Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Sector in Georgia

Land-use change and forestry (LUCF) was the second most significant sector, with activities removing 3.5 million metric tons of CO2e more than they emitted. Waste, agriculture, and industrial processes contributed 26%, 21%, and 14% of total emissions, respectively. Between 1990 and 2011, Georgia's GHG emissions decreased by 34 million metric tons of CO2e, with the country regaining 23% of its 1990 level emissions. The Third National Communication (TNC) to the UNFCCC, submitted in 2015, attributed the changes in GHG emissions to the country's political and economic instability in the years following the collapse of the Soviet Union and during the global recession from 2008-2010. In 2011, emissions rose again due to the economic recovery, particularly in the energy sector due to higher electricity demand and poor output from the country's hydroelectric power stations. Energy emissions decreased by 81% from 1990 to 2011, with electricity and heat responsible for 49% of the decrease. However, between 2000 and 2007, energy emissions rose due to the rise in transport emissions resulting from purchases of large, inefficient, aging used cars, as well as economic growth and improved living conditions. The fluctuations in energy emissions since 2008 reflect instability due to the global economic crisis and the Russo-Georgian War, with the upturn in emissions from 2010 to 2011 due to emissions growth from electricity and heat production. LUCF emissions decreased 13% from 1993 to 2011, with forests covering 2.7 million hectares or 40% of the territory. The political crisis of the 1990s and the growing domestic and international demand for timber caused intensive, and often illegal, exploitation of the country's forests. Illegal logging has dropped significantly in recent years but still remains high, and forest fires are also a threat. Large-scale infrastructure development, triggered by rapid economic recovery and growth, has become a threat to Georgia's forests and biodiversity. Waste sector emissions decreased by 1.7 million metric tons of CO2e from 1990 to 2011, with the TNC showing a similar trend. Georgia has 69 "official" municipal landfills and 28 known "unofficial" landfills, which operate under local government authorities but without proper measures for groundwater protection, leachate collection/treatment, or energy recovery. The World Bank estimated the cost of environmental degradation from the waste sector at 5% of GDP and identified waste management as a key environmental issue. Georgia's GHG emissions decreased 77% from 1990 to 2011, averaging -5.7% annually. The country's GDP also decreased but less, by 26%, averaging -0.1% annually. Georgia's key development challenge is to accelerate economic growth while limiting GHG emissions by boosting investments in low-carbon technologies. The country started preparing its Low Emission Development Strategy (LEDS) in 2013, which is expected to be finalized by the end of 2016. Georgia's Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) builds on the LEDS and communicates the country's plans to reduce its GHG emissions by 15% below the business-as-usual scenario for the year 2030 through actions in the energy, waste, industrial processes, and agriculture sectors.