
the  EU  circular  economy  action  plan’s  goal  of  doubling 
the  EU  circular  material  use  rate  by  2030,  ambitious 
measures  targeting  the  whole  product  life  cycle  are 
needed  at  Member  State  level.  Such  measures  range 
from  sustainable  product  design  to  increase  durability, 
reparability,  upgradability  and  recyclability  of  products, 
to  other  measures  like  remanufacturing,  increasing  the 
circularity  in  production  processes,  recycling,  as  well  as 
boosting  eco-innovation  and  increasing  the  uptake  of 
green public procurement. 

Lativa’s  circular  (secondary)  use  of  material  dropped 
from 6.5% in 2016 to 4.2% in 2020, compared to the EU 
average  of  12.8%.  Hence,  Latvia  achieves  only  a  third  of 
the  EU average and  demonstrates a  worrying trend that 
shows a clear deterioration of performance over time. 

1 Eurostat, Circular Economy Monitoring Framework.  

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                                 
Figure 2: Resource productivity 2010-20202 

Latvia  5 

innovation is an important enabling factor for the circular 
economy.  Product  design  approaches  and  new  business 
models  can  help 
to  produce  systemic  circularity 
innovations, creating new business opportunities. 

The country ranked 18th in the list of EU countries with a 
total  score  of  90  in  the  Eco-Innovation  Scoreboard  of 
2021,  and  it  is  an  average  eco-performer.  In  four  out  of 
five  components  of  the  Eco-Innovation  Index  of  2021, 
Latvia performed below the EU average (socio-economic 
outcomes being the exception). 

Figure 3: Eco-innovation performance, 2010-20194 

Circular economy strategies 

It  would  be  beneficial  for  Member  States  to  adopt  and 
implement  national/regional circular  economy strategies 
covering  the  whole 
life  cycle  of  products,  as  they 
constitute  one  of  the  most  effective  ways  to  progress 
towards a more circular economy at Member State level. 
Since  the  launch  of  the  European  circular  economy 
stakeholder platform in 20173, national, regional or local 
authorities  have  used  the  platform  to  share  their 
strategies and roadmaps.  

In September 2020, Latvia adopted the action plan 2021-
2027 Towards a Circular Economy that sets out the main 
circular  economy  actions,  targets  and 
implementing 
bodies.  The  plan  needs  to  be  strengthened  with  more 
detailed 
and 
and 
implementation. 

targeted 

actions, 

funding 

Eco-innovation 

A  successful  transition  to  a  circular  economy  requires 
social  and  technological  innovation,  as  the  full  potential 
of  the  circular  economy  can  only  be  achieved  when 
implemented  across  all  value  chains.  Therefore,  eco-

Green public procurement 

Public  procurement  accounts  for  a  large  proportion  of 
authorities’ 
consumption,  with  public 
European 
purchasing power representing 14% of EU GDP. This can 
help  drive  the  demand  for  sustainable  products  that 
meet  repairability  and  recyclability  standards.  Latvia 
adopted  a  GPP  national  action  plan  in  2015  and  set 
mandatory  GPP  requirements  for  a  progressively  wider 
range  of  product  groups.  Public  procurement  in  Latvia 
accounts for 11% of GDP. In 2020 the proportion of GPP 
was  27%  in  financial  terms  and  15.4%  in  terms  of  the 
number  of  all  public  purchases.  Statistics  on  GPP  are 
collected  annually  by  the  Procurement  Monitoring 
Bureau. 

2 Eurostat, Resource productivity. 
3  Circular economy stakeholder platform. 

4  European  Commission  -  Directorate-General  for  Environment  (DG 
ENV), Eco-innovation Observatory, Eco-innovation index. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
 
 
 
                                                                 
 
 
 
                                                                 
Latvia  6 

EU Ecolabel and the Eco Management and Auditing 
Scheme (EMAS) 

The number of EU Ecolabel products and EMAS-licensed5 
organisations in a given country provides some indication 
of  the  extent  to  which  the  private  sector  and  national 
stakeholders  are  actively  engaged  in  the  transition  to  a 
circular  economy.  It  also  shows  how  committed  public 
authorities  are  to  supporting  instruments  designed  to 
promote the circular economy. 

As  of  September  2021,  Latvia  had  79  products  and  five 
licenses  registered  in  the  EU  Ecolabel  scheme  out  of 
83 590  products  and  2 057  licences  in  the  EU,  which 
licences6. 
demonstrates  very 
Nonetheless, 
improvement 
there  has  been  some 
compared to 2019, when Latvia had 15 products and four 
licences. 

low  take-up  of  these 

As  Latvia  has  adopted  a  circular  economy  strategy,  the 
priority  action  from  the  2019  EIR  is  considered  to  have 
been  fulfilled,  however,  given  that  its  circular  material 
use  rate  is  far  below  the  EU  average,  a  priority  action 
relating to this topic has been added. 

2022 priority action 

  Adopt measures to improve the circular  material use 

rate. 

Waste management 

Turning waste into a resource is supported by: 
legislation,  which 
implementing  EU  waste 
(i)  fully 
includes  the  waste  hierarchy,  the  need  to  ensure 
separate  collection  of  waste,  the 
landfill  diversion 
targets, etc.; 
(ii) reducing waste generation and waste generation per 
capita in absolute terms; 
(iii)  limiting  energy  recovery  to  non-recyclable  materials 
and  phasing  out  landfilling  of  recyclable  or  recoverable 
waste. 

This  section  focuses  on  the  management  of  municipal 
waste7,  for  which  EU  law  sets  mandatory  recycling 
targets. 

resource  efficiency  and 

Preventing products and materials from becoming waste 
for  as  long  as  possible  is  the  most  efficient  way  to 
improve 
the 
environmental  impact  of  waste.  Waste  prevention  and 
re-use are the most preferred options and top the waste 
hierarchy. The amount of municipal waste generated is a 
good  indicator  of  the  effectiveness  of  waste  prevention 
measures. 

reduce 

to 

Municipal  waste8  generation  in  Latvia  has  increased  in 
recent  years. 
In  2020,  478  kg/year/inhabitant  was 
generated,  although  this  remains  below  the  EU  average 
(505  kg/year/inhabitant),  as  Figure  4  shows.  This 
indicates that Latvia’s economic growth has not yet been 
decoupled from its generation of waste. 

Figure 4: Municipal waste by treatment in Latvia, 2010-
20209 

Figure  4  also  shows  municipal  waste  by  treatment,  in 
terms of kilos per capita. Latvia has made some progress 
in  the  last  years,  stepping  up  its  recycling  rate  for 
municipal waste: in  2020 it was 39.6% (this is a the sum 
of  material 
recycling,  composting  and  anaerobic 
digestion).  This  is  still  below  the  EU  average  of  47.8% 
(EU-27 in 2019). 

Figure 5 shows that Latvia needs to step up investment in 
recycling to meet the EU 2025 recycling targets. 

5  EMAS  is  the  European  Commission’s  Eco-Management  and  Audit 
Scheme, a programme to encourage organisations to behave in a more 
environmentally sustainable way. 
6  European Commission, Ecolabel Facts and Figures. 
7  Municipal  waste  consists  of  mixed  waste  and  separately  collected 
waste  from  households  and  from  other  sources,  where  such  waste  is 
similar  in  nature  and  composition  to  waste  from  households.  This  is 
without  prejudice  to  the  allocation  of  responsibilities  for  waste 
management between public and private sectors. 

8 Municipal waste consists of (a) mixed waste and separately collected 
waste  from  households,  including  paper  and  cardboard,  glass,  metals, 
plastics,  bio-waste,  wood,  textiles,  packaging,  waste  electrical  and 
electronic  equipment,  waste  batteries  and  accumulators,  and  bulky 
waste, 
including  mattresses  and  furniture;  (b)  mixed  waste  and 
separately  collected  waste  from  other  sources,  where  such  waste  is 
similar in nature and composition to waste from households. (Directive 
2008/98/EC, Art. 3 2b). 
9  Eurostat, Municipal waste by waste operation, April 2022. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Figure 5: Recycling rate of municipal waste, 2010-202010 

As  pointed  out  in  the  2019  EIR,  the  Commission's  early 
warning  report11  listed  Latvia  as  one  of  the  countries  at 
risk  of  missing  the  EU  2020  target  of  recycling  50%  of 
municipal  waste.  The  Commission  is  currently  finalising 
its  analyses  of  the  progress  on  the  recommendations 
from  the  2018  early  warning  reports  and  of  progress 
towards  achieving  the  2025  waste  recyling  targets.  This 
report  is  expected  at  the  end  of  2022  and  will  make 
recommendations as appropriate. 

Latvia  7 

2028  that  incorporates  a  waste  prevention  programme. 
Latvia’s revised waste management state plan meets the 
requirements  of  Article  28  of  the  revised  Framework 
Directive on Waste. 

Latvia  has  not  ratified  the  Hong  Kong  International 
Convention  for  the  Safe  and  Environmentally  Sound 
Recycling of Ships. 

There has been substantial progress since the 2019 EIR as 
regards  measures  for  diverting  waste  from  landfill  and 
increasing  recycling  rates.  A  deposit  system  covering 
plastic  and  glass  bottles  and  cans  was  introduced  in 
February 2022. A landfill tax was increased to 80 EUR/t in 
2022  and  will  be  further  increased  to  95  EUR/t  as  of 
2023.  A  reform  of  waste  management  regions  is  under 
way,  reducing  their  number  from  10  to  5  and  requiring 
the  municipalities  to  draft  regional  waste  management 
plans  until  the  end  of  2022.  Getliņi  anaerobic  digestion 
tunnels  are  expected  to  become  operational  in  2022. 
However,  good 
for  separate  waste 
collection is not yet in place. It is particularly poor in the 
capital, Riga, where around half of the country’s waste is 
generated. In light of the upcoming early warning report 
2022,  several  2019  priority  actions  have  been  proposed 
again. 

infrastructure 

Implementation of the 2018 waste legislative package 

2022 priority actions 

By 5 July 2020 Member States had to bring their national 
laws  into  line  with  the  modifications  included  in  the 
revised  Waste  Framework  Directive,  the  Packaging  and 
Packaging  Waste  Directive  and  the  Landfill  Directive12. 
Latvia has notified the transposition of the Packaging and 
Packaging  Waste  Directive  to  the  Commission.  A 
conformity assessment is now ongoing. 

for 

are 

the 

Waste  management  plans  and  waste  prevention 
programmes 
sound 
instrumental 
implementation of EU waste legislation. They set out key 
provisions  and  investments  to  ensure  compliance  with 
(e.g.  waste 
existing  and  new 
prevention,  separate  collection  for  a  number  of  specific 
waste  streams,  recycling  and  landfill  targets).  Revised 
plans  and  programmes  were  due  on  5 July  2020.  In 
January  2021,  the  cabinet  of  the  Latvian  government  
approved  the  waste  management  state  plan  for  2021-

legal  requirements 

 

Improve  and  extend  separate  collection  of  waste, 
including  for  biowaste.  Review  and/or  harmonise 
minimum  service  standards  for  separate  collection 
(e.g. frequency of collections, types of containers etc.) 
in  municipalities  to  ensure  high  capture  rates  of 
recyclable waste.  

run 

and 

  Develop 

implementation 

  Set  mandatory  recycling  targets  for  municipalities, 
using measures to tackle non-compliance (e.g. fines). 
support 
programmes for municipalities to help support efforts 
to organise separate collection and improve recycling 
performance. 
functioning  of  extended  producer 
Improve  the 
responsibility  (EPR)  systems,  in  line  with  the  general 
minimum requirements on EPR13. 

 

10  Eurostat, Recycling rate of municipal rate, April 2022. 
11  European  Commission,  Report  on  the  implementation  of  waste 
legislation, including the early warning report for Member States at risk 
of missing the 2020 preparation for re-use/recycling target on municipal 
waste, SWD(2018)422 accompanying COM(2018)656. 
12  Directive  (EU)  2018/851,  Directive  (EU)  2018/852,  Directive  (EU) 
2018/850  and  Directive  (EU)  2018/849  amend  the  previous  waste 
legislation and set more ambitious recycling targets for the period up to 
2035. 

13 Directive (EU) 2018/851. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
 
 
                                                                 
 
 
                                                                 
Latvia  8 

2. Biodiversity and natural capital

The 2030 EU biodiversity strategy adopted in May 2020 
aims to put the EU’s biodiversity on a path to recovery 
and  sets  out  new  targets  and  governance  mechanisms 
to  achieve  healthy  and  resilient  ecosystems. 
In 
particular, the strategy sets out ambitious targets to: 
(i) protect a minimum of 30% of the EU’s land area and 
30% of its sea area and integrate ecological corridors, as 
part of a true trans-European nature network; 
(ii) strictly protect at least a third of the EU’s protected 
areas,  including  all  remaining  EU  primary  and  old-
growth forests; 
(iii)  effectively  manage  all  protected  areas,  defining 
clear  conservation  objectives  and  measures,  and 
monitoring them appropriately. 
The strategy also sets out an EU nature restoration plan 
–  a  series  of  concrete  commitments  and  actions  to 
restore  degraded  ecosystems  across  the  EU  by  2030, 
and  manage  them  sustainably,  addressing  the  key 
drivers of biodiversity loss. 

The  EU  Habitats  and  Birds  Directives  are 
the 
cornerstone  of  EU  legislation  designed  to  conserve  the 
EU’s  wildlife,  natural  habitats  and  ecosystems14.  As 
such, they are key legislative tools to deliver on the EU 
biodiversity strategy  targets for 2030. 

There  is  no  comprehensive  policy  planning  document 
for  biodiversity  protection  in  Latvia.  The  2021-2027 
environmental policy guidelines contain a short chapter 
on biodiversity (chapter 6) that has two key objectives: 
including  species  and 
conservation  of  biodiversity, 
habitats  subject  to  special  protection,  and  valuable 
landscapes;  and  preservation  and  management  of 
natural  capital.  The  guidelines  state  that,  in  the  last 
decade,  biodiversity  in  Latvia  continued  to  deteriorate. 
They  identify  intensification  of  land  use,  land  use 
change  and  fragmentation  of  ecosystems  as  the  main 
causes.  Annex  I  to  the  guidelines  contains  Latvia’s 
‘biodiversity  monitoring  programme’.  It  provides  for 
biodiversity  monitoring  throughout  Latvia,  for  species 
and  habitats  both  within  and  outside  the  protected 
areas.  

Nature protection and restoration  

Natura  200015,  the  largest  coordinated  network  of 
protected  areas  in  the  world,  is  the  key  instrument  for 

14These  directives  should  be  reinforced  by  the  Nature  Restoration 
Law, a key deliverable of the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030. 
15  Natura  2000  comprises  Sites  of  Community  Importance  (SCIs) 
designated  pursuant  to  the  Habitats  Directive  as  well  as  Special 
Protection  Areas  (SPAs)  classified  pursuant  to  the  Birds  Directive; 

achieving  the  objectives  under  the  Birds  and  Habitats 
long  term 
Directives,  which  aim  to  ensure  the 
protection,  conservation  and  survival  of  Europe's  most 
valuable  and  threatened  species  and  habitats  and  the 
ecosystems  they  underpin.  The  establishment  of  a 
coherent Natura 2000 network, the designation of Sites 
of  Community  Importance  (SCIs)  as  Special  Areas  of 
Conservation  (SACs)  and  the  setting  of  conservation 
objectives  and  measures  for  the  Natura  2000  sites  are 
key  milestones  towards  meeting  the  objectives  of  the 
Directives. 

Setting up a coherent network of Natura 2000 sites 

Latvia  hosts  61  habitat  types16  and  109  species17 
covered  by  the  Habitats  Directive.  The  country  also 
hosts  81  bird  taxa  listed  in  Annex  I  to  the  Birds 
Directive18. 

By  2021,  11.5%  of  the  land  area  of  Latvia  was  covered 
by  Natura  2000  (EU  coverage  18.5%),  with  Special 
Protection  Areas  (SPAs)  classified  under  the  Birds 
Directive  covering  10.2%  (EU  coverage 12.8%) and SCIs 
under  the  Habitats  Directive  covering  11.5%  (EU 
coverage 14.2%) of Latvia’s territory. 

insufficiencies 

The  latest  assessment  of  SCIs  within  the  Natura  2000 
in 
network  shows  that  there  are 
designation. There is an infringement procedure against 
Latvia,  currently  at  the  reasoned  opinion  stage,  for 
incorrect  application  of  Articles  4(4)  and  6  of  the 
Habitats Directive regarding the designation of SACs and 
the  setting  of  conservation  objectives  and  measures. 
Latvia’s  reply  to  the  reasoned  opinion  reached  the 
Commission in August 2021 and is under assessment. 

Taking 
into  account  both  Natura  2000  and  other 
nationally  designated  protected  areas,  Latvia  legally 
protects  18.2%  of  its  terrestrial  area  (EU-27  coverage 
26.4%)  and  15.8%  of  its  marine  area  (EU-27  coverage 
10.7%)19. 

coverage  figures  do  not  add  up  due  to  the  fact  that  some  SCIs  and 
SPAs  overlap.  Special  Areas  of  Conservation  (SACs)  means  a  SCI 
designated by the Member States. 
16 EEA, Article 17 dashboard, Annex I total, 2019.  
17  EEA,  Article  17  dashboard,  Annex  II  +  Annex  IV  excluding  those  in 
Annex  II  +  Annex  V  excluding  those  in  Annex  II,  2019.  This  counting 
only takes into account species and habitats for which assessment of 
conservation status was requested 
18  EEA, Article  12  dashboard,  Annex  I,  2020. This counting  only  takes 
into account birds taxa for which information was requested. 
19  European  Environment  Agency,  Protected  Areas,  terrestrial 
protected  area  percentage  (2021)  and  marine  protected  area 
percentage (2019), March 2022. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
                                                                 
 
                                                                                                      
Figure 6: Marine & terrestrial protected area coverage, 
202120 

Designating Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and 
setting conservation objectives and measures 

Latvia  9 

The  6-year  deadline  set  by  the  Habitats  Directive  to 
designate  SCIs  as  SACs  and  establish  appropriate 
conservation  objectives  and  measures  has  expired  for 
all sites in Latvia. 

As  mentioned  above,  there  is  an  infringement  for 
incorrect  application  of  Articles  4(4)  and  6  of  the 
Habitats Directive regarding the designation of SACs and 
the setting of conservation objectives and measures. 

Latvia  has  designated  all  328  of  the  SCIs  concerned  by 
this  case  as  SACs  within  the  required  time 
limit. 
However,  Latvia  failed  to  designate  all  of  those  sites 
properly, as there is no legal clarity or certainty as to the 
species  and  habitat  types  for  which  each  of  the  328 
SACs has been designated. In addition, in relation to all 
of the 328 SACs, Latvia generally and persistently failed 
to  set  sufficiently  detailed  and  quantified  conservation 
objectives  and  the  necessary  conservation  measures, 
corresponding  to  the  ecological  requirements  of  the 
natural habitat types and the species concerned. As the 
reply  by  Latvia  to  the  letter  of  formal  notice  did  not 
address these concerns, a reasoned opinion was issued 
on 9 June 2021. 

