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To align its national climate-related regulation with EU requirements Moldova needs to transpose into national legislation at least 18 European directives in the energy field, 11 in the transportation sector and four related to climate change, according to the Association Agreement, EU4Climate project experts say. The project is funded by the European Union and implemented by UNDP. The project supports the Republic of Moldova and other Eastern Partnership countries in mitigating and adapting to climate change to achieve the commitments under the Paris Agreement.
Ivan Filiutsich, international energy expert at EU4Climate, says Moldova has a broad legal and regulatory framework, but it “can be strengthened in terms of including low-carbon development in regulatory documents, increasing the role of ministries and line agencies in the implementation of national climate policy, as well as the implementation of a wide range of horizontal measures that contribute to achieving the objectives of climate policy.”
The expert is to assess the national legislation and policy framework to identify key areas and bottlenecks in the legislation and regulations and make recommendations for integrating climate issues and low-carbon development into national legislation.
According to him, the third Biannual Updated Report (BUR 3) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Low Emission Development Program to 2030, the Climate Change Adaptation Strategy and the National integrated plan for climate and energy are currently being prepared.
However, the Republic of Moldova will need to improve its legislation and regulatory framework for better inter-ministerial coordination in the field of climate policy, energy security, development of market mechanisms in the electricity, heat and gas sectors, development of additional efficiency indicators for normative acts and programs, to be able to evaluate their impact.
Other areas that need additional attention include the integration of climate in territorial and urban development policies, the improvement of statistical data collection methods and the development of the financial and technology markets to support the implementation of low-emission development projects, etc.
Ivan Filiutsich stresses that, in line with EU best practice, climate policies should be a priority on the Government's agenda, along with the development of renewable energy technologies and their competitiveness, the development of mechanisms to support low-emission development and the encouragement of private investment in the sector. Other priorities include fiscal policies on fossil fuels, regulating greenhouse gas emissions trading mechanisms, stimulating innovation and technology transfer, as well as implementing supporting measures, such as standardization and certification, “green procurement” standards, information, and education campaigns.
With a total budget of 8.8 million Euros, the EU4Climate project is implemented during 2019-2022 and has the following components: (i) updating the Nationally Determined Contributions to the Paris Agreement; (ii) developing National Low-emission Development Strategies by 2050; (iii) the introduction and strengthening of the framework for the monitoring, reporting and verification of greenhouse gas emissions; (iv) alignment with the acquis communautaire in the field of climate; (v) integrating the climate dimension into sectoral policy documents, raising awareness and developing sectoral guidelines for the implementation of the Paris Agreement; (vi) attracting investment in climate change; (vii) better planning for adaptation to climate change.