Progress on maintaining or restoring the favourable 
conservation status of species and habitats 

The results of the Habitats Directive Article 17 and Birds 
Directive  Article  12  reports  on  progress  towards 
maintaining or restoring favourable conservation status 
of  species  and  habitats  are  key  to  measuring  Member 
States’ performance. 

Figure 7: Natura 2000 terrestrial protected area 
coverage, 202121 

in  2018  was 

According  to  the  report  submitted  by  Latvia  on  the 
conservation  status  of  habitats  and  species  covered  by 
Article 17 of the Habitats Directive for the period 2013-
2018,  the  share  of  habitats  assessed  as  having  good 
less  than  10%, 
conservation  status 
representing  a  reduction  compared  to  the  10.5% 
reported  under  the  previous  reporting  period  (2007-
2012).  The  share  of  protected  species  assessed  as 
having good conservation status in 2018 was 39.45%, an 
increase  compared  to  the  28.32%  reported  under  the 
previous reporting period (2007-2012). As regards birds, 
41.3%  of  breeding 
short-term 
species 
increasing  or  stable  population  trends  (for  wintering 
species this figure was 66.6%). 

showed 

20  EU  Biodiversity  Strategy  Dashboard,  indicators  A1.1.1  and  A1.2.1, 
February 2022. 
21  European  Environment  Agency,  Natura  2000  Barometer,  February 
2022. 

At  the  same  time,  the  share  of  habitats  with  bad 
conservation  status  has  decreased  to  37.7%,  and  the 
share  of  species  assessed  as  having  bad  conservation 
status has  also decreased to  13.76%. Nevertheless, the 
Commission  has  called  on  Latvia  to  bring  its  national 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                                 
 
Latvia  10 

Figure  9:  Assessments  on  conservation  status  for 
species 
for  2007-2012  and  2013-2018  reporting 
periods24 

into 

line  with  the  Habitats  Directive, 
legislation 
especially as regards the protection of the lynx. Despite 
a 2020 report by the State Audit Office of Latvia entitled 
‘Is our game management sustainable?’, recommending 
that  national law be brought into line with the Habitats 
Directive,  the  Commission  considers  that  this  has  still 
not  been  done.  The  Commission  therefore  decided  to 
send a letter of formal notice in April 202222. 

Figure  8:  Assessments  on  conservation  status  for 
habitats23 

The fact that fewer than 10% of protected habitats have 
favourable  conservation  status,  and  a  downward  trend 
compared  to  the  previous  period,  indicate  that  Latvia 
faces significant challenges in protecting its biodiversity. 
All  semi-natural  grasslands,  more  than  90%  of  forests, 
and  most  bogs,  mires  and  fens  as  well  as  dunes  and 
coastal habitats still have unfavourable status. The main 
(development, 
causes  are  changes 
construction  and  use  of  residential,  commercial, 
industrial and recreational infrastructure and areas) and 
forestry and agriculture. 

land  use 

in 

As  an  example  of  good  practice,  Latvia  participated  in 
the  LIFE  ‘peat  restore’  project  with  partners  from 
Poland,  Germany  and  the  Baltic  states  to  re-wet 
degraded peatlands in the partner countries covering an 
area  of  5 300  hectares.  In  Latvia,  the  restoration  area 
covers 248 hectares. The peat restore project aimed to 
reduce  CO2 emissions  by  restoring  degraded  peatlands 
and  regenerating  their  carbon  sink  function,  as  well  as 
to  provide  best  practice  guidelines  on  peatland 
restoration  for  decision  makers  and  land  users.  In  two 
project  areas,  Augstroze  Nature  Reserve  and  Baltezers 
Mire  Nature  Reserve,  nature  management  plans  have 
been developed and the hydrological regime of drained 
mires  has  been  restored  by building  dams  to block  the 
drainage  ditches.  Thus,  the  peat  accumulation  capacity 
in the drained sections of the target areas is recovering. 

In  the  2019  EIR,  it  was  recommended  that  Latvia 
complete the SAC designation process and put in place 
clearly  defined  conservation  objectives  and 
the 
necessary conservation measures for sites.  To this end, 

24 Idem. 

22 April infringements package: key decisions (europa.eu). 
23  European  Environment  Agency,  Conservation  status  and  trends  of 
habitats  and  species,  December  2021.  Please  note when  comparing 
the figures shown for 2007-2012 and 2013-2018 that these may also 
be  affected  by  changes  in  method  or  as  the  result  of  better  data 
availability. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
 
 
 
                                                                 
 
 
                                                                 
Latvia  11 

Figure  10:  Share  of  total  utilised  agricultural  area 
occupied by organic farming per Member State, 202026 

completed 

comprehensive, 

Latvia  has  launched  a  LIFE  integrated  nature  project 
that  will  set  conservation  objectives  based  on  the 
recently 
country-wide 
inventory of the Annex I habitat types. There was also a 
priority  action  to  improve  incentives  for  foresters  and 
farmers  to  better  protect  forest  and  grassland  habitat 
and  ensure  sustainable 
forest  management  and 
efficient  use  of  biomass.  In  view  of  limited  progress  in 
adressing  these  actions,  the  2019  priority  actions  have 
been reproposed. 

Bringing nature back to agricultural land and restoring 
soil ecosystems 

The biodiversity strategy works alongside the new farm 
to fork strategy and the new common agricultural policy 
(CAP)  to  support  and  achieve  the  transition  to  fully 
sustainable  agriculture.  The  biodiversity  and  farm  to 
fork strategies have set four important targets for 2030: 
- a 50% reduction in the overall use of – and risk from – 
chemical pesticides; 
-  a  50%  reduction  in  the  use  of  more  hazardous 
pesticides; 
-  a  50%  reduction  in  losses  of  nutrients  from  fertilisers 
while  ensuring  there  is  no  deterioration  of  soil  fertility 
(which  will  result  in  a  20%  reduction  in  the  use  of 
fertilisers); 
- bring back at least 10% of agricultural area under high-
diversity  landscape  features  and  increase  areas  under 
organic farming to at least 25%. 

Agricultural land 

Latvia’s  utilised  agricultural  area  amounts  to  1.9  Mha, 
representing  31%  of  the  total  land  area.  The  major 
outputs  of  the  agricultural  industry,  excluding  services 
and  secondary  activities,  are  cereals  (25.3%)  and  milk 
(20.7%).25  

Latvia, with an estimated 14.79% of its agricultural area 
is  above  the  EU-27 
occupied  by  organic  farming, 
average of 9.07% (2020 data, Eurostat). 

25 SWD(2021) 1001. 

The Latvian agricultural sector is highly fragmented and 
farms  have  lower  agricultural  income  compared  to 
other  EU  Member  States27.  Rural  areas  suffer  from 
serious  problems  created  by  depopulation,  a  lack  of 
economic  activity  and  delays  in  the  provision  of  basic 
services and infrastructure. 

Latvian  soil  is  highly  acidic,  with  a  poor  phosphorus 
supply,  which  creates  dependency  on  external  inputs 
for  plant  nutrition.  There  is  a  tendency  towards  the 
indicators.  For 
deterioration  of  certain  soil  quality 
example,  the  share  of  conventional  tilling  is  very  high 
(91% of tillable area). 

There  is  an  unfavourable  trend  as  regards  ammonia 
emissions  from  agriculture.  As  described  in  the  section 
on  clean  air,  Latvia  projects  that  it  will  fail  to  comply 
with  the  2020-2029  emission  reduction  commitments 
for ammonia (NH3). 

The Farmland Bird Index in Latvia was at 91.05 in 201928, 
which is above the EU-27 average of 74.64, but this still 
represents a long-term declining trend. 

semi-natural  grasslands  have  an 
All  permanent 
unfavourable  conservation  status.  For  croplands,  the 
number  of  green  infrastructure  elements  is  insufficient 
in  the  more  intensively  farmed  areas  with  large  arable 
land  coverage.  Nevertheless,  [Latvia  has  the  highest 
percentage of fallow land as a proportion of its total all 
agricultural area]. 

The  Commission  recommendations  for  Latvia’s  CAP 
strategic  plan  include  bolstering  environmental  care 

26  Eurostat,  online  data  code:  SDG_02_40,  February  2022. 
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sdg_02_40/default/
table?lang=en (Eurostat, Area under organic farming, February 2022). 
27 SWD/2020/386. 
28 EUROSTAT [env_bio2]. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
 
 
                                                                 
 
 
                                                                 
with  several  actions,  such  as  addressing  nutrient 
management,  sustainable  crop  rotation  as  well  as 
protection and restoration of peatlands and wetlands. 

Figure  11:  Land  take  and  recultivation 
(m2/km2), 2012-201832 

in  EU-27 

Latvia  12 

Soil ecosystem 

Soil  is  a  finite  and  extremely  fragile  resource.  It  is 
increasingly degrading in the EU. 
The  new  EU  soil  strategy,  adopted  on  17  November 
2021,  stresses  the  importance  of  soil  protection,  of 
sustainable soil management and of restoring degraded 
soils  to  achieve  the  Green  Deal  objectives  as  well  as 
land degradation neutrality by 2030. 
This entails: 
(i) preventing further soil degradation; 
(ii)  making  sustainable  soil  management  the  new 
normal; 
(iii) taking action for ecosystem restoration. 

One factor contributing to degradation is the area of soil 
that  is  sealed  or  atificialised29.  In  Latvia  (Figure  11)  the 
land  taken  per  year  in  the  period  2012-2018  can  be 
seen as a measure of one important pressure on nature 
and  biodiversity:  land  use  change.  This  also  constitues 
an environmental pressure on people living in urbanised 
areas. 

Latvia is one of the three EU countries with the lowest 
annual rate of land take. It ranks below the EU average, 
with net land take of 34.4 m2/km2 (EU-27 average: 83.8 
m2/km2)30. 

its 

reporting  on 

In  2018,  Latvia  updated 
land 
degradation  according  to  the  Performance  Review  and 
Implementation  System  PRAIS3  reporting  platform31, 
with  actions 
intended  to  combat  the  degradation 
identified. 

29 Artificial  land cover  is defined as the total of roofed built-up areas 
(including  buildings  and  greenhouses),  artificial  non  built-up  areas 
(including sealed area features, such as yards, farmyards, cemeteries, 
car  parking  areas  etc.  and  linear  features,  such  as  streets,  roads, 
railways, runways, bridges) and other artificial areas (including bridges 
and  viaducts,  mobile  homes,  solar  panels,  power  plants,  electrical 
substations, pipelines, water sewage plants, and open dump sites). 
30 Land take  in Europe — European Environment Agency (europa.eu) 
fig 6. 
31  Performance  Review  and  Implementation  System,  All  Reports  | 
Prais3 (unccd.int). 

However, Latvia has not yet  committed to setting Land 
Degradation Neutrality targets under UNCCD33. 

As  already  stated  in  the  2019  EIR,  soil  organic  matter 
plays  an  important  role  in  the  carbon  cycle  and  in 
climate change. Soils are the second largest carbon sink 
in the world after the oceans. 

Forests and timber 

The EU forest strategy for 2030, adopted in July 2021, is 
part  of  the  Fit  for  55  package.  The  strategy  promotes 
the many services that forests provide. Its key objective 
is  to  ensure  healthy,  diverse  and  resilient  EU  forests 
that  contribute  significantly 
the  strengthened 
biodiversity  and  climate  ambitions.  Forests  are 
important  carbon  sinks  and  conserving  them  is  vital  if 
the EU is to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.  

to 

Of  the  27%  of  EU  forest  area  protected  under  the 
Habitats  Directive,  less  than  15%  of  assessments  have 
favorable conservation status34. The proportion of areas 
with  bad  conservation  status  increased  from  27%  to 
31% in the EU compared to 2015. 

In  Latvia,  forests  cover  54,82%  of  the  territory35  and 
more  than  90%  of  the  assessments  reveal  bad  to  poor 

32  European  Environment  Agency,  Land  take  in  Europe,  December 
2021. 
33  The LDN Target Setting Programme | UNCCD. 
34 EEA, online data code: NRG_TE_BIO   last update: 10/02/2022 
35 EEA, Forest information system for Europe. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Latvia  13 

status36.  17  000  ha  in  Latvia  is  covered  by  primary 
forest37. 

Latvia is the number one exporter of wood pellets in the 
EU,  with  over  2  million  tons  of  pellets  exported  every 
year38.  At  the  same  time,  emission  absorption  from 
forests is declining and measures to ensure sustainable 
use  of  forests  are  needed  to  achieve  both  biodiversity 
and climate objectives. Sustainable forest management 
must  be  understood  in  the  sense  of  the  Helsinki 
resolution,  i.e.  the  stewardship  and  use  of  forests  in  a 
way,  and  at  a  rate,  that  maintains  their  biodiversity, 
productivity,  regeneration  capacity,  vitality  and  their 
potential  to  fulfill,  now  and  in  the  future,  relevant 
ecological,  economic  and  social  functions,  at  local, 
national,  and  global  levels,  and  that  does  not  cause 
damage to other ecosystems.  

Figure  12:    Conservation  status  of  forests  protected 
under  the  Habitats  Directive  in  EU  Member  States, 
2013-2018 (% assessments)39 

In  accordance  with  the  European  Union  Timber 
Regulation (EUTR)40, which prohibits the placing on the 
EU  market  of  illegally  harvested  timber,  EU  Member 
States’  competent  authorities  must  conduct  regular 
checks on operators and traders, and apply penalties in 
case of non-compliance. With the amendment of Article 
20  of  the  EUTR,  biennial  reporting  became  annual  and 
covers the calendar year as of 2019. 

In  the  period  March  2017  -  February  201941,  Latvia 
performed  five  desktop  reviews,  29  document  reviews 
on  site  and  five  document  and  product  inspections  on 
site for imported timber. It is estimated that Latvia had 
135  000  operators  placing  domestic  timber  and  400 
operators  placing  imported  timber  onto  the  internal 
market over the reporting period. 

36 SWD (2021) 652 
37JRC,  Mapping  and assessment  of  primary  and old-growth forests in 
Europe, p. 13. 
38 Eurostat, online data code: NRG_TE_BIO, last update: 10/02/2022. 
39  European  Environment  Agency,  Conservation  status  and  trend  in 
conservation status by habitat group - forests, January 2022. 

40 Regulation (EU) No 995/2010. 
41 COM/2020/629 final. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
                                                                 
 
 
                                                                 
According to the Impact Assessment  accompanying the 
Environmental  Crime  Directive, 
is  a 
frequent offence in Latvia42. 

logging 

illegal 

Latvia  14 

implementation of the IAS Regulation.  

The  new  Deforestation  Regulation43  will  repeal  and 
replace  the  EU  Timber  Regulation,  as  it  will  essentially 
integrate  and  improve  the  existing  system  to  control 
timber legality. 

A 2021 report46 on the baseline distribution shows that, 
of  the  66  species  on  the  Union  list,  14  have  been 
observed in the environment in  Latvia. The spread can 
be observed in Figure 13. 

Invasive alien species 

Invasive alien species are a key cause of biodiversity loss 
in  the  EU  (alongside  changes  in  land  and  sea  use, 
overexploitation, climate change and pollution). Besides 
inflicting  major  damage  on  nature  and  the  economy, 
many  invasive  alien  species  also  facilitate  the  outbreak 
and  spread  of  infectious  diseases,  posing  a  threat  to 
humans and wildlife.  
The  implementation  of  the  EU  Invasive  Alien  Species 
Regulation  and  other  relevant 
legislation  must  be 
stepped up. 
The  biodiversity  strategy  for  2030  aims  to  manage 
recognised  invasive  alien  species  and  decrease  the 
number of ‘red list’ species they threaten by 50%. 

The  core  of  the  Regulation  on  invasive  alien  species44 
(the  IAS  Regulation)  is  the  list  of  invasive  alien  species 
(IAS) of Union concern. 

The  total  number  of  IAS  of  Union  concern  is  currently 
66,  of  which:  30  are  animal  species  and  36  are  plant 
species;  41  are  primarily  terrestrial  species,  23  are 
primarily  freshwater  species,  one  is  a  brackish-water 
species and one is a marine species. 

According  to  a  2021  report45  on  the  review  of  the 
application of the IAS Regulation, it is already starting to 
deliver on its objectives, such as a coherent framework 
for addressing IAS at EU level and increased awareness 
of  the  problem  of  IAS.  At  the  same  time,  the  report 
identified some challenges and areas for improvement. 
Given  that  the  deadlines  for  implementing  the  various 
obligations  of  the  IAS  Regulation  applied  gradually 
between  July  2016  and  July  2019,  it  is  premature  to 
the 
draw 

several  aspects  of 

conclusions  on 

42 SWD(2021) 465 final/2, p.18. 
43  A  proposal  for  the  Regulation  on  the  making  available  on  the  EU 
market  and  export  of  products  associated  with  deforestation  and 
forest degradation. 
44  Regulation  (EU)  No  1143/2014  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of 
the Council of 22 October 2014 on the prevention and management of 
the introduction and spread of invasive alien species. 
45  Report  from  the  Commission to  the  European  Parliament  and the 
Council  on  the  review  of  the  application  of  Regulation  (EU)  No 
1143/2014  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  22 
October 2014 on the prevention and management of the introduction 
and spread of invasive alien species, COM(2021) 628 final, 13.10.2021. 

Figure  13:  Number  of  invasive  alien  species  of  EU 
concern, 
georeferenced 
information for Latvia, 2021 

available 

based 

on 

Latvia has been issued with a  letter of formal  notice  in 
the  context  of  infringement  proceedings  against  it  for 
having  failed  to  fulfil  its  obligations  under  the  IAS 
Regulation. 

2022 priority actions  

  For  all  SACs,  establish  site-specific  conservation 
objectives  and  measures  which  correspond  to  the 
ecological requirements of the natural habitat types 
in Annex I and the species in Annex II of the Habitats 
Directive. 

  Strengthen  the  integration  of  biodiversity  concerns 
(e.g.  agriculture, 
fisheries, 
infrastructure  planning  and 
the  promotion  of 

into  other  policies 
forestry,  urban  and 
sustainable 
communication between stakeholders. 

tourism)  and 

  Reduce  pressure  from  the  agricultural  sector  on 

46  Cardoso  A.C.,  Tsiamis  K.,  Deriu  I.,  D'  Amico  F.,  Gervasini  E.,  EU 
Regulation 1143/2014:  assessment  of  invasive  alien species of  Union 
concern  distribution,  Member  States  reports  vs  JRC  baselines,  EUR 
30689  EN,  Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union,  Luxembourg, 
2021, ISBN 978-92-76-37420-6, doi:10.2760/11150, JRC123170. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
                                                                 
 
 
 
                                                                 
 

natural resources by cutting ammonia emissions and 
increasing nutrient use efficiency. 
Improve  incentives  for  foresters  and  farmers  to 
better  protect  forest  and  grassland  habitat.  Ensure 
sustainable  forest  management  and  efficient  use  of 
biomass,  restoring  forest  ecosystems  to  reach  a 
good conservation status. 

  Take  the  necessary  steps  to  ensure  full  compliance 
with the requirements specified in Article  13 of the 
IAS Regulation. 

Marine ecosystems 

for  2030  aims 

to 
The  EU  biodiversity  strategy 
substantially  reduce  negative 
impacts  on  sensitive 
species  and  habitats  in  marine  ecosystems  and  to 
achieve good environmental status as well as eliminate 
or reduce  incidental catches  of protected, endangered, 
threatened  and  sensitive  species  to  a  level  that  allows 
species recovery and conservation47. 

The  Marine  Strategy  Framework  Directive  (MSFD)48 
requires Member States to achieve Good Environmental 
Status  (GES)  in  marine  waters.  To  that  end,  Member 
States  have  to  develop  marine  strategies  for  their 
marine  waters,  and  cooperate  with  Member  States 
sharing  the  same  marine  region  or  subregion.  These 
marine  strategies  comprise  different  steps  to  be 
developed and implemented over six-year cycles. 

(Article  9),  and  to  provide  an 

Among  other  obligations,  the  MSFD  requires  Member 
States  to  define  a  set  of  GES  characteristics  for  each 
descriptor 
initial 
assessment  of  their  marine  waters  (Article  8)  by  15 
October  2018.  The  Commission  then  assesses  whether 
this  constitutes  an  appropriate  framework  to  meet  the 
requirements of the Directive. 

The Commission assessed  Latvia’s  2018 determinations 
of GES for each of the 11 descriptors49 under the MSFD 
and  determined  their  level  of  adequacy  in  relation  to 
the  Commission  GES  Decision50.  A  good  or  very  good 
score indicates that the national determinations of GES 
are  well  aligned  with  the  requirements  of  the 
Commission  GES  Decision,  providing  qualitative  and 
quantitative  national  environmental  objectives  to  be 
achieved for their marine waters. 

47  The  EU  Common  Fisheries  Policy  (CFP)  aims  to  contribute  to  the 
achievement  of  the  objectives  of  the  environmental  legislation  for 
marine ecosystems. 
48 Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC. 
49 Annex I of Directive 2008/56/EC. 
50  Commission  Decision  (EU)  2017/848  laying  down  criteria  and 
methodological  standards  on  good  environmental  status  of  marine 
waters  and  specifications  and  standardised  methods  for  monitoring 
and assessment, and repealing Decision 2010/477/EU. 

Latvia  15 

Figure  14:  Level  of  adequacy  of  GES  determination  by 
Latvia  (BAL  region)  with  criteria  set  under  the 
Commission  GES  Decision  –  Article  9  (2018  reporting 
exercise)51 

Latvia has one marine sub-region: BAL-Baltic Sea. In this 
marine  sub-region,  0  out  of  11  determinations  of  GES 
were  assessed  as  good  or  very  good.  The  national 
determination of GES by Latvia is coherent for 0 out of 
11 descriptors. 

The MSFD also requires that Member States assess the 
current  environmental  status  of  their  marine  waters  in 
relation  to  the  determination  of  GES.  A  good  or  very 
good  score  indicates  that  a  Member  State  has  good 
in 
capabilities  to  assess  their  marine  environment 
accordance  with  the  requirements  set  out 
in  the 
Commission GES Decision. 

51  Assessment  carried  out  by  the  European  Commission  of  the  data 
reported by the Member States, January 2022. Please note that only 
two sub-sections of descriptor D1 are displayed (D1-M Mammals and 
D1-B Birds). For the analysis, these two sub-sections were considered 
as a whole after averaging. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Latvia  16 

the 

on 
accompanying 
recommendations per Member State and region on 
the 2018 updated reports for Articles 8, 9 and 10 of 
the MSFD. 

Communication55 

Ecosystem assessment and accounting  

The  EU  biodiversity  strategy  for  2030  calls  on  Member 
States  to  better  integrate  biodiversity  considerations 
into  public  and  business  decision  making  at  all  levels 
and to develop natural capital accounting. The EU needs 
a  better  performing  biodiversity  observation  network 
and  more  consistent  reporting  on  the  condition  of 
ecosystems. 

including 

Latvia  has  carried  out  an  ecosystem  assessment  for  its 
internal  marine  waters, 
marine  waters, 
territorial waters and its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). 
The  assessment  was  performed  in  2016  as  one  of  the 
steps  in  the  implementation  of  the  ecosystem-based 
approach  as  part  of  the  development  of  the  national 
maritime spatial plan (MSP). 

The mapping and assessment of conditions were initially 
based on conservation status and environmental status 
data  collected  under  the  Habitats  Directive  and  the 
MSFD. 

The  mapping  and  assessment  of  ecosystem  services 
were  carried  out  in  priority  for  marine  ecosystem 
services. 

its  ecosystem  assessment,  Latvia 

With 
intends  to 
improve its MSP and spatial information on distribution 
of areas important  for  the provision of services related 
to direct sea uses, and the regulation and maintenance 
of services essential for a resilient marine ecosystem. 

Moreover,  Latvia  is  involved  in  a  number  of  LIFE 
projects  relevant  for  ecosystem  assessment.  Latvia  will 
also  begin  the  biophysical  mapping  of  habitats  of  EU 
importance (see here for more information). 

Latvia has provided updated information and significant 
progress has been recorded  since  January 2016 (Figure 
16).  This  assessment  is  based  on  27  implementation 
questions and updated every six months. 

Figure 15: Level of adequacy of national assessment of 
Latvia’s marine environment (BAL region) with criteria 
set  under  the  Commission  GES  Decision  –  Article  8 
(2018 reporting exercise)52  

Four descriptors out of 11 were scored as good or very 
good.  Latvia’s  assessment  of  its  marine  environment  is 
coherent with requirements under the Commission GES 
Decision  for  4  out  of  11  descriptors.  Latvia  is  missing 
data for D11 – Energy, including underwater noise. 

the  MSFD53,  while 

As  highlighted  in  the  Commission’s  report  on  the 
implementation  of 
regional 
cooperation  has  improved  since  the  adoption  of  the 
MSFD,  more  cooperation 
is  needed  to  attain  full 
regional coherence of the marine strategies, as required 
by  the  Directive.  Furthermore,  in  March  2022,  the 
European Commission published a Communication with 
recommendations for Member States.  The Commission 
assessment highlights that Member States need to step 
up their efforts to determine good environmental status 
and  the  use  of  the  criteria  and  methodological 
standards  according  to  the  Commission  GES  Decision. 
The  above  considerations  form  the  basis  for  the  2022 
priority actions. 

2022 priority actions 

  Ensure  regional  cooperation  with  Member  States 
sharing  the  same  marine  (sub)region  to  address 
predominant pressures. 
Implement  the  recommendations  made  by  the 
in  the  Staff  Working  Document54 
Commission 

 

52 Idem. 
53 COM(2020)259. 
54  SWD(2022)1392. 

55 COM(2022)550. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
 
 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Figure 16: ESMERALDA MAES Barometer, January 2016 
- March 202156 

Latvia  17 

Progress  on  ecosystem  accounting  implementation  is 
assessed  at  national  level  on  the  basis  of  13  questions 
(see Figure 16). 

Business  and  biodiversity  platforms,  networks  and 
communities of practice are key tools for promoting and 
facilitating  natural  capital  assessments  (NCAs)  among 
business and financial service providers, for instance via 
the  Natural  Capital  Protocol  of  the  Natural  Capital 
Coalition57.  NCAs  help  private  business  to  better 
understand and value their dependency as well as their 
impact  on  nature,  thereby  contributing  to  the  EU 
biodiversity  strategy.  At  EU  level58  and  in  a  number  of 
the Member States – although not all (and not in Latvia) 
- such platforms have been established. 

Latvia  has  not  signed  and  ratified  the  Nagoya  Protocol 
on  Access  to  Genetic  Resources  and  the  Fair  and 
from  their 
Equitable  Sharing  of  Benefits  Arising 
Utilization  (ABS)  to  the  Convention  on  Biological 
Diversity. 

2022 priority action 

  Continue supporting the mapping and assessment of 
ecosystems  and  ecosystem  services,  and  ecosystem 
accounting  development, 
through  appropriate 
indicators 
integrating  ecosystem  extent, 
for 
condition  and  services  (including  some  monetary 
values)  into  national  accounts;  continue  supporting 
the  development  of  national  business  and 
biodiversity  platforms, 
including  natural  capital 
accounting systems to monitor and value the impact 
of business on biodiversity. 

56  European  Commission,  Joint  Research  Centre,  Publications  Office, 
EU  Ecosystem  assessment:  summary  for  policymakers,  page  80,  May 
2021. 
57 Natural Capital Coalition, Natural Capital Protocol. 
58  Business  and  Biodiversity,  The  European  Business  and  Biodiversity 
Campaign aims to promote the business case for biodiversity in the EU 
Member  States  through  workshops,  seminars  and  a  cross-media 
communication strategy. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
 
 
                                                                 
Latvia  18 

3. Zero pollution  

Clean air 

its 

EU  clean  air  policies  and  legislation  need  to  significantly 
improve air quality in the EU, moving the EU closer to the 
quality recommended by the WHO and curbing emissions 
of key air pollutants. 
Air  pollution  and 
impacts  on  ecosystems  and 
biodiversity  should  be  further  reduced  with  the  long-
term  aim  of  not  exceeding  critical  loads  and  levels.  This 
requires  strengthening  efforts  to  reach  full  compliance 
with EU clean air legislation and defining strategic targets 
and actions for 2030 and beyond.  
The 2030 zero pollution action plan targets are to reduce 
the health impacts of air pollution by 55% and to reduce 
the EU ecosystems threatened by air pollution by 25%.  

The  EU  has  developed  a  comprehensive  suite  of  air 
legislation,  which  establishes  health-based 
quality 
standards59 and emmission reduction commitments60 for 
a number of air pollutants. 

Air  quality  in  Latvia  is  generally  good,  with  exceptions. 
The  latest  available  annual  estimates  (for  2019)  by  the 
European  Environment  Agency61  point  to  about  1  600 
premature  deaths  (or  17  700  years  of  life  lost  (YLL)) 
attributable  to  fine  particulate  matter  concentrations62 
and 50 (600 YLL)  to ozone concentration63 64. 

its 

Emissions  of  key  air  pollutants  have  decreased 
significantly  in  Latvia  in  recent  years,  while  GDP  growth 
latest 
has  continued  (see  graph).  According  to 
projections,  as  submitted  under  Article  10(2)  of  the 
National  Emission  reduction  Commitments  Directive 
(NECD)65,  Latvia  estimates  that 
it  will  achieve  the 
emission reduction commitments for most air pollutants 
covered by the Directive for the period 2020 to 2029 and 
for  all  pollutants  from  2030  onwards.  However,  in  its 
projections,  Latvia  does  not  consider  that  it  will  achieve 
the  2020  to  2029  emission  reduction  commitments  for 
NH3.  The latest inventory data submitted by Latvia, prior 
to  review  by  the  Commission,  indicate  that  Latvia  is  in 

59 European Commission, 2016. Air Quality Standards. 
60European Commission, Reduction of National Emissions. 
61 European Environment Agency, Air Quality in Europe  –2021 Report. 
Please  see  details 
in  this  report  as  regards  the  underpinning 
methodology, p.106. 
62  Particulate  matter  (PM)  is  a  mixture  of  aerosol  particles  (solid  and 
liquid) covering a wide range of sizes and chemical compositions. PM10 
(PM2.5) refers to  particles with a  diameter  of  10  (2.5) micrometres or 
less. PM is emitted from many human sources, including combustion. 
63 Low-level ozone is produced by photochemical action on pollution. 
64  Please  note  that  these  figures  refer  to  the  impacts  of  individual 
pollutants and, to avoid double-counting, cannot be added together.    
65 Directive 2016/2284/EU. 

compliance  with  the  emission  reduction  commitments 
for  NOx,  NMVOC,  SO2  and  PM2.5,  but  not  in  compliance 
with  the  emission  reduction  commitment  for  NH3  in 
2020. 

Latvia  submitted 
Programme on 16 April 2020. 

its  National  Air  Pollution  Control 

Figure  17:  Emission  trends  of  main  pollutants/  GDP  in 
Latvia, 2005-201966 

Figure 18: PM2.5 and NOx emissions by sector in Latvia, 
201967 

66 European Environment Agency. 
67 European Environment Agency. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia  

 
                                                                 
 
 
 
                                                                 
Latvia  19 

key pollutants. However, additional efforts are needed to 
ensure  full  implementation  of  EU  air  quality  legislation. 
According to the latest air pollutant emission projections, 
additional measures would have to be taken to attain the 
necessary  emission  reductions  to  reach  NECD  emission 
reduction commitments. 

2022 priority actions 

  Take  action  towards  reducing  emissions  from  the 
main sources mentioned above, in the context of the 
NAPCP. 

  Ensure  full  compliance  with  EU  air  quality  standards 
and  maintain  downward  emissions  trends  of  air 
pollutants, to reduce adverse air pollution impacts on 
health and the economy with a view to reaching WHO 
guideline values in the future. 

  Latvia is strongly encouraged to accelerate ratification 
of  the  Heavy  Metals  Protocol  and  POPs  Protocol 
under the UNECE Air Convention. 

Industrial emissions 

The main objective of EU policy on industrial emissions is 
to: 
(i) protect air, water and soil; 
(ii) prevent and manage waste; 
(iii) improve energy and resource efficiency; 
(iv) clean up contaminated sites. 
To  achieve  this,  the  EU  takes  an  integrated  approach  to 
the  prevention  and  control  of  routine  and  accidental 
industrial emissions. The cornerstone of the policy is the 
Industrial Emissions Directive69 (IED).  
As  announced 
in  the  European  Green  Deal,  the 
Commission  carried  out  an  impact  assessment  for  the 
revision  of  the  IED  in  2021  with  a  view  to  tabling  a 
proposal  in  early  202270.  The  revision  seeks  to  improve 
the  directive’s  contribution  to  the  zero  pollution 
objective, as well as its consistency with climate, energy 
and circular economy policies. 

The  below  overview  of  industrial  activities  regulated  by 
the  IED  is  based  on  data  reported  to  the  EU  Registry 
(2018)71. 

69  Directive  2010/75/EU  covers  industrial  activities  carried  out  above 
certain thresholds. It covers energy industry, metal production, mineral 
and chemical industry and waste management, as well as a wide range 
of  industrial  and agricultural  sectors  (e.g.  intensive  rearing  of  pigs  and 
poultry, pulp and paper production, painting and cleaning). 
70  The  revision  of  the  IED  is  performed  in  parallel  to  the  revision  of 
Regulation  (EC)  No  166/2006  on  the  European  Pollutant  Release  and 
Transfer Register (E-PRTR). 
71 European Environment Agency, European Industrial Emissions Portal. 

For the year 2020, no exceedances above the limit values 
established by the  Ambient  Air Quality Directive (AAQD) 
were registered68. 

Latvia has not yet ratified the Heavy Metals Protocol and 
POPs Protocol under the UNECE Air Convention. 

In  the  2019  EIR  the  Commission  suggested  that  Latvia 
take  actions  towards  reducing  emissions  from  the  main 
sources,  in  the  context  of  the  National  Air  Pollution 
Control  Programme  (NAPCP).  As  indicated  above,  some 
progress has been made in reducing the concentration of 

68 European Environment Agency, Eionet Central Data Repository. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
 
 
 
                                                                 
 
 
                                                                 
Latvia  20 

Figure  20: Emissions to air from IED sectors and rest of 
national total air emissions in Latvia, 201873 

In Latvia, around 100 industrial installations are required 
to  have  a  permit  based  on  the  IED.  The  distribution  of 
installations is shown in the figure below. 

industrial  sectors 

in  Latvia  with  the  most  IED 
The 
installations in 2018 were intensive rearing of poultry and 
pigs  (35%),  followed  by  the  waste  management  sector, 
including landfills (29%) and the energy sector (15%). 

Figure  19:  Number  of  IED  industrial  installations  per 
sector in Latvia, 201872  

The  EU  approach  taken  to  enforcement  under  the  IED 
creates  strong  rights  for  citizens  to  have  access  to 
relevant information and to participate in the permitting 
process. This empowers citizens and NGOs to ensure that 
permits  are  appropriately  granted  and  their  conditions 
inspection, 
respected.  As  part  of  environmental 
IED 
competent  authorities  undertake  site  visits  to 
installations  to  take  samples  and  to  gather  necessary 
information.  According  to  Article  23(4)  of  the  IED,  site 
visits are carried out between once every year and once 
every three years, depending on the environmental risks 
posed by the installations. In 2018 Latvia undertook 107 
site visits, the majority of which were to installations for 
the intensive rearing of poultry and pigs (36%), the waste 
management  sector,  including  landfills  (30%)  and  the 
energy sector (11%). 

The  industrial  sectors  identified  as  placing  the  largest 
burden on the environment in terms of emissions to air 
were  the  energy  sector  for  Sulphur  Oxides  (SOx), 
Nitrogen  Oxides  (NOx),  Particulate  Matter  (PM  2.5)  and 
heavy  metals  such  as  Lead  (Pb),  Nickel  (Ni),  Arsenic  (As) 
and  Mercury  (Hg);  the  waste  management  sector  for 
Dioxin  and  Mercury  (Hg);  and  other  activities  for  Non 
Methane  Volatile  Organic  Compounds  (NMVOCs).  The 
breakdown is shown in the following graph. 

72  European  Environment  Agency,  EU  Registry,  European  Industrial 
Emissions Portal (data retrieved on 3 November 2021). 

73  European  Environment  Agency,  LRTAP,  Air  pollutant  emissions  data 
viewer  (Gothenburg  Protocol,  LRTAP  Convention)  1990-2019  (data 
retrieved on 3 November 2021). 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                                 
 
 
 
                                                                 
Figure  21: Number of inspections in IED installations in 
2018 (EU Registry, 2018) 

The  development  of  Best  Available  Techniques  (BAT) 
Reference  Documents  (BREFs)  and  BAT  conclusions 
ensures  good  collaboration  with  stakeholders  and 
enables better implementation of the IED74. Since the last 
EIR  report,  BAT  Conclusions  were  adopted  for  Waste 
Incineration, for the Food, Drink and Milk Industries and 
for  Surface  Treatment  Using  Organic  Solvents  including 
Wood  and  Wood  Products  Preservation  with  Chemicals. 
The  Commission  relies  on  the  efforts  of  national 
competent  authorities  to  implement  the  legally  binding 
BAT  conclusions  and  associated  BAT  emission  levels  in 
environmental permits, resulting in the considerable and 
continuous reduction of pollution. 

In  2019,  Latvia’s  priority  actions  were  to  review  permits 
and  to  strengthen  control  and  enforcement  to  ensure 
compliance with newly adopted BAT conclusions. Latvia’s 
priority  actions  also  included  addressing  pollution  in the 
form  of  odour  from  the  intensive  rearing  of  poultry  and 
pigs  and  air  pollution  from  waste  incineration,  which 
were  identified  as  challenges  by  Latvia.  Emissions  from 
these sectors no longer appear to be so high, and need to 
be  addressed  through  the  implementation  of  the  BAT 
conclusions  for  intensive  rearing  of  poultry  or  pigs  and 
for  waste  incineration,  to  be  put  in  place  by  February 
2021 and December 2023, respectively. 

Major industrial accidents prevention – 
SEVESO 

The  main  objectives  of  EU  policy  on  the  prevention  of 
major industrial accidents are to: 
(i)  control  major  accident  hazards  involving  dangerous 
substances, especially chemicals; 
(ii)  limit  the  consequences  of  such  accidents  for  human 
health and the environment; 
(iii)  continuously  improve  prevention,  preparedness  and 

74 European Commission BAT reference documents. 

Latvia  21 

response to major accidents.  
The  cornerstone  of  the  policy  is  Directive  2012/18/EU 
(the Seveso-III Directive)75. 

The below overview of industrial plants regulated by  the 
Seveso-III  Directive  (Seveso  establishments),  is  based  on 
data  reported  to  the  eSPIRS  database  (2018)76  and  the 
Latvia  report  on  the  implementation  of  the  Seveso-III 
Directive for the period 2015-201877. 

In  Latvia,  of  the  64  Seveso  establishments,  35  are 
categorised as lower-tier establishments (LTEs) and 29 as 
upper-tier  establishments  (UTEs),  on  the  basis  of  the 
quantity  of  hazardous  substances  likely  to  be  present. 
UTEs  are  subject  to  more  stringent  requirements.  The 
evolution  of  the  number  of  Seveso  establishments  is 
presented in Figure 22. 

Figure  22:  Number  of  Seveso  establishments  in  Latvia, 
2011, 2014 and 201878 

According to Latvia, the external emergency plan (EEP) is 
required for 29 UTEs. In 2018, 29 UTEs had an EEP and 29 
of these EEPs had been tested over the last  three years. 
The summary is shown in Figure 23. The establishment of 
is  essential  to  allow  proper  preparation  and 
EEPs 
effective  implementation  of  the  necessary  actions  to 
protect  the  environment  and  the  population  should  a 
major industrial accident nevertheless happen. 

75  Directive  2012/18/EU  on  the  control  of  major-accident  hazards 
involving dangerous substances. 
76 European Commission, Seveso Plants Information Retrieval System. 
77 As provided for by Article 21(2) of the Seveso-III Directive. 
78 European Commission, Assessment and summary of Member States’ 
Implementing  Decision  2014/896/EU 
implementation  reports  for 
(Implementing  Directive  2012/18/EU  on  the  control  of  major  accident 
hazards involving dangerous substances), 2022. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
 
 
 
                                                                 
 
 
 
 
                                                                 
Figure 23: Situation regarding EEP in Latvia, 201879 

Noise 

Latvia  22 

The  Environmental  Noise  Directive  provides  for  a 
common  approach  to  avoid,  prevent  and  reduce  the 
harmful  effects  of  exposure  to  environmental  noise 
although  it  does  not  set  noise  limits  as  such.  Its  main 
instruments 
in  this  respect  are  noise  mapping  and 
planning.  A  key  target  under  the  2030  zero  pollution 
action  plan  is  to  reduce  by  30%  the  share  of  people 
disturbed by transport noise. 

Excessive noise from aircraft, railways and roads is one of 
the  main  causes  of  environmental  health‐related  issues 
in  the  EU.  It  produces  ischemic  heart  disease,  stroke, 
interrupted sleep, cognitive impairment and stress81. 

In Latvia, based on a limited set of data82, environmental 
noise is estimated to cause at least 150 premature deaths 
and  350  cases  of  ischaemic  heart  disease  annually83. 
Moreover,  some  30  000  people  suffer  from  disturbed 
sleep. In Latvia, the numbers of people exposed to noise 
decreased by 1% between 2012 and 2017. On the basis of 
the latest full set of information that has been analysed, 
noise  mapping  of  agglomerations,  roads  and  railways  is 
complete. 

The  information  available  to  the  public,  referred  to  in 
Annex V of the Seveso-III Directive, especially about how: 
(i) the public concerned will be warned in case of a major 
accident, (ii) the appropriate behaviour in the event of a 
major accident and (iii) the date of the last site visit, are 
permanently  available 
the  Seveso 
establishments in Latvia. 

for  92%  of 

The  share  of  UTEs  for  which  information  on  safety 
measures  and  requisite  behaviours  were  actively  made 
available  to  the  public  in  recent  years  are  presented  in 
Figure 24. 

Figure 24: Share of UTE for which information on safety 
measures and requisite behaviours were actively made 
available to the public in Latvia, 2011, 2014 and 201880 

Water quality and management 

EU  legislation  and  policy  requires  that  the  impact  of 
pressures  on  transitional,  coastal  and  fresh  waters 
(including  surface  and  ground  waters)  be  significantly 
reduced.  Achieving,  maintaining  or  enhancing  a  good 
status  of  water  bodies  as  defined  by  the  Water 
Framework Directive  will  ensure that EU citizens benefit 
from good quality and safe drinking and bathing water. It 
will  further  ensure  that  the  nutrient  cycle  (nitrogen  and 
phosphorus)  is  managed  in  a  more  sustainable  and 
resource-efficient way. 

Latvia  is  subject  to  an  infringement  procedure  with 
regard to the transposition of the Seveso III Directive, as 
the  categorisation  of  the  establishments  has  been 
incorrectly reflected in national law. 

2022 priority actions 

  Strengthen  control  and  enforcement  to  ensure 
compliance  with  Seveso-III  Directive  provisions, 
especially on provision of information to the public. 

79 Idem. 
80 Idem. 

81 WHO 2018, Environmental Noise Guidelines for the European Region. 
82  For  further  information:  European  Environment  Agency,  Noise  Fact 
Sheets 2021. 
83   These  figures  are  an  estimate  by  the  European  Environmental 
Agency  based on: (i) the  data 
States 
on noise exposure  covered  by  Directive  2002/49/EC; (ii) ETC/ATNI, 
2021, Noise indicators 
Environmental Noise Directive 
the 
2021: : Methodology  for  estimating  missing  data, ETC/ATNI  Report  No 
2021/06, European Topic Centre on Air Pollution, Transport, Noise and 
Industrial 
impact 
calculations, ETC/ACM,  2018,  Implications  of  environmental noise on 
health  and  wellbeing  in  Europe,  Eionet  Report  ETC/ACM  No  2018/10, 
European Topic Centre on Air Pollution and Climate Change Mitigation. 

Pollution; (iii) the methodology 

reported  by  Member 

health 

under 

for 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Water Framework Directive 

is 

(WFD)84 

The  Water  Framework  Directive 
the 
cornerstone of EU water policy in the 21st century85. The 
legislation86, 
WFD,  along  with  other  water-related 
provides  a  framework  for  sustainable  and  integrated 
water  management  and  aims  to  ensure  a  high  level  of 
protection of water resources,  the  prevention of further 
deterioration and restoration to good status. 

Latvia  23 

100%  achieves  both  good  chemical  and  quantitative 
status. 

The  figure  below  illustrates  the  proportion  of  surface 
water bodies in Latvia and other European countries that 
failed to achieve good ecological status. 

Figure  25:  Proportion  of  surface  water  bodies  (rivers, 
lakes,  transitional  and  coastal  waters)  with  less  than 
good ecological status per River Basin District92 

By  March  2022,  Member  States  have  to  report  on  the 
third  generation  of  River  Basin  Management  Plans 
(RBMPs)  under  the  WFD.  Latvia  recently  adopted  and 
reported on the third RBMP. The Commission will assess 
the reported status and progress, checking the extent to 
which  the  findings  identified  in  the  assessment  of  the 
second RBMP87 have been addressed.  

includes  an 

in  December  2021.  It 

The  Commission  published  the  6th 
Implementation 
Report88 
interim 
assessment  of  progress  on 
implementation  of  the 
Programmes  of  Measures  (PoM)  and  on  monitoring  of 
the  new  priority  substances.  The  assessment  report  for 
Latvia89  showed  that  the  rate  of  implementation  of 
supplementary  measures  at  the  level  of  water  bodies 
included  in  the  PoM,  till  the  end  of  2018,  had  been 
estimated  as  36.0%  for  the  Daugava  River  Basin  District 
(RBD),  24.5%  for  the  Gauja  RBD,  50.1%  for  the  Lielupe 
RBD  and  31.0%  for  the  Venta  RBD.  However,  it  is  noted 
that  it  was  not  possible  to  understand  whether  there 
were  any 
the 
implementation  gaps  as 
implementation status of basic measures, given the brief 
information reported. 

regards 

Based on the second RBMP reports and data published in 
202090,  in  Latvia  21.1%  of  all  surface  water  bodies91 
achieve good ecological status and only 10.6% have good 
chemical status (with 84.7% unknown). For groundwater, 

Industrial  Emissions  Directive 

84 The Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC). 
85 The EU Water Policy. 
86  This 
includes  the  Groundwater  Directive  (2006/118/EC),  the 
Environmental  Quality  Standards  Directive  (2008/105/EC),  the  Floods 
Directive  (2007/60/EC),  the  Bathing  Water  Directive  (2006/7/EC),  the 
Urban  Waste  Water  Treatment  Directive  (91/271/EEC),  the  new 
Drinking  Water  Directive  (2020/2184/EC),  the  Nitrates  Directive 
(91/676/EEC),  the  Marine  Strategy  Framework  Directive  (2008/56/EC), 
the 
(2010/75/EU),  and  the  new 
Regulation on minimum requirements for water reuse (2020/741). 
87  Detailed  information  can  be  found  in  the  5th  Report  from  the 
Commission on the implementation of the Water Framework Directive 
and the Floods Directive, as well as in the 2019 EIR. 
88 See the 6th Implementation Report of the WFD and FD. 
89  European  Commission,  Directorate-General 
for  Environment, 
Assessment  of  Member  States’  progress  in  Programmes  of  Measures 
during  the  second  planning  cycle  of  the  Water  Framework  Directive. 
Member State: Latvia, 2022. 
90 WISE Freshwater (europa.eu). 
91 River, lake, transitional, coastal, territorial. 

The  following  figure  presents  the  percentage  of  water 
bodies  in  Latvia  and  other  European  countries  failing  to 
achieve  good  chemical  status.  For  Latvia  the  percentage 
if  water  bodies  failing  due  to  substances 
is  4.7%, 
behaving 
(Persistent,  Bio-
PBTs 
accumulative, Toxic) are included. Without  uPBTs, 3% of 
surface water bodies are failing to achieve good chemical 
status. 

ubiquitous 

as 

Figure  26:  Percentage  of  water  bodies  not  achieving 
good chemical status93 

92 European Environment Agency, 2021. 
93 European Environment Agency, December 2019. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
                                                                 
 
 
                                                                 
Under  the  IED  framework,  it  should  be  stressed  that 
Latvia showed a significant decrease over the last decade 
(15.9%) in releases of heavy metals like Cd, Hg, Ni, Pb and  
in Total Organic Carbon, TOC (38%) into water94. 

Total  water  abstracted  annually  (corresponding  to  2019 
baseline) 
in  Latvia  from  surface  and  groundwater 
sources is 180.73 hm3  (EEA,  2022).  The  percentage  for 
water  abstraction  per  sector  is  30.90%  for  agriculture, 
48.55%  for  public  water  supply,  1.64%  for  electricity 
cooling, 15.18% for manufacturing and 3,73% for mining 
and quarrying, as illustrated in the following figure. Latvia 
uses  a  register  to  record  permits  for  water  abstraction. 
The  register  of  water  use  permits  is  publicly  available. 
Small-scale  abstractions  of  less  than  10m3  per  day  or 
water supplied to fewer than 50 people are exempt, and 
hence do not require permits and are not registered. 

Figure 27: Water abstraction per sector in Latvia95 

In  Latvia,  the  water  exploitation  index  plus96  is  0.22% 
(corresponding to 2017), which is much less than the 20% 
that  is  generally  considered  as  an  indication  of  water 
scarcity97. 

The  bar  below  presents  the  WEI+  in  Latvia  and  other 
European countries. Latvia is ranked 26th in the EU (from 
high to low score) in terms of WEI+. 

94 European Environment Agency, June 2021. 
95  European  Environment  Agency,  Water  abstraction  by  source  and 
economic sector in Europe, 2022. 
96 The Water Exploitation Index plus (WEI+) is a measure of total fresh 
water  use  as  a  percentage  of  the  renewable  fresh  water  resources 
(groundwater and surface water) at a given time and place. It quantifies 
how  much  water  is  abstracted  and  how  much  water  is  returned  after 
use to the environment. 
97 By May 2022, the EEA will develop seasonal WEI+ at river basin and 
NUTS2  level,  which  provide  a  more  complete  picture  of  water  stress 
and water scarcity for each Member State. 

Latvia  24 

Figure  28 :  Water  exploitation  index  plus  (WEI+)  inside 
EU, 201798 

It  can  be  highlighted  as  a  good  practice  that  Latvia 
implements  the  LIFE  GoodWater  integrated  project  (IP) 
‘Implementation of Latvian RBMPs towards good surface 
water status’. The overall aim of the LIFE GoodWater IP is 
to improve the status of water bodies at risk in Latvia by 
means of full implementation of the measures laid down 
in  the  Daugava,  Gauja,  Lielupe  and  Venta  RBMPs99. 
Another good example is  LIFE MarshMeadows project100 
restorate 
which  alongside  other  goals  aims 
hydrological  regime  on  160 ha  that  would 
lead  to 
favourable conditions for conservation and management 
of habitats and species. 

to 

Floods Directive 

As  mentioned,  the  Commission  published  the  6th 
Implementation Report in December 2021. It includes the 
review  and  update  of  the  Preliminary  Flood  Risk 
Assessments during the second cycle (2016-2021). 

The  assessment  report101  showed  that  Latvia  has 
developed a methodology for the assessment of adverse 
includes  a  quantitative 
impacts  from  floods  which 
evaluation of the costs of the impacts of past floods. It is 
also  worth  mentioning  that  the  methodology  for  the 
identification  of  the  potential  adverse  consequences  of 
future floods includes a social index to express the risk to 
social  groups.  However,  the  assessment  identified  that 
the  extent,  conveyance  routes  and  adverse  impact  of 
past floods should be considered in more detail, and that 
long term developments (e.g. the impact of urbanisation) 
should  also  be  considered  in  the  Preliminary  Flood  Risk 
Assessment (PFRA). 

Latvia  has  reported  the  second  generation  of  Flood  Risk 
Management  Plans  (FRMPs)  under  the  Floods  Directive. 
The European Commission will assess progress since the 

98 European Environment Agency, Water exploitation Index Plus, 2022.  
99 https://goodwater.lv/en/home/ 
100 The LIFE MarshMeadows project. 
101  European  Commission,  Directorate-General 
for  Environment, 
Assessment  of  Second  Cycle  Preliminary  Flood  Risk  Assessments  and 
Identification  of  Areas  of  Potential  Significant  Flood  Risk  under  the 
Floods Directive : Member State : Latvia, 2022. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
 
 
                                                                 
 
 
                                                                 
adoption  of  the  first  Flood  Risk  Management  Plans  and 
publish a new report, as done in 2019. 

Figure 30: Latvia, Bathing water quality 2017-2020106 

Latvia  25 

Drinking Water Directive 

As  regards  the  Drinking  Water  Directive,  no  new 
assessment  of  the  quality  of  Drinking  Water  has  been 
made available since the 2019 EIR. The quality of drinking 
water  in  Latvia  has  not  been  indicated  as  an  area  of 
concern. 

The  recast  Directive  entered  into  force  on  12  January 
2021  and  Member  States  have  until  12  January  2023  to 
transpose  it  into  their  national  legal  system.  Latvia  will 
have to comply with these reviewed quality standards. 

Bathing Water Directive 

Regarding  the  Bathing  Water  Directive,  it  should  be 
noted  that  in  2020,  of  the  57  Latvian  bathing  waters, 
68.4% were of excellent quality102. 

information  on  Latvian  bathing  waters 

Detailed 
is 
available  from a  national portal103 and via  an interactive 
map viewer of the European Environment Agency104. 

Figure  29:  Bathing  water  quality  in  Europe  in  the  2020 
season105 

Nitrates Directive 

The latest Commission Report on the implementation of 
the  Nitrates  Directive107,  referring  to  the  period  2016-
2019108,  warns  that  nitrates  are  still  causing  harmful 
pollution  to  water  in  the  EU.  Excessive  nitrates  in  water 
are  harmful  to  both  human  health  and  ecosystems, 
causing  oxygen  depletion  and  eutrophication.  Where 
national authorities and farmers have cleaned up water, 
it has had a positive impact on the drinking water supply 
and biodiversity, and on the sectors such as fisheries and 
tourism  that  depend  on  them.  Nevertheless,  excessive 
fertilisation remains a problem in many parts of the EU. 

In  Latvia,  the  surpluses  of  nitrogen  and  phosphorus  are 
low and there is a well developed network of monitoring 
stations.  However,  Latvia  is  among  the  Member  States 
in  tackling  nutrient 
facing  the  greatest  challenges 
pollution  from  agriculture.  A  very  high  number  of  the 
surface waters are found to be eutrophic. Eutrophication 
is  affecting  both  inland  and  marine  waters.  A  high 
number of the surface waters found to be eutrophic are 
located not  only in the nitrate vulnerable zone, but  also 
outside 
lakes  (64%)  are 
eutrophic, 67% of rivers show no signs of eutrophication. 
This  can  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  the  majority  of 
Latvian  lakes  are  shallow  and  are  therefore  prone  to 
eutrophication.  Latvia  updated  its  action  programme  in 
2018. 

it.  While  most  of  Latvia's 

102  European  Environment  Agency,  2021.  State  of  bathing  water  — 
European Environment Agency (europa.eu)  , p. 17. 
103 https://www.vi.gov.lv/lv/peldudens 
104  EEA,  State  of  bathing  waters  in  2020  —  European  Environment 
Agency (europa.eu). 
105 European Environment Agency, Bathing Water Quality in 2020, 2022. 

106  European  Environment  Agency,  European  Bathing  Water  Quality  in 
2017, 2018, 2019, 2020. 
107 Implementation of the Nitrates Directive in the EU. 
108 Last Implementation Report 2016-2019. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
 
 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive 

Overall, in Latvia, the rate of compliance with the Urban 
Waste  Water  Treatment  Directive  (UWWTD)  is  99%, 
which is higher than the EU average for 2018. Latvia has 
met  the targets for  collection of urban waste  water and 
biological  treatment  of  urban  waste  water.  Further 
efforts  are  needed  to  provide  biological  treatment  with 
nitrogen  and  phosphorus  removal  to  an  additional  0.01 
million population equivalent (p.e.) of urban waste water 
(0.8%). 

According  to  a  Commission  report109,  in  line  with  the 
UWWTD, in urban areas Latvia is required to provide: 

  Collection of 1.5 million p.e. of wastewater. 
  Biological treatment to 1.4 million p.e. of wastewater. 
  Biological  treatment  with  nitrogen  removal  to  1.3 

million p.e. of wastewater. 

For  0.1  million  p.e.  of  urban  waste  water,  Latvia  applies 
individual systems (e.g. domestic treatment plants; septic 
tanks),  instead  of  centralised  collecting  systems  and 
treatment  plants.  These  alternatives  are  allowed  under 
the legislation, as long as the environment is adequately 
protected. This is why the amount of urban waste water 
that needs biological treatment (1.4 million p.e.) is lower 
than the collected urban waste water (1.5 million p.e). 

To  promote  efficient  use  of  sewage  sludge,  Latvia  is 
sludge 
currently  working  on  a  national  sewage 
management strategy, to be adopted in 2022. 

Urban waste water pollution affects 22% (103) of surface 
water  bodies  in  Latvia.  Discharges  from  unconnected 
dwellings  affect  7%  (32)  of  water  bodies110.  Discharges 
from  storm  water  overflows  are  not  reported  as 
significant pressures. 

Latvia  26 

Figure  31: Proportion of urban waste water that  meets 
all  requirements  of  the  UWWTD  (collection,  biological 
treatment,  biological  treatment  with  nitrogen  and/or 
phosphorus  removal)  in  compliant  urban  areas  of  the 
UWWTD (‘compliance rate’)111 

Despite  the  improvement  in  compliance  over  the  years, 
for  which  the  use  of  EU  funding  has  been  fundamental, 
incomplete implementation of the UWWTD has  resulted 
in  an  infringement  procedure  against  Latvia  that  was 
initiated  in  2017,  and  is  still  pending,  for  reliance  on 
individual  and  other  appropriate  systems  (IAS),  such  as 
septic tanks, as well as a lack of appropriate treatment of 
urban  wastewater  entering  collecting  systems  in  one 
agglomeration  (Olaine).  The  Commission  has  since 
monitored the case closely and progress  has been made 
to  remedy  the 
identified  shortcomings.  Latvia  has 
adopted  legislation  to  address  IAS  issues.  As  for  the 
Olaine  treatment  plant,  Latvia  launched    reconstruction 
works of the plant in 2020. Wastewater treatment there 
has  now  been  compliant  with  the  UWWTD  since  mid-
2021. 

2022 priority actions 

  Assess new physical modifications of water bodies in 
In  these 
line  with  Article  4(7)  of  the  WFD. 
assessments  alternative  options  and  adequate 
mitigation measures have to be considered. 

  Facilitate  implementation  of  measures  to  contribute 
to  achieving  the  WFD  objectives  and  step  up  efforts 
to improve monitoring, in particular on groundwater. 
Improve coordinated implementation between water, 
marine and nature policies. 

 

  Complete implementation of the Urban Waste Water 
for  all  agglomerations,  by 

Treatment  Directive 
building up the necessary infrastructure. 

  Revise  nitrate  vulnerable  zones  under  the  Nitrates 
Directive to address eutrophication of surface waters 
where agriculture pressure is significant. 

109 Country profiles on urban waste water treatment (europa.eu). 
110  EEA  –  Surface  water  bodies:  Significant  pressures  –  Pressures  and 
impacts / filter by country / NUTS0 Pressure type group 2018. 

111 European Commission, WISE Freshwater, 2021. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
                                                                 
 
 
                                                                 
 
Chemicals 

The EU seeks to ensure that chemicals are produced and 
used  in  a  way  that  minimises  any  significant  adverse 
In 
effects  on  human  health  and  the  environment. 
October  2020,  the  European  Commission published  its 
chemicals  strategy  for  sustainability  –  ‘Towards  a  Toxic-
Free  environment’112  which 
lead  to  some  systemic 
changes  in  EU  chemicals  legislation.  The  strategy is  part 
of the EU’s zero pollution ambition – a key commitment 
of the European Green Deal. 

legislation113 provides  baseline 
The  EU’s  chemicals 
protection for human health and the environment. It also 
ensures  stability  and  predictability 
for  businesses 
operating within the internal market.  

information  on  the 
The  Commission  has  gathered 
enforcement of REACH and CLP since 2007. In December 
2020,  the  Commission  assessed  the  Member  State 
reports on the implementation and enforcement of these 
Regulations114, in line  with REACH Article 117(1) and CLP 
Article  46(2).  According  to  the  latest  available  data, 
national enforcement structures have not changed much. 
However,  it  is  apparent  from  this  report  that  there  are 
still  many  disparities  in  REACH-CLP  implementation  and 
notably  in  the  area  of 
law  enforcement.  Recorded 
compliance  levels  seem  to  have  been  quite  stable  over 
time,  but  with  a  slight  worsening  trend,  likely  due  to 
enforcement  authorities  becoming  more  effective  in 
detecting  non-compliant  products/companies  and  more 
non-compliant  products  being  put  on  the  EU  market.  In 
August  2021,  the  Commission  published  a  measurable 
assessment  of  enforcement115  of  the  two  main  EU 
regulations  on  chemicals,  using  a  set  of  indicators  on 
different aspects of enforcement. 

Responsibility  for  checking  compliance  with  REACH  in 
Latvia lies with the following authorities116: 

  Health Inspectorate 
  State Environmental Service 
  Consumer Rights Protection Centre 
  State Labour Inspectorate   

Latvia  has  not  yet  devised  REACH  and  CLP  enforcement 
strategies117, but has plans to do so in 2022. 

As  a  rule,  all  infringements  of  REACH  are  classed  as 
serious  or  very  serious  environmental  administrative 

112 COM(2020) 667 final. 
113 REACH: OJ L 396, 30.12.2006, p.1. -  CLP: OJ L 252, 31.12.2006, p.1. 
114 European Commission, Final Report, on the operation of REACH and 
CLP, Final report_REACH-CLP MS reporting_2020.pdf (europa.eu). 
115  European  Commission,  REACH  and  CLP  enforcement:  EU  level 
enforcement indicators. 
116 Final report_REACH-CLP MS reporting_2020.pdf (europa.eu), p. 70. 
117 Final report_REACH-CLP MS reporting_2020.pdf (europa.eu), p. 76. 

Latvia  27 

offences.  If  the  infringement  is  sufficiently  serious,  the 
competent  authority  may  decide  to 
impose  further 
penalties  in  addition  to  a  fine.  That  authority  may 
also, where  necessary, order  the  provisional  seizure  of 
assets and documents.  

In  Latvia,  18  inspectors  are  allocated  to  REACH  and  CLP 
enforcement118. Accordingly,  almost  2 000  REACH  and 
CLP  controls  were  carried  out  in  the  reporting  period 
(2019).  Most  of  the  REACH  controls  effected  are  proactive 
(inspections),  compared  with  reactive/non-routine  controls 
(i.e. investigations in response to complaints, accidents and 
referrals).  The  low  percentage  of  non-compliance  cases 
out  of  the  total  number  of  controls  should  be 
underlined119. 

Figure 32: Percentage % of non-compliance cases out of 
the  total  number  of  REACH  and  CLP  controls  during 
2019  per  Member  State  and  compared  to  the  EU 
average120 

2022 priority actions 

  Upgrade 

the 

implementation  and  enforcement 
administrative capacities to a zero tolerance approach 
to non-compliance. 

  Devise and implement strategies for the enforcement 

118 European Commission, Final Report on the operation of REACH and 
CLP, Final report_REACH-CLP MS reporting_2020.pdf (europa.eu), p. 75. 
119    Final  report_REACH-CLP  MS  reporting_2020.pdf  (europa.eu),  p. 87-
88. 
120 European Commission, Final Report on the operation of REACH and 
CLP, pp.87-88, 2022. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
                                                                 
 
 
 
                                                                 
of REACH and CLP regulations. 

Latvia  28 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
 
 
 
Latvia  29 

4. Climate action 

In line with the Paris Agreement and as part of the 
European  Green  Deal,  the  European  Climate  Law 
sets the EU target of reaching climate neutrality by 
2050 and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 
by  55%  by  2030  compared  to  1990.  The  law  also 
limits  the  contribution  that  carbon  removals  can 
make  towards  emission  reductions  in  2030,  to 
ensure a sufficient mitigation effort. 
The  EU  and  its  Member  States  submitted  updated 
Nationally  Determined  Contribution  (NDC)  to  the 
UNFCCC in December 2020. 
The EU is working across all sectors and policies to 
cut  GHG  emissions  and  make  the  transition  to  a 
climate-neutral and sustainable economy, as well as 
addressing 
the  unavoidable  consequences  of 
climate change. 
incentivises  emissions 
EU  climate 
industry, 
from  power  generation, 
reductions 
transport,  the  maritime  sector  and  fluorinated 
gases (F-gases) used in products. 
For road transport, EU legislation requires the GHG 
intensity  of  vehicle  fuels  to  be  cut  by  6%  by  2020 
compared  to  2010121  and  sets  binding  GHG 
emission 
vehicle 
categories122. 
Under  the  F-gas  Regulation,  the  EU’s  F-gas 
emissions  will  be  cut  by  two-thirds  by  2030 
compared with 2014 levels. 
From  2021,  emissions  and  removals  of  GHG  from 
LULUCF  have  been  included  in  the  EU  emission 
reduction efforts. 

legislation 

standards 

different 

for 

The  EU  adaptation  policy  is  an  integral  part  of  the 
European Green Deal. 
From  2021,  Member  States  are  required  to  report 
on  their  national  adaptation  policies123,  as  the  EU 
Climate  Law  recognises  adaptation  as  a  key 
component  of  the  long-term  global  response  to 
climate change. Member States  will be required to 
adopt national strategies, and the EU will regularly 
assess progress as part of its overall governance on 
climate  action.  The  updated  EU  adaptation 
strategy, published in February 2021, sets out how 
the  EU  can  adapt  to  the  unavoidable  impacts  of 
climate  change  and  become  climate  resilient  by 
2050. 

121  The Fuel  Quality  Directive (Directive 98/70/EC)  sets  strict 
quality requirements for fuels used in road transport in the EU to 
protect  human  health  and  the  environment,  and  to  make  road 
travel across the EU safer. 
122 Directive 98/70/EC. 
123 Article 29 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999. 

Key national climate policies and 
strategies  

Latvia  has  an 
integrated  national  energy  and 
climate  plan  (NECP)  for  the  period  2021-2030. 
Latvia’s  strategy  for  the  achievement  of  climate 
neutrality  by  2050  has  also  been  developed  and 
approved  by  the  Cabinet  of  Ministers.  The  main 
national  objective  is  to  become  climate  neutral  by 
2050. 

In  its  RRP,  Latvia  allocates  37.6%  of  spending  to 
climate objectives and outlines crucial reforms and 
investments  to  further  the  transition  to  a  more 
sustainable, 
climate-resilient 
economy. Investments are allocated to sustainable 
transport,  energy  efficiency,  renewable  energy, 
modernisation  of  the  grid  network  and  climate 
adaptation measures. 

low-carbon 

and 

The Latvian national plan for adaptation to climate 
change until 2030 was adopted in 2018. It is a long-
term  strategic  document  involving  the  horizontal 
integration  of  climate  resilience  goals 
into  all 
sectors  of  the  Latvian  economy.  Periodic  progress 
evaluations are carried out. 

Between 1990 and 2020,  GHG emissions decreased 
by 59%, significantly more than the EU average. 

Figure  33:  Total  greenhouse  gas  emissions  (incl. 
international aviation) in Latvia 1990-2020 

Effort sharing target  

For emissions not covered by the EU ETS, Member 
States  have  binding  national  targets  under  the 
Effort  Sharing  legislation124.  Under  EU  legislation, 

124 Regulation (EU) 2018/842 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
 
Latvia  has  a  target  of  limiting  increases  of  GHG 
emissions  in  the  non-ETS  sectors  (buildings,  road 
and  domestic  maritime  transport,  agriculture, 
waste  and  small  industries)  to  17%  by  2020  and 
reducing  emissions  by  6%  by  2030  compared  to 
2005 levels. The country’s effort sharing  emissions 
in 2019 were lower than its 2020 target.  

In  its  NECP,  Latvia  intends  to  achieve  more  GHG  
reductions than its current effort sharing target for 
2030 of 6%. 

Figure  34:  Emissions  and  targets  under  the  Effort 
Sharing  Decision/  Effort  Sharing  Regulation  in 
Latvia, 2020 and 2030 as  percentage change from 
2005 

Latvia  30 

Key sectoral developments 

In road transport the GHG intensity of vehicle fuels 
in  Latvia  decreased  by  1.8%  between  2010  and 
2019. The country needs to act swiftly to meet the 
current  EU-wide  reduction  target  of  6%  by  2020. 
There  are  several  types  of  action  that  Member 
States can take in this regard, for example, further 
expanding  the  use  of  electricity  in  road  transport, 
supporting  the  use  of  biofuels, 
in  particular 
advanced  biofuels,  incentivising  the  development 
and  deployment  of  renewable  fuels  of  non-
biological  origin  and  reducing  upstream  emissions 
before refining processes. 

Road  transport  in  2019  in  Latvia  represented  27% 
of  total  GHG  emissions.  Emissions  have  increased 
by 13% compared to 2005. Road transport remains 
a  significant  challenge in Latvia, and the shift  from 
cars  to  public  transport  plays  a  key  role  in  limiting 
energy consumption and emissions. 

Figure  36:  GHG  emissions  by  sector125  –  historical 
emissions  in  Lithuania,  historical  data  1990-2020, 
projections 2021-2030126  

Figure  35:  Emissions,  annual  emission  allocations 
(AEAs)  and  accumulated  surplus/  deficit  of  AEAs 
under  the  Effort  Sharing  Decision  in  Latvia,  2013-
2020 

regards 

buildings, 

As 
consumption 
increased,  but  in  recent  years  it  has  generally 
decreased. 

energy 

Emissions  from  agriculture  represent  two  thirds  of 
Latvian non-CO2 GHG emissions, have more limited 
mitigation potential (for example organic soils need 
to be considered) and thus require increased focus. 

125  The  sectors  in  the  figure  correspond  to  the  following  IPCC 
sectors:  Energy  supply:  1A1,  1B  and  1C.  Energy  use 
in 
manufacturing industries: 1A2. Industrial processes and product 
use:  2.  Transport:  1A3.  Other  energy  use:  1A4,  1A5  and  6. 
Agriculture: 3. Waste: 5. International aviation: 1.D.1.a. 
126  European  Environmental  Agency,  Total  GHG  trends  and 
projections. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
 
 
 
                                                                                              
 
 
                                                                 
Agriculture  is  the  third  largest  source  of  GHG 
emissions in Latvia. 

In  the  Land  Use,  Land  Use  Change  and  Forestry 
(LULUCF)  sector,  Latvia  projects  an  increase  of  net 
emissions  by  2030.  Reported  quantities  under  the 
Kyoto Protocol for the LULUCF sector in Latvia show 
net removals of, on average, -2.2 Mt CO2-eq for the 
In  this  regard,  Latvia 
period  2013  to  2019. 
contributes  0.6%  to  the  annual  average  sink  of  -
344.9  Mt  CO2-eq  of  the  EU-27.  Accounting  for  the 
same  period  depicts  net  debits  of,  on  average,  2.4 
Mt  CO2-eq,  which  represents  -2.1%  of  the  EU-27 
accounted  sink  of  -115.0  Mt  CO2-eq.  Reported  net 
removals  decreased 
in  2014  and, 
thereafter,  the  trend  has  been  one  of  very  small 
increases and high levels of fluctuation. Accounting 
quantities  show  a  similar  pattern,  with  net  credits 
for  2013  becoming  substantial  net  debits  for  2014 
that thereafter gradually decrease, with a high level 
of  fluctuation.  Latvia  is  one  of  six  EU  Member 
States  with  average  net  debits  and  one  of  14  EU 
Member  States  that  show  net  debits  for  at  least 
one year in this preliminary accounting exercise. 

sharply 

Figure 37: Reported and accounted emissions and 
removals from LULUCF in Latvia127 

Latvia  31 

Use of revenues from the auctioning of EU 
ETS allowances 

The total revenues from the auctioning of emission 
allowances  under  the  EU  ETS  in  the  period  2012-
2021  were  over  EUR  253  million.  According  to  the 
Law  on  Pollution,  in  Latvia  all  auctioning  revenues 
(100%)  must  be  spent  on  climate  measures.  Until 
2021  Latvia  annually  spent  less  than  it  gained  from 
auctions, 
funds  were 
accumulated.  In  Latvia,  all  revenues  from  auctions 
are  allocated 
the  Emission  Allowances 
Auctioning  Instrument  (EAAI),  a  national  green 
investment  scheme  aimed  at  tackling  climate 
change. 

therefore,  all  unspent 

to 

2022 priority actions 

  Further  reduce  energy  consumption 

in  the 

building sector. 

  Promote  electro-mobility  and  achieve  a  rapid 
switch to renewables  across  the various modes 
of transport and build the capacity for advanced 
biofuels. Continue investing in the development 
of  rail  infrastructure  in  order  to  improve  the 
competitiveness  of  public  transport  compared 
to road transport. 

  Phase out fossil fuel tax advantages. 
  Further deploy and integrate renewable energy 
sources,  especially  wind  and  solar  energy.  This 
will increase Latvia’s energy security, which is a 
key objective in Latvia’s NECP. 

  The  sustainable  use  of  biomass  and  its  actual 
impacts on carbon sinks and biodiversity require 
continued vigilance. 

  Support  measures  to  restructure  the  peat 

industry. 

  Support measures for GHG emissions reduction 

in the agricultural sector. 

  Accelerate  the  development  of  research  and 

innovation in low-carbon technologies. 

127  The  differences  between  reported  and  accounted  emissions 
from  LULUCF  under  the  Kyoto  Protocol  are  described  in  the 
‘explanatory  note  on  LULUCF  –  accounted  and  reported 
quantities under the Kyoto Protocol’.   

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                                 
  
 
 
 
Latvia  32 

Part II: Enabling framework: implementation tools 

5. Financing

Environmental investment needs in the EU 

Financing  environmental  measures  is  essential  for  their 
success.  Although  most  financing  comes  from  national 
sources, various EU funds contribute significantly, helping 
to close the financing gap between countries. 
Post-2020,  environmental  measures  will  also  be 
supported by the EU’s  COVID-19 Recovery  Fund (via  the 
RRF)  and  the  ‘do  no  significant  harm’  principle  (DNSH)  
which  runs  across  the  EU  budget.  The  renewed 
commitments  made  at  COP26  (Glasgow,  Oct-Nov  2021) 
and  the  Biodiversity  Convention  (April-May  2022)128  will 
also be reflected in the EU budget. 

Overall environmental investment gaps (EU-27) 

The EU’s green transition investment needs cover a range 
of  interlinked  areas.  The  additional  investment  needs 
over baselines (i.e. the gap between what is needed and 
what  is  forecast  to  be  invested  if  no  additional  action  is 
taken) for climate, energy and transport were estimated 
at  EUR  390  billion  per  annum  (EU-27)129,  with  a  further 
EUR  130  billion  to  deliver  the  EU's  core  environmental 
objectives130.  Climate  adaptation  costs  can  also  be 
significant,  reaching  a  total  of  EUR  35-62  billion 
(narrower  scope)  or  EUR  158-518  billion  (wider  scope) 
per  year131.  Those 
the 
implementation  objectives  to  2020  and  to  2030  (except 
for climate adaptation costs that are expected to stay for 
the longer term). 

investment   needs  reflect 

An  updated  estimated  breakdown  of 
the  EU’s 
environmental  investment  gap  is  provided  in  Table  1132. 
Almost  40%  of  the  environmental  investment  needs 
relate  to  dealing  with  pollution,  accounting  for    nearly 
two  thirds  of  the  total  gap  if  combined  with  water 
management.  The  investment  gap  in  circular  economy 
and waste  is estimated to be between EUR  13-28 billion 
levels  of  circularity 
a  year, 

  depending  on  the 

128  The  Convention  on  Biological  Diversity  (cbd.int); Post-2020  Global 
Biodiversity Framework | IUCN. 
129  SWD(2021)621,  accompanying  proposal  COM(2021)557  to  amend 
the REDII Directive (EU) 2018/2001. 
130 SWD(2020) 98 final/2.  
131 SWD(2018)292.  
132  With  decreases  due  to  Brexit  and  some  reconciliation  among  the 
objectives.  Source:  DG  ENV  ‘Study  supporting  EU  green  investment 
needs  analysis’  (ongoing,  2021-2023)  and  DG  ENV  internal  analysis 
‘Environmental  investment  needs  and  financing  in  the  EU’s  green 
transition’ July 2020. 

implemented.  The  annual  biodiversity  financing  gap  is 
estimated at around EUR 20 billion. 

Table  1:  Estimated  breakdown  of 
environmental 
objective, 2021-2030 (per annum) 

the  EU-27’s 
investment  gaps  by  environmental 

Estimated investment gap (EU-27, 
p.a.)  

Environmental 
objective 

Pollution  prevention 
& control 

Water  management 
& industries 

Circular  economy  & 
waste 

 EUR billion 

 42.8 

 26.6 

 13.0 

Biodiversity 
ecosystems133 

& 

 21.5 

R & D & I and other 

Total 

 6.2 

 110.1 

 % 

 39% 

 24% 

 12% 

 20% 

 6% 

 100% 

Environmental investment needs in Latvia 

Investment  in  the  circular  economy  is  a  priority  in  Latvia, 
followed  by  nature  and  biodiversity,  sustainable  water 
management  and  reduction  of  air  pollution.  The 
following  environmental  investment  needs  have  been 
identified by sector: 

Pollution prevention & control 

The  EU’s  first  Clean  Air  Outlook134  under  the  clean  air 
programme estimated that the total air pollution control 
costs  of  Latvia  achieving  the  NECD  emission  reduction 
requirements  (ERRs)135  by  2030  would  amount  to  EUR 

133  To  meet  the  needs  of  the  2030  biodiversity  strategy  (Natura  2000, 
green infrastructure), at least EUR 20 billion a year should be unlocked 
for  nature  (COM/2020/380  final),  while  EUR  30-35  billion  may  be 
needed  to  fully  cover  the  strategy  (including  restoration),  indicating  a 
gap  of  EUR  10-20  billion  a  year  compared  to  current  baseline 
expenditure. 
134 International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Progress 
towards  the  achievement  of  the  EU's  air  quality  and  emissions 
objectives, 2018.  
135  Covering  the  reductions  of  and  the  emission  ceilings  for  five 
atmospheric  pollutants,  SOx,  NOx,  PM2.5,  NH3  and  VOC  by  2030, 
compared  to  2005.  Source:  Progress  towards  the  achievement  of  the 
EU’s  air  quality  and  emissions  objectives,  IIASA  2018.  (page  29). 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
                                                                 
 
 
                                                                 
 
197 million per year, including EUR 156 million for capital 
investment  (assuming  the  achievement  of  the  2030 
climate and energy targets). 

The EU’s second  Clean Air Outlook136  suggests that, if all 
relevant  legislation adopted  up to 2018  (including all air 
pollution targets and the 2030 climate and energy targets 
set  in  2018)  delivered  its  full  benefits  and  if  Member 
States  also  implemented  the  measures  announced  in 
their  NAPCPs, 
the 
reductions  in  air  pollutant  emissions  required  under  the 
NEC  Directive  for  2030,  except  for  15  Member  States, 
including Latvia, in respect of ammonia (NH3). 

largely  achieve 

the  EU would 

Water management  

infiltration  and 

According to the OECD study, ‘Financing a Water Secure 
Future’  (2022)137,  just  over  half  of  surface  water  bodies 
and almost all groundwater bodies in Latvia are classified 
as  having  good  or  high  ecological  status.  The  main 
pressures  are  point  sources  from  urban  (and  to  a  lesser 
extent 
industrial)  wastewater,  diffuse  sources  from 
agriculture  and  hydro  morphological  alterations. 
Eutrophication  of  the  Baltic  Sea  remains  an 
issue. 
Leakage, 
rupture  of  supply  and 
distribution  due  to  ageing  infrastructure  is  one  of  the 
main  challenges  to  compliance  with  the  UWWTD.  The 
investment required for renovation and reconstruction of 
wastewater  systems  amounts  to  more  than  EUR  204 
million.  EU  funding  has  provided  a  significant  share  of 
public  funding  over  the  past  decade138.  It  was  also 
estimated  that  a  cumulative  additional  EUR 708  million 
(around  EUR 71  million  per  annum)  will  need  to  be 
in  drinking  water  and  wastewater  over 
invested 
investment  for 
baselines,  with  around  80%  of  that 
wastewater.Moreover,  the  recent  6th  Water  Framework 
Directive  and  Floods  Directive  Implementation  Report139 
and  the  financial  -  economic  study140  accompanying  it, 
are also a relevant source of information in this domain. 

Waste & circular economy 

According  to  a  Commission  study141,  to  meet  the 
recycling  targets  for  municipal  waste  and  packaging 
waste,  Latvia  still  needs  to  
invest  an  additional 
EUR 44 million  (around  EUR 6.3  million  per  annum) 

Requirements are based on Directive (EU) 2016/2284.  
136 COM(2021) 3 Final and Report Annex.   
137 OECD, Financing a Water Secure Future, 2022. 
138 OECD, Financing a Water Secure Future, 2022. 
139 WFD and FD Implementation Reports – DG Environment – European 
Commission. 

140  European  Commission,  Directorate-General 
for  Environment, 
Economic  data  related  to  the  implementation  of  the  WFD  and  the  FD 
and the financing of measures, Final report. Publications Office, 2021. 
141 European Commision, Study on investment needs in the waste sector 
and  on  the  financing  of  municipal  waste  management  in  Member 
States, 2019.  

Latvia  33 

collection, 

recycling 
between  2021  and  2027 in 
reprocessors, biowaste treatment, waste sorting facilities 
and in digitalising waste registries.  This does not include 
investment  necessary  for  other  key  waste  streams 
(plastics, textiles, furniture) or to unlock a higher uptake 
of circularity and waste prevention across the economy.   

Biodiversity & ecosystems 

The  recently  submitted  priority  action  framework  (PAF) 
for  Latvia  shows  that  nature  protection  costs  (including 
Natura  2000)  in  2021-27  are  EUR  806.4  million.  This 
represents an annual cost of about EUR 115.2 million, of 
which EUR 22.6 million are one-off costs142. This excludes 
additional costs to implement the biodiversity strategy to 
2030, including on increased protection and restoration. 

EU environmental funding 2014-2020 

The  multiannual  financial  framework  (MFF)  for  2014-
2020  allocated  almost  EUR  960  billion  (in  commitments, 
2011  prices)143  for  the  EU.  The  commitment  to  green 
transition  included  a  20%  climate  spending  target  and 
funding opportunities for the environment, in particular, 
under  the  European  Structural  and  Investment  (ESI) 
Funds144.  The  2014-2020  budget  was  subsequently 
topped up with over EUR 50 billion (current prices) from 
REACT-EU  for  cohesion  policy  action  against  coronavirus 
(COVID-19)145. 

Latvia  received  EUR 6.2  billion  from  the  ESI  Funds  over 
2014-2020 to invest in job creation and a sustainable and 
healthy  European  economy  and  environment.  The 
planned  direct  environmental  investment  amounted  to 
EUR  537.2  million  with  a  further    EUR  367.5  million 
identified  as  indirect  environmental  investment  value, 
totalling  to  EUR  904.7  million.  Figure  39  shows  an 
overview of (planned) individual ESI Funds earmarked for 
Latvia (EU amounts, without national amounts). 

142  The  N2K  Group,  Strengthening  investments  in  Natura  2000  and 
improving  synergies  with  EU  funding 
instruments,  report  to  the 
European Commission, 2021.  
143 Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013. 
144  The  European  Structural  and  Investment  Funds  (ESIF)  include  the 
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Cohesion Fund (CF), 
the  European  Social  Fund  (ESF)  with  the  Youth  Employment  Initiative 
(YEI),  the  European  Agricultural  Fund  for  Rural  Development  (EAFRD) 
and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF).   
145 Regulation (EU) 2020/2221. 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
                                                                                                        
 
                                                                 
Figure  38:  ESI  Funds  allocated  to  Latvia,  including 
environmental investments, 2014-2020146 

other energy148 
sustainable transport 

Under EAFRD/rural development 
Direct environmental investments 
climate and risk management 
Indirect environmental investments 
renewable energy 
energy efficiency 

Under EMFF 
Direct environmental investments 
environment  protection  &  resource 
efficiency 

Under ESI Funds total  
Direct environmental investments 
Indirect environmental investments 

Latvia  34 

11.6 
202.2 

62.3 
54.9 
54.9 
7.4 
4.4 
3.1 

20.8 
20.8 
20.8 

904.7 
537.2 
367.5 

Table 2:  Direct  and indirect environmental investments 
under the ESI Funds in Latvia, 2014-2020147 

Instrument 

Under Cohesion policy (ERDF + CF) 
Direct environmental investments 
water 
waste 
biodiversity and nature 
land rehabilitation 
climate and risk management 
Indirect environmental investments 
renewable energy 
energy efficiency 

Allocations  
for the environment  
(EUR million) 

821.6 
461.5 
121.3 
60.6 
31.8 
186.6 
61.2 
360.0 
9.0 
137.2 

and 

under 

coefficients 

146  European  Commission,  DG  Environment  -  Data  analysis,  DG 
Environment  analysis  based  on  ESI Funds Open  Data  Portal 
(cohesiondata.ec.europa.eu), Integration  of  environmental  concerns  in 
Cohesion  Policy  Funds  (COWI,  2017), Regulation  (EU)  No  1303/2013, 
Regulation  (EU)  2021/1060 and Implementing  Regulation  (EU)  No 
215/2014. Cut-off  date  for  data:  December  2021.  Environmental 
investments  here  are  captured  via  the  combined  use of  intervention 
No 
fields 
1303/2013 and Regulation (EU) 2021/1060  allowing for a more precise 
identification  and  valuation  of  relevant environmental investments. 
N.B.  Indirect  environmental  investments  are  valued  using  the  Annex  I 
environmental  coefficients  of  Regulation  (EU)  2021/1060 (as  opposed 
to full value). 
147  European  Commission,  DG  Environment  -  Data analysis.  The  values 
the  specific 
of  environmental 
environmental  areas  may  differ 
values 
at cohesiondata.ec.europa.eu, e.g. for clean  air or biodiversity due  to 
two factors: the set of environmental coefficients used and the range of 
funds assessed. DG Environment’s analysis here  covered the full range 
of ESI Funds. See also previous footnote. 

identified  here 
the 
from 

in 
tracking 

investments 

Regulation 

(EU) 

Funding for the environment from the ESI Funds has also 
been  supplemented  by  other  EU  funding  programmes 
available  to  all  Member  States,  such  as  the  LIFE 
programme or Horizon 2020, that add up to an estimated 
total  of  EUR  942  million  of  EU  environmental  financing 
for Latvia in the period 2014-2020. 

is  entirely  dedicated 

The  LIFE  programme 149 
to 
environmental  and  climate  objectives.  It  finances  best 
practice actions for green solutions to be deployed. In the 
2014-2020 period, Latvia received EUR 35.0 million of EU 
support  for  nine  LIFE  projects  (for  nature  and  the 
environment)  of  a  total  of  1 028  EU-27  LIFE  projects, 
amounting  to  an  EU  contribution  of  EUR 1.74 billion  in 
total150. 

2020 

allocated 

2014-2020,  Horizon 

In 
about 
EUR 2.6 million to Latvia (in particular, for climate action, 
nature and resources, as well as cultural heritage), which 
represents about 2.2% of Latvia’s total allocation.151 From 
the  European  Fund  for  Strategic  Investments  (EFSI), 
Latvia  did  not  receive  any  environmental  funding  out  of 
its  total  allocation  (EUR  127.5  million).152  Neither  did 
Latvia receive any loans for environmental investment of 
the  total  EIB  loans  for  Latvia  (EUR  802.4  million)153.  The 
country ranks number 25 in size in total EIB lending.  

In 2020, the EIB provided EUR 24.2 billion to fight climate 
change at EU level, representing 37% of its total lending, 

148  Intelligent  energy  distribution  systems  (smart  grids)  and  high 
efficiency co-generation and district heating, based on intervention field 
53  and  54  respectively  (with  40%  environmental  coefficients)  of 
Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, Annex I. 
149 European Commission, LIFE Programme. 
150  CINEA. 
151 Source: https://sc5.easme-web.eu/, accessed: 15-12-2021. 
152  Approved  and  signed  EFSI  financing  -  EIB,  2015-2020:  Source: 
https://www.eib.org/en/products/mandates-
partnerships/efsi/index.htm. 
153 EIB loans in EU countries in 2014-2020. Source: EIB Open Data Portal: 
https://www.eib.org/en/infocentre/eib-open-data.htm. 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
 
 
  
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
and  EUR  1.8  billion  (3%  of 
environment154155  

its 

lending)  for  the 

with  a  EUR  250  billion  contribution  to  the  Green  Deal 
Investment Plan by 2027. 

Latvia  35 

EU environmental funding 2021-2027 

by 

2030. 

2021-2027 

The  MFF 

long-term  priorities, 

The  2020  European  Green  Deal  investment  plan  will 
mobilise  EUR  1  trillion  in  green  investment  (public  and 
private) 
and 
NextGenerationEU  will  mobilise  EUR  2.018  trillion  (in 
current prices) to support the COVID-19 recovery and the 
EU's 
including  environmental 
protection156. Following the European Green Deal’s157 ‘do 
no harm’ pledge and the Interinstitutional Agreement on 
the 2021-2027 MFF158, 30% of the EU budget will support 
climate  efforts  and  7.5%  (as  of  2024)  and  10%  (as  of 
2026)  will  support  biodiversity.  To  reach  these  targets, 
for 
increased  programming  of 
biodiversity,  specifically  under  the  2021-2027  Cohesion 
policy and the 2023-2027 CAP, is needed.  

resources 

financial 

finance 

increases 

significantly 

the 
Sustainable 
transparency  of  environmental  sustainability  (a  goal 
promoted  by  the  EU  Taxonomy)159,  strengthens  non-
financial  reporting  requirements  and  facilitates  green 
bond  issuance  (by  the  EU  green  bond  standard160). 
Reinforced  by  the  renewed  sustainable  finance  strategy 
(2020)161,  sustainable  finance  will  increase  investment 
flows  to  climate  and  the  environment.  In  support  of 
financing  climate  adaptation,  the  new  strategy  on 
adaptation to climate change162 can facilitate the closure 
of  the  insurance  protection  gap  as  regards  non-insured 
climate-related  events163.  The  EIB  will  align  50%  of  its 
lending  with  climate  and  the  environment  by  2025164, 

Table 3 sets out an overview of the EU funds earmarked 
specifically  for  Latvia  for  the  2021-2027  period.  These 
funds  are  also  supplemented  by  other  EU  funding 
programmes available to all Member States. 

Table  3:  Key  EU  funds  allocated  to  Latvia  (current 
prices), 2021-2027 

Instrument 

Country funding allocation  

(million EUR) 

Total: 4 292.5165 

2 493.4 

1 038.7166 

710.6 

49.8167 

191.6168 

587.5170 

134.9171 

1 826.0173 (grants) 

Cohesion policy 

ERDF 

CF 

ESF+ 

ETC (ERDF) 

Just Transition Fund 

EAFRD/rural 
development  

under 
Plans 2023-2027169 

CAP 

Strategic 

European 
Fisheries 
Aquaculture 
(EMFAF) 

Maritime, 
and 
Fund 

Recovery  and  Resilience 
Facility (RRF)  

2021–2026172  

that 

finance 

several  programs 

154  The  EIB  Group  jointly  works  with  the  European  Commission  in 
implementing 
environmental 
implementation: InvestEU,  the  successor  of  EFSI,  Pillar  II  and III  of  the 
Just Transition Mechanism. The EIB Group stands as a key implementing 
partner for InvestEU with responsibility for managing 75% of the overall 
budgetary capacity of the mandate. 
155 European Investment Bank, EIB loans in EU countries in 2014-2020. 
Source: EIB Open Data Portal: EIB Open Data 
156  European  Commission,  2021-2027 
NextGenerationEU. 
157 COM/2019/640 final. 
158 Interinstitutional Agreement, OJ L 433I. 
159 

https://ec.europa.eu/info/business-economy-euro/banking-and-

long-term  EU  budget  & 

finance/sustainable-finance/eu-taxonomy-sustainable-activities_en   
160 EU Green Bond Standard - 2021/0191 (COD). 
161 COM (2021) 390 Final - European Commission, strategy for financing 
the transition to a sustainable economy.  
162 COM(2021) 82 final. 
163  The  strategy  would  support  improved  insurance  gap  coverage 
including through the natural catastrophe markets as reflected with the 
EIOPA  (the  European  Insurance  and  Occupational  Pension  Authorities) 
dashboard  on  insurance  protection  gap  for  natural  catastrophes.  See: 
for  natural 
The  pilot  dashboard  on 
catastrophes | Eiopa (europa.eu). 
164 EIB Climate Bank Roadmap 2021-2025, November 2020. 

insurance  protection  gap 

In  Latvia,  programming  for  the  majority  of  EU  funds 
(Cohesion  policy  funds,  EAFRD  and  EMFAF)  is  ongoing. 
However,  the  negotiations  have  been  concluded  under 
the RRF.  

The  reforms  and  investments  in  Latvia’s  recovery  and 
resilience  plan  (RRP)  will  help  Latvia  become  more 
the 
sustainable, 

resilient  and better  prepared 

for 

165  European  Commission,  2021-2027  Cohesion  policy  EU  budget 
allocations. 
166  The  transfer  to  the  Connecting  Europe  Facility  (Transport)  is  not 
included. 
167  Interreg  initial  allocations  per  MS  including  ETC  transnational  and 
ETC cross-border co-operation.  
168  European  Commission,  2021-2027  Cohesion  policy  EU  budget 
allocations. 
169 European Commission, CAP strategic plans.  
170 Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, Annex XI. 
171 Regulation (EU) 2021/1139, Annex V. 
172  The  actual  reforms  and  investments  under  the  RRF  have  to  be 
implemented until 31 December 2026.   
173 Council Implementing Decision, FIN 518. 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
                                                                 
 
 
 
                                                                 
investment 

challenges  and  opportunities  of  the  green  and  digital 
transitions.  To  this  end,  the  RRP  consists  of  60 
investments  and  25  reforms.  They  will  be  supported 
by EUR  1.8 billion 
in  grants;  37.6 % of  the  RRP  will 
support climate  objectives (see  Figure  40).  Latvia’s  RRP 
supports  the  green  transition  and  includes  investments 
to overhaul transport in the Riga Metropolitan Area (EUR 
295 million) by incentivising clean transport. The RRP also 
in  the energy  efficiency  of 
provides  for 
private  and  public  buildings, thanks  to  a 
large-scale 
renovation  initiative  to  increase  the  energy  efficiency  of 
residential 
and 
businesses (EUR  248  million). .  Latvia  has  not  included 
any  biodiversity  measures  as  such  in  the  plan,  going 
beyond  climate  contribution,  and  the  plan  has  not 
demonstrated  in  detail  how  the  measures  in  the  plan 
the 
contribute 
contribution  to  biodiversity  brought  by  climate-related 
measures. 

to  biodiversity  specifically,  beyond 

buildings, 

buildings 

public 

Figure 39: Climate expenditure in RRPs, 2021-2026 174 

Latvia  36 

to  the  EGDIP  is  expected  to  amount  to  around  EUR  250 
billion in the period up to 2027 in terms of investments in 
EU mandates (i.e. under EU instruments and through the 
EU budget). 

National environmental protection 
expenditure 

Total  national  environmental  protection  expenditure 
(including all relevant current and capital expenditure )176 
in the EU-27 was EUR 272.6 billion in 2020, representing 
2%  of  the  common  GDP;  this  percentage  has  remained 
quite  stable  over  time.  While  absolute  expenditure  is 
concentrated in a few countries, as a share of GDP most 
countries  spend  between  1-2%,  including  Latvia,  which 
spends 1.7%. 

Of  the  above  total,  the  EU-27's  capital  expenditure 
(Capex)  on  environmental  protection  (i.e.  investment)  
amounted  to  EUR  56.3  billion  in  2018,  decreasing  to 
EUR 54.5  billion  in  2020,  representing  around  0.4%  of 
GDP.  Most  Member  States  invested  0.2-0.5%  of  their 
GDP in environmental protection, including Latvia, which 
invested 0.3%. In the period 2014-2020, this amounted to 
around  EUR  376  billion  of  environmental  investment  in 
the EU-27, and to EUR 717.6 million for Latvia. 

Figure 40: Direct and indirect environmental protection 
investments  in  the  EU-27  (EUR  million  and  %  of  GDP), 
2018 

Under  NextGenerationEU,  the  Commission  will  issue  up 
to  EUR  250  billion  of  EU  green  bonds  (a  third  of  the 
NGEU)  in  the  period  up  to  2026.  The  bonds  will  comply 
with the general spirit of the DNSH principle, but will not 
be  subject  to  the  current  Delegated  Acts  related  to  the 
EU  taxonomy  and  will  not  fully  align  with  the  proposed 
EU green bond standard. 

The  EIB  Group  adopted  the  Climate  Bank  Roadmap175, 
outlining the role of the institution in climate action and 
environmental  sustainability  for  the  next  decade  and 
committing to increase its support for those areas to over 
50% of its lending activity by 2025. The EIB's contribution 

174 European Commission. The contributions to climate objectives have 
been calculated using Annex VI of the RRF Regulation (EU) 2021/241. 
175 
https://www.eib.org/attachments/thematic/eib_group_climate_bank_r
oadmap_en.pdf 

176  At  economy  level,  this  includes  final  consumption,  intermediate 
consumption and  capital  expenditure  of  households,  corporations  and 
governments related to environmental protection goods and services. It 
excludes  EU  funds  but  may  include  some  international  rather  than 
domestic  expenditure.  Data 
source:  Environmental  Protection 
Expenditure Accounts (EPEA), Eurostat. EPEA accounts are based on the 
CEPA  2000  classification,  excluding  climate,  energy  and  circular 
economy. 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
 
 
 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
protection 

investments 

institutional 

sector,  only  28.5%  of 

Latvia’s 
By 
environmental 
(capital 
expenditure)  were  made  by  the  general  government, 
while half of the total were made by specialist producers 
(of  environmental  protection  services,  e.g.  waste  and 
water  companies),  with  an  additional  21.6%  made  by 
industry  and  businesses  whose  environmental  activities  
are normally ancillary to their main activities. At EU level, 
37.2% of investments were made by governments, 32.5% 
by specialist producers and 30.3% by industry (business). 

Figure  41:  EU-27  Member  States'  environmental 
protection  investments  (Capex)  by  institutional  sector 
(Total economy = 100%), 2018177 

Breakdown  of  investment  by  environmental  topic  is 
partially available at the level of institutional sectors only 
(rather than at economy level), due to different reporting 
patterns.  At  the  level  of  Latvia’s  general  government, 
36%  of  environmental  protection  investments  went  to 
waste  management,  20%  to  air  protection  and  10%  to 
biodiversity  in  2018.  As  regards  the  country’s  specialist 
producers,  most  environmental  investments  went  to 
waste  management  (52%)  and  wastewater  (42%).  As 
regards  industry  (businesses),  anti-pollution  measures 
were clearly the priority: air  protection attracted 53% of 
environmental  investments,  water-  and  soil  protection 
28%, followed by wastewater (13%). 

177 Eurostat, Environmental Protection Expenditure Accounts (env_epe). 

Latvia  37 

The  total  annual  European  green  bond  issuance178  in 
2020  was  USD  156  billion  (EUR  137  billion179),  growing 
from  USD  117  billion  (EUR  105  billion)  in  2019,  and 
including some non-EU European countries. Annual green 
issuance  by  EU-27  Member  States  only  was 
bond 
EUR 124 billion  in  2020.  Of  the  green  bonds  issued  by 
European  countries,  83%  served  energy,  buildings  or 
transport  objectives 
in  the  period  2014-2020,  8% 
supported water and waste, with a further 6% supporting 
land  use  –  with  links  to  ecosystem  conservation  and 
restoration, based on the Climate Bonds Taxonomy being 
broadly  similar  to  the  EU  Taxonomy180.  Latvia  did  not 
issue any EU green bonds in 2020. 

Figure 42: Annual EU green bond issuance in 2020 (EUR 
billion)181 

Green budget tools 

Green taxation and environmental tax reform 

Latvia’s  revenue  from  environmentally-related  taxes,  at 
EUR  914.2  million,  remained  among  the  lowest  in  2020, 
as  shown  in  Figure  43,  accounting  for  3.1%  of  GDP. 
Energy  taxation  represented  the  highest  share  of  this 

178  Green  bonds  were  created  to  fund  projects  that  have  positive 
environmental  and/or  climate  benefits.  The  majority  of  green  bonds 
issued are green ‘use of proceeds’ or asset-linked bonds. The very first 
green bond  was issued in 2007  with  a  rating  of  AAA  from  multilateral 
institutions, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the World Bank. 
179 At Eurostat’s annual average EUR/USD exchange rates. 
180 
Bonds 
information 
https://www.climatebonds.net/standard/taxonomy. 
181 Climate Bonds Initiative, 2022. 

Interactive  data  platform  at  www.climatebonds.net.  Further 
Taxonomy: 

Climate 

on 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                                 
 
 
 
                                                                 
figure,  at  83%  in  2020,  while  transport  tax  represented 
13% and pollution/resources tax accounted for 3.9%. 

Environmentally-harmful subsidies 

Latvia  38 

Addressing  and 
removing  environmentally-harmful 
subsidies  (EHS)  is  a  further  step  towards  wider  fiscal 
reform186. 

Fossil  fuel  subsidies  are  costly  for  public  budgets  and 
adversely  impact  the  achievement  of  the  Green  Deal 
objectives. In many cases they also go against incentives 
for green investments and do not contribute to levelling 
the  playing  field.  Fossil  fuel  subsidies  have  been  worth 
around EUR 55 billion annually in the EU since 2015. They 
rose  by  4%  between  2015  and  2019,  however  some 
countries,  including  Latvia,  managed  to  reduce  them.  In 
the EU, subsidies on petroleum products, in sectors such 
as transport and agriculture, continued to grow over that 
period, while subsidies on coal and lignite decreased, due 
in  electricity 
to  the  diminishing  role  of  solid  fuels 
generation.  

As a share of GDP, fossil fuel subsidies ranged from 1.2% 
in  Hungary  to  less  than  0.1%  in  Malta  in  2019  (the  EU 
average  was  0.4%).  In  2019  in  Latvia,  total  fossil  fuel 
subsidies  amounted  to  EUR  0.1  billion,  representing 
0.42 %  of  GDP.  In  2020,  total  fossil  fuel  subsidies  in  the 
EU-27  decreased  to  EUR  52  billion  (due  to  falling 
consumption trends amid the COVID-19 restrictions) and, 
without Member State action, they are likely to rebound 
as economic activity picks up from 2020187. 

Latvia  allocates  more  than  the  EU  average  to  fossil  fuel 
subsidies — and more than the EU average to renewable 
energy subsidies188. Further details on fossil fuel subsidy 
trends are shown below. 

Figure 43: Environmental taxes in the EU-27, 2020182 

The  2019  European  Green  Deal  underlines  that  well-
designed  tax  reforms  can  boost  economic  growth  and 
resilience and foster a fairer society and a just transition 
by  sending  the  right  price  signals  and  incentives  to 
economic actors. The Green Deal creates the context for 
broad-based  tax  reforms,  fossil  fuel  subsidies  removal, 
shifting  the  tax  burden  from  labour  to  pollution,  and 
takes into  account  social considerations.  The application 
of  the  ‘polluter  pays  principle’  (PPP)183,  stipulating  that 
polluters  should  bear  the  cost  of  measures  to  prevent, 
is  facilitated  by  the 
control  and  remedy  pollution, 
European  Commission’s  Technical  Support  Instrument 
flagship programme on greening taxes184.  

In February 2022, Latvia introduced a deposit system for 
beverage packaging. According to a Commission study on 
Green  taxation  and  other  economic  instruments  (2021) 
Latvia  could  introduce  a  forest  felling  charge  and  a  pay-
as-you-throw  mechanism  to  further  address  particular 
areas of environmental concern185. 

182 Eurostat, Environmental taxes accounts (env_eta). 
183  Article  191(2)  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European 
Union:  ‘Union  policy  on  the  environment  (…)  shall  be  based  on  the 
precautionary  principle  and  on  the  principles  that  preventive  action 
should  be  taken,  that  environmental  damage  should  as  a  priority  be 
rectified at source and that the polluter should pay’. 
184  European  Commission,  Greening  taxes-  applying  polluter  pays 
principle in practice,  green budgeting TSI participation. 
185  European  Commission,  Green  taxation  and  other  economic 
instruments, 2021.  

186  European  Commission,  Study  on  assessing  the  environmental  fiscal 
reform potential for the EU-28, 2016.   
187  See  table  on  EU  FFS  data  in  2019  which  is  based  on  (for  info) 
COM(2021) 950 and Annex.  
188  European  Court  of  Auditors,  Energy  taxation,  carbon  pricing  and 
energy subsidies, 2022.  

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
 
 
 
                                                                 
                                                                 
Latvia  39 

Figure 44: Trends in natural gas and petroleum subsidies 
in Latvia189 

% GDP 

2013  2014  2015  2016  2017  2018  2019 

2020 

Natural gas 

0,76 

0,70 

  0,67  0,59 

0,48 

0,2

0,22 

0,16 

3 

Petroleum 
products 

0,38 

0,39 

0,33 

0,3
4 

0,33 

0,3

0,31 

0,30 

1 

Current green budgeting practices  

Green  budgeting  encompasses  various  climate  and 
environmental tagging and tracking practices in budgets, 
and  some  EU  Member  states  already  use  green 
budgeting  elements190.  Green  budgeting  helps  identify 
and  track  green  expenditure  and  green  revenue  to 
increase  transparency  on  the  environmental  impacts  of 
improving  policy  coherence  and 
budgetary  policies, 
(including  climate  and 
supporting  green  policies 
environmental objectives)191. 

EU climate proofing and sustainability  proofing guidance 
have  also  been  developed  as  tools  to  assess  project 
eligibility  and  compliance  with  environmental  legislation 
and  criteria192.  The  European  Commission  established  a 
green  budgeting  reference  framework193  and  in  2021 
launched  a  flagship  technical  support  project  (TSI)  on 
green budgeting to assist Member States in developing or 
further developing national green budgeting frameworks 
to  reap  the  benefits  for  policy  coherence  and  the  green 

189 OECD, Fossil Fuel Subsidy Tracker. 
190 European Commission, Green Budgeting Practices in the EU: A First 
Review,  2021,  and  OECD,  Public  Governance  Directorate,  Climate 
Change  and  Long-term  Fiscal  Sustainability,  Working  Paper,  February 
2021. Climate Change and Long-term Fiscal Sustainability (oecd.org). 
191  European  Commission,  European  Commission  Green  Budgeting 
Reference Framework. 
192 European Commission, Technical guidance on sustainability proofing 
for the InvestEU Fund. 
193 European Commission, green budgeting reference framework, based 
on  the  review  of  the  OECD  Paris  Collaborative  on  Green  Budgeting 
initiative, 2017. 

Latvia  participates 

transition. 
Commission’s  green  budgeting  flagship, 
2021. 

in 

the 

European 
in 

launched 

Overall financing compared to the needs 

The  overall  environmental  financing  for  investments  is 
estimated  to  have  been    0.6-0.7%  of  GDP  in  the  2014-
2020  period  in  the  European  Union,  taking  into  account 
major EU funds and national financing. This ranged from  
0.3% (Ireland) to  1.91% (Bulgaria), linked to the level of 
individual  environmental  challenges  in  Member  States. 
The  overall  EU  environmental  investment  needs  in  the 
2021-2027  period  are  estimated  to    range  between  0.9-
1.5%  of  projected  GDP  (2021-2027),  suggesting  a 
potential environmental financing gap of 0.6-0.8% of GDP 
(at EU level), assuming previous financing patterns194. 

Figure 45: Total environmental financing baseline (2014-
2020) and estimated needs (2020-2030) in the EU-27 (% 
of GDP)195 

investments 

is 
Latvia’s  environmental  financing  for 
estimated  to  have  been  1.37%  of  GDP  (above  the  EU 
average  of    0.7%)  in  the  period  2014-2020,  with  over  a 
third 
country’s 
environmental  investment  needs  in  the  period  2021-
2027 are found to be over 1.74% of GDP (including needs 

sources.  The 

from  EU 

coming 

194 Source: DG Environment data analysis. EU financing sources covered: 
ESI  Funds  (ERDF,  CF,  ESF,  YEI,  EAFRD,  EMFF),  Horizon  2020,  LIFE,  EFSI 
(EU amount), EIB loans. National financing: total national environmental 
protection  capital  expenditure  (investments)  -  source:  Eurostat  EPEA 
dataset.  Cut-off  date  for  data:  end  2021.  N.B.  The  total  financing  may 
be  higher,  in particular  through further  indirect  investments,  requiring 
further analysis in the future.   
195 Eurostat, ESI Funds Open Data, 2021. 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
 
 
                                                                 
 
 
                                                                 
Latvia  40 

with  country-level  breakdown),  suggesting  a  potential 
environmental  financing  gap  of  at  least    0.37%  of  GDP. 
This  gap  is  likely  to  be  higher  when  also  accounting  for 
needs  currently  estimated  at  EU-level  only  (e.g.  water 
protection,  circularity,  biodiversity  strategy  etc.)  –  to  be 
addressed  through  additional  environmental  financing 
measures. 

2022 priority actions 

  To  devise  an  environmental  financing  strategy  to 

maximise  opportunities  for  closing  environmental 
implementation  gaps,  bringing  together  all  relevant 
administrative levels. 

  To ensure an increased level of financing, including to 
further  stimulate  private  financing  flows,  for  the 
environment  to  cover  investment  needs  across  the 
environmental  objectives  and  prevent  significant 
investment gaps. 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
 
 
Latvia  41 

6. Environmental governance

Information, public participation and access to 
justice 

Citizens  can  more  effectively  protect  the  environment  if 
they  can  rely  on  the  three  ‘pillars’  of  the  Aarhus 
Convention:  
(i) access to information; 
(ii) public participation in decision making;  
(iii) access to justice in environmental matters. 
It is of crucial importance to public authorities, the public 
and businesses that environmental information is shared 
efficiently  and  effectively196.  Public  participation  allows 
authorities  to  make  decisions  that  take  public  concerns 
into account. Access to justice is a set of guarantees that 
allows  citizens  and  NGOs  to  use  national  courts  to 
protect the environment197. It includes the right to bring 
legal challenges (‘legal standing’)198. 

Environmental information  

This  section  focuses  on  Latvia’s  implementation  of  the 
INSPIRE Directive. The INSPIRE Directive aims to establish 
infrastructure  for  sharing  
a  European  spatial  data 
environmental  spatial 
information  between  public 
authorities  across  Europe,  assist  with  policy-making 
across  boundaries  and  facilite  public  access  to  this 
information.  Geographical  information  is  needed  for 
good  governance  at  all  levels  and  should  be  readily  and 
transparently available. 

As  part  of  a  general  compliance  promotion  exercise  on 
the  accessibility  of  priority  data  sets  for  reporting,    a 
letter  of  formal  notice  was  sent  to  Latvia  on  8  March 
2019.  Latvia  has  responded  to  the  formal  notice  by 
steadily improving implementation. 

Nevertheless,  Latvia’s  implementation  of  the  INSPIRE 
Directive  could  be  better.  Its  performance  has  been 
reviewed  based  on  the  country's  2021  country  fiche199. 
Good progress has been made on data identification and 

the 

the 

This 

with 

public. 

(Directive 2003/4/EC) and 

196  The  Aarhus  Convention,  the  Access  to  Environmental  Information 
INSPIRE 
Directive 
Directive (Directive 2007/2/EC) together  create  a  legal  foundation  for 
the  sharing  of  environmental  information  between  public  authorities 
and 
focuses 
on the INSPIRE Directive's implementation. 
197 These guarantees are explained in the Commission Notice on access 
to justice in environmental matters, OJ C 275, 18.8.2017 and a related 
Citizen's Guide. 
198  This  EIR  report  focuses  on  the  means  implemented  by  Member 
States  to  guarantee  rights  of  access  to  justice,  legal  standing  and  to 
overcome  other  major  barriers  to  bringing  cases  on  nature  and  air 
pollution. 
199 https://inspire.ec.europa.eu/INSPIRE-in-your-Country/LV 

EIR 

documentation; 
implementation 
improvement. More effort needed to: 

levels 

need 

  make the data more widely accessible, and 
  prioritise  environmental  datasets  in  implementation, 
identified  as  high-value  spatial 
environmental 

implementing 

especially  those 
datasets 
legislation200. 

for 

Table  4:  Country  dashboard  on  the  implementation  of 
the INSPIRE Directive (2016-2020)201 

2016 

2020 

Legend 

■  Implementation  of 
this  provision  is  well 
advanced  or  (nearly) 
complete. 
issues 
Outstanding 
are minor and can  be 
addressed 
easily. 
Percentage: >89% 

■  Implementation  of 
this  provision  has 
started  and  some  or 
substantial  progress 
has been made  but  is 
still  not 
to 
completion. 
Percentage: 31–89% 

close 

■  Implementation  of 
this provision is falling 
significantly  behind. 
Serious  efforts  are 
necessary to close the 
implementation  gap. 
Percentage: <31%  

Effective coordination and data 
sharing 

Ensure effective 
coordination  

■  ■ 

sharing 

Data 
without 
obstacle  

INSPIRE 
indicators 

■  ■ 

performance 

i. Conformity of 
metadata  

■  ■ 

ii.  Conformity 
of  spatial  data 
sets202 

iii.  Accessibility 
of  spatial  data 
through 
sets 
and 
view 
download 
services 

iv.  Conformity 
network 
of 
services 

■  ■ 

■  ■ 

■  ■ 

In  2016,  the  deadlines  for 

200 European Commission, List of high value spatial data sets. 
201 INSPIRE knowledge base. 
202 
implementation  of  spatial  data 
interoperability  were  still  in  the  future:  23/11/2017  for  Annex  I  data 
and  21/10/2020  for  Annex  II  and  III  data.  It  must  also  be  considered 
that this conformity indicator will never reach 100% conformity in many 
cases, as the majority of countries provide as-is data sets in addition to 
the INSPIRE harmonised data sets. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
                                                                 
 
  
 
                                                                 
Public participation 

The  Ministry  of  Environmental  Protection  and  Regional 
Development    provides  an  overview  of  Environmental 
its  website203,  outlining  the 
Impact  Assessment  on 
procedures and the legal framework and providing a link 
to the Environmental State  Bureau, which is responsible 
for  implementation.  The  Environmental  State  Bureau 
including  case-by-case 
provides  further 
information  on  who  has  submitted  a  proposal,  links  to 
relevant  documentation  and  information  on  when  and 
where  public  consultation  hearings  will  take  place204. 
Comprehensive  information  on  completed  EIAs  is  also 
published205, and the website has an infographic detailing 
the entire procedure for carrying out an EIA along with a 
brief explanation of its purpose206. 

information, 

No data could be identified regarding the actual level of 
public participation in EIA and Strategic enviromnmental 
assessment 
the 
Environmental  State  Bureau  annual  report  for  2020 
expresses concern and states that the public often fail to 
find out about such opportunities in a timely manner207. 

procedures; 

however, 

(SEA) 

It  is  also  noted  that  minor  gaps  have  been  identified 
based on the EIA conformity study with regard to public 
participation. Despite the lack of transposition of certain 
provisions  (e.g.  Article  6(2)(d)  and  6(3)(c))  into  the 
the  mechanisms  of  public 
Latvian 
participation  and  access 
remain 
information 
unaffected by these minor gaps in transposition. 

legal  system, 

to 

Access to justice 

NGOs  do  not  have  to  demonstrate  an  interest  to  have 
standing in an environmental court case or in cases  that 
have  a  significant  effect  on  the  environment.  Actio 
popularis  (a  right  of  access  to  justice  in  the  public 
interest)  exists  in  environmental  matters.  This  means 
that people have access to administrative authorities and 

Regional 

Development, 

Impact  Assessment,  Ministry  of  Environmental 
at: 

203  Environmental 
Protection 
available 
and 
https://www.varam.gov.lv/en/environmental-impact-assesment, 
accessed 09.10.2021. 
204 
Available 
https://www.vpvb.gov.lv/lv/jaunumi?title=&category%5B449%5D=449
&category%5B461%5D=461&created%5Bmin%5D=--.--.----
&created%5Bmax%5D=--.--.---- 
205 
novertejumu-
projekti?combine=&tcat_vid_1%5B677%5D=677&created%5Bmin%5D=
--.--.----&created%5Bmax%5D=--.--.---- 
206 See: https://www.vpvb.gov.lv/lv/ivn-procedura 
207  State  Environmental  Bureau,  2020  Annual  Report,  available  at: 
https://www.vpvb.gov.lv/lv/media/3554/download, 
accessed 
09.10.2021. 

https://www.vpvb.gov.lv/lv/ietekmes-uz-vidi-

Available 

at: 

at: 

Latvia  42 

courts not only to protect their own individual interests, 
but also to protect general environmental interests. 

If a plan is adopted in the form of an administrative act, 
the scope of administrative review is the same as in other 
administrative  cases.  The  court  would  revise  both  the 
procedural  and  substantive  legality  of  the  final  decision 
confirming the plan. 

If  the  planning  decision  is  embodied  in  a  normative  act, 
the Constitutional Court is also competent to review both 
the procedural and substantive legality of the normative 
act. 

legal  acts  or 

Normative 
legislative  acts  (legislation) 
implementing  EU  environmental  legislation  usually  take 
the form of laws enacted by the Parliament (the Saeima) 
or Cabinet regulations. On the basis of laws and Cabinet 
regulations,  local  government  regulations  also  include 
rules derived from EU law. 

It can be concluded that there is a system of regular and 
substantive supervision of legally binding  regulatory acts 
that is accessible to members of the public and NGOs. 

There  is  no  information  available  on  access  to  justice 
maintained by the government. 

In  2019,  there  was  a  priority  action  addressed  to  Latvia 
on access to justice, namely to  better inform the public 
about  their  rights  on  access  to  justice.  It  was  concluded 
that limited progress had been made. 

2022 priority actions 

  Address  concerns  about  levels  of  public  engagement 
through  enhanced 
including 
in  EIA  processes, 
publicity  and  accessibility  of  information,  allowing 
timely identification of current applications. 

  Better inform the public about their access to justice 
rights,  in  particular  by  referring  to  Commission  e-
Justice 
in 
sheets  on  access 
environmental matters  on judicial and administrative 
portals.  

justice 

fact 

to 

Make  spatial  data  more  widely  accessible  and  prioritise 
environmental  datasets  in  the  implementation  of  the 
INSPIRE  Directive,  especially  those  identified  as  high-
value  spatial  datasets  for  implementing  environmental 
legislation. 

Compliance assurance  

Environmental compliance assurance covers all the work 
that 
undertaken  by  public  authorities 
industries,  farmers  and  others  fulfil  their  obligations  to 
protect  water,  air  and  nature,  and  manage  waste208.  It 

to  ensure 

208  The  concept  is  explained  in  detail  in  the  Communication  on  ‘EU 
improve  environmental  compliance  and  governance’ 
actions  to 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
 
                                                                 
                                                                 
 
Latvia  43 

includes  support  measures  provided  by  the  authorities 
such as: 
(i) compliance promotion209; 
(ii)  inspections and other checks that they carry out, i.e. 
compliance monitoring210; 
(iii)  the  steps  that  they  take  to  stop  breaches,  impose 
sanctions  and  require  damage  to  be  remedied,  i.e. 
enforcement211. 
Citizen  science  and  complaints  enable  authorities  to 
liability212 
focus  their  efforts  better.  Environmental 
ensures that the polluter pays to remedy any damage.  

Some data is provided in the State Environmental Service 
biannual  review  of  activity,  including  data  structured  by 
the  types  of  inspections  conducted  monthly.  However, 
the  results  of  inspections  are  stated  in  quantitative 
(number  of  enforcement  actions  taken),  not  qualitative 
(nature  of  the  action,  nature  of  the  breach),  terms.  A 
yearly  statistical  report217  provides 
information  on 
calculations  of  environmental  damage,  types  of  breach 
and fines imposed. 

Compliance promotion and monitoring 

Complaint handling and citizen science 

A  good  general  level  of  information  on  the  Nature  and 
Nitrates  Directives 
is  provided  online  by  both  the 
Ministry  of  Environmental  Protection  and  Regional 
Development  and  the  Ministry  of  Agriculture.  The 
information  on  the  Nature  Directive  provided  by  the 
Ministry  of  Environmental  Protection  and  Regional 
identification  of  relevant 
Development  enables  easy 
restrictions  by  area;  on  the  Nitrates  Directive,  the 
Ministry  of  Agriculture  has  a  webpage  providing  clear 
information on water quality issues213, and has produced 
a simple list of the farm measures required by the latest 
national  legislation  implementing  this  Directive214.  More 
information,  such  as  case  studies  and 
user-friendly 
examples,  does  not  seem 
to  be  available.  The 
accessibility  and  quality  of  various  informative  materials 
appears to have improved in recent years. 

the 

implementing 

Legislation 
Industrial  Emissions 
Directive is currently in the process of being revised, with 
a new ‘Pollution prevention law’ being drafted to replace 
existing 
legislation.  The  State  Environmental  Service 
currently prepares inspection plans; the latest covers the 
its  website215. 
years  2020-2025  and 
is  available  on 
Reports on inspections are published216. 

COM(2018)10  and  the  related  Commission  Staff  Working  Document, 
SWD(2018)10.  
209 This EIR focuses on the help given to farmers to comply with nature 
and nitrates legislation.  
210 This EIR focuses on inspections of major industrial installations. 
211  This  EIR  focuses  on  the  availability  of  enforcement  data  and 
coordination between authorities to tackle environmental crime. 
212  The  Environmental  Liability  Directive,  2004/35,  creates  the 
framework. 
213  See  https://www.zm.gov.lv/lauksaimnieciba/statiskas-lapas/vides-
aizsardzibas-prasibas-lauksaimnieciskai-darbibai/udens-kvalitates-
aizsardziba?nid=2752. 
214 
See 
https://www.zm.gov.lv/public/ck/files/ZM/lauksaimnieciba/MK_834_vi
des_aizsardzibas_prasibas.pdf).  
215 Available at:  https://www.vvd.gov.lv/lv/media/8512/download. 
216  https://registri.vvd.gov.lv/vides-aizsardzibas-kontrole/zinojumi-par-
a-b-un-c-iekartu-parbaudes-rezultatiem-pieejami-
saisinati/?company_name=&company_code=&collapsed=true&pollutio

In general, an overhaul of most Government websites in 
2020  has  made  it  easier  to  locate  information  and 
facilitated public engagement. Further, in 2020 the State 
Environmental Service set up an Operations Coordination 
Centre  which,  among  other  tasks,  coordinates  the 
handling of reports on environmental breaches218. A new 
online tool for  the  management  of  such complaints  was 
created,  which  registers  reports  received  from  phone 
calls,  e-mails,  the  Environmental  SOS  app,  and  social 
media.  The  Environmental  SOS  app219,  which  allows 
people  to  register  complaints  about  environmental 
issues,  has  been  used  increasingly  since  the  2019  EIR 
(2018:  1  974  complaints;  2020:  5  124  complaints).  Data 
on  the  number  of  complaints  received  by  other  means 
(calls, e-mails, etc.) could not be located. 

for 

As  noted  above,  the  State  Environmental  Service  has 
explicit  and  well-publicised  arrangements 
the 
handling  of  complaints,  and  makes  use  of  information 
provided  by  citizens  through  a  range  of  means.  In 
addition,  a  network  of  public  environmental  inspectors 
exists, allowing citizens to volunteer to support the work 
of  the  inspectors  of  the  State  Environmental  Service  on 
environmental  enforcement.  At  the  moment,  there  are 
77  public  environmental  inspectors  and,  according  the 
State  Environmental  Service  website,  they  seem  to  be 
mainly  focused  on  enforcement  of  fishing  and  angling 
controls220. 

Enforcement  

Information on prosecution of environmental crimes and 
the  results  of  prosecutions  are  not  publicly  available, 

n_category=&org_id=&core_area_id=&perm_date_from=&perm_date_
to=&s=1. 

the 

See 

217 Available at: https://www.vvd.gov.lv/lv/statistika. 
218 
https://www.vvd.gov.lv/lv/infografikas. 
219 Available for download at http://www.videssos.lv. 
220 See https://www.vvd.gov.lv/lv/sabiedriskie-vides-inspektori. 

infographic 

detailed 

available 

at: 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
                                                                                                        
 
 
 
                                                                                                        
apart  from  the  overall  statistics  on  fines,  warnings  for 
breaches  of  relevant  legislation  etc.  published  by  the 
State  Environmental  Service  mentioned  above.  A  useful 
page  of  infographics  on  the State  Environmental  Service 
website also includes a simple graphic showing breaches 
in  2020221.  However,  no 
and  penalties 
information  on  enforcement 
substantive 
actions 
the 
contrary 
published, 
is 
recommendation made in the 2019 EIR. Latvia still has no 
recorded  environmental  crimes  that  would  be  classified 
as  very  serious.  Moreover,  the  overall  amount  of 
environmental crime committed is decreasing. 

follow-up 
being 

imposed 

to 

The  environmental  inspection  plan  2020-2025222  states 
that, in its permitting and monitoring activities, the State 
Environmental  Service  cooperates  with  the  Health 
Inspectorate,  State  Labour  Inspectorate,  State  Fire  and 
Rescue  Service,  State  Revenue  Service,  Rural  Support 
Service,  State  Plant  Protection  Service,  Food  and 
Veterinary  Service,  State  Forest  Service,  Environmental 
Protection  Agency,  Consumer  Rights  Protection  Centre, 
cooperation 
and  municipalities. 
agreements/memorandums 
available 
regarding  serious  environmental  crimes.  The  2019  EIR 
had  recommended  the  publication  of  information  on 
institutional cooperation  – no evidence  of  the fulfilment 
of  this  recommendation  could  be  identified,  therefore 
to  have  changed 
the  situation  does  not  appear 
significantly since then.   

However, 
are 

publicly 

no 

Environmental Liability Directive  

The  Latvian  Environment,  Geology  and  Meteorology 
Centre compiles information submitted to it by operators 
regarding  cases  in  which  there  is  an  imminent  threat  of 
damage or environmental damage, and its website has a 
publicly  available  database 
listing  contaminated  and 
potentially  contaminated  sites,  detailing  the  specific 
address,  type  of  pollution  and  its  source223.  The  State 
Environmental  Service  also  publishes  a  yearly  statistics 
report224 on pollution incidents, specifying the region, the 
type of pollution and its cause (traffic accidents, maritime 
accidents, etc.). 

National  legislation  does  not  require  insurance  against 
potential  environmental  liabilities,  nor  does  it  specify 

un 

See 

sodi 

2020”, 

221 
“Pārkāpumi 
https://www.vvd.gov.lv/lv/infografikas. 
222 COM(2019) 149 final - Brussels, 4.4.2019.  
223 
https://www.meteo.lv/autorizacija/?josso_back_to=http://parissrv.lvg
mc.lv/signon#viewType=pppvListView&incrementCounter=2. 
224 Statistics | State Environmental Service (vvd.gov.lv) 

available 

at 

See 

Latvia  44 

types  of  financial  security.  However,  all  major  insurance 
companies operating in Latvia appear to provide relevant 
cover. 

The  2019  EIR  recommended  to  Latvia  that  it  improve 
financial security for liabilities and Environmental Liability 
Directive (ELD) guidance, and  that it  publish information 
on  environmental  damage.  Since  2019,  Latvia  has  made 
no progress on those issues. 

2022 priority actions 

 

Improve  the  availability  of  public  information  on 
enforcement of environmental crime.  

  Consider  publishing 

reports  of  environmental 
inspections or providing more detailed information on 
results thereof and follow-up. 

  Publish  information  on  institutional  cooperation  and 

its role in enforcement actions. 

  Provide  more  detailed 

types  of 
environmental  crime,  including  specifying  how  many 
qualify as serious environmental crimes.  
  Publish more guidance materials on the ELD.  

reports  on 

Effectiveness of environmental 
administrations  

in 

involved 

implementing 

Those 
environmental 
legislation at EU, national, regional and local  levels need 
to have the knowledge, tools and capacity to ensure that 
the  legislation  and  the  governance  of  the  enforcement 
process bring about the intended benefits. 

Administrative capacity and quality 

Environmental  policy  developments  in  Latvia  are  mainly 
driven by EU directives and regulations, and the relevant 
EU rules are generally transposed in time. At present, the 
number of complaints and infringements handled by the 
Commission  in  the  environmental  field  is  below  the  EU 
average. 

Overall,  during  the  last  decade  an  improvement  in  the 
implementation of EU environmental law in the different 
sectors has been observed. For instance, there has been 
progress regarding the implementation of environmental 
assessments.  There  were  some  doubts  about  a  recent 
package of legislation aimed at speeding up the licencing 
of  the  ‘projects  of  national  interest’,  but  no  serious 
problems were identified when it was implemented. 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia 

 
 
 
                                                                 
 
 
 
Latvia  45 

development  of  a  sustainable  finance  strategy.  Apart 
from  this  project,  Latvia  was  not  active  in  seeking  the 
support of the TSI for environmental reforms until 2022, 
when it submitted a request for technical support under 
to  an 
the  RRF.  However, 
improvement  of  the  End-of-life  vehicles  system  which 
was  not  sufficiently  prepared.  DG  REFORM  encourages 
Latvia  to  improve  and  resubmit  the  request  in  the  next 
TSI cycle. 

request 

related 

the 

TAIEX EIR peer-to-peer projects 

The  TAIEX  EIR  Peer  2  Peer  tool228  has  been  launched  by 
the  Commission  to 
learning 
between environmental authorities.  

facilitate  peer-to-peer 

In 2019, Latvia participated in three Taiex EIR Peer 2 Peer 
multi-country  workshops:  on  air  pollution 
from 
household  heating,  on  the  EU  Timber  Regulation  for 
Nordic  Baltic  competent  authorities  and  on  life  cycle 
in  policy  and  procurement 
approach  and  circularity 
planning, hosting the last one in Riga. Latvia participated 
in  a  workshop  on  sustainable  finance  in  2020.  More 
recently,  Latvia  has  taken  part  in  two  multi-country 
workshops  on  ammonia-reducing 
technology  and 
measures (2021) and zero pollution (2022). 

In  the  DESI  Report  2021225,  Latvia  ranked  No.  17.  It 
performs well in the provision of digital public services, is 
a front-runner in broadband coverage and the number of 
e-government users continues to increase. However, the 
integration of digital technologies  is hampered by a  lack 
of investment in R&D. 

in 

levels  as  a  national  priority 

Latvia  has  identified  the  development  of  digital  skills  at 
its  Digital 
all 
Transformation Guidelines 2021-2027226 and included the 
the  digitalisation  of 
following  objectives  under 
environmental 
digital 
action: 
environmental  management 
transformation 
processes;  modelling  of  environmentally  polluting 
transformation  of  environmental 
activities;  digital 
disaster  management 
risk 
management  and development  of prevention measures; 
digitisation of environmental and geospatial data. 

management 
of 

data-driven 

through 

Coordination and integration  

to 

to 

the 

applicable 

in  order 

streamlining  of 
The  Commission  encourages 
reduce 
environmental  assessments 
in  environmental 
duplication  and  avoid  overlaps 
assessments 
projects.  Moreover, 
streamlining  helps  to  reduce  unnecessary  administrative 
burden  and  accelerates  decision-making,  provided  it  is 
done  without  compromising 
the 
environmental  assessment  procedure227.  Latvia  had 
already  introduced  the  streamlining  of  environmental 
assessments  under  the  EIA  and  Habitats  Directives  prior 
to  the  revision  of  the  EIA  Directive.  Coordinated 
procedures  have  been  established  for  the  EIA  Directive, 
Water  Framework  Directive  and  Industrial  Emissions 
Directive. 

the  quality  of 

Reforms through the Commission’s Technical 
Support Instrument 

The Commission supports environmental implementation 
and  the  green  transition,  not  only  through  the  EU 
financing  programs,  but  also  by  granting  technical 
assistance  such  as  the  Technical  Support  Instrument 
(TSI).  

In  2021,  the  Commission’s  TSI  supported  a  project 
related  to  EU  taxonomy  implementation  in  Latvia  and 

225 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/digital-economy-
and-society-index-desi-2021. 
226 https://www.varam.gov.lv/lv/digitalas-transformacijas-
pamatnostadnes-2021-2027gadam. 
227 The Commission issued a guidance document in 2016 regarding the 
setting  up  of  coordinated  and/or 
that  are 
simultaneously subject to assessments under the EIA Directive, Habitats 
Directive,  Water  Framework  Directive,  and  the  Industrial  Emissions 
Directive, OJ C 273, 27.7.2016, p. 1.  

joint  procedures 

228 https://ec.europa.eu/environment/eir/p2p/index_en.htm 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Latvia