On November 25, ISET started a policy seminar series provided by the second-year students of ISET’s MA program. The first presentation was delivered by Tamar Bregvadze, Mariam Chachava, Kamran Gasimov, and Yervand Martirosyan under the supervision of the head of Energy Concentration at ISET, Norberto Pignatti. The students gave a presentation entitled “Environmental Regulations – Air Pollution”, during which they overviewed different issues related to air pollution in Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.

According to the World Health Organization, more than 92% of the world’s population breathes air with lower quality and purity than the organization considers to be healthy. Furthermore, the problem is especially poignant for developing countries. Recent studies show that mortality due to air pollution in Georgia is approximately 5000 people a year; the same measurement stands at 3000 for Armenia and more than 5000 for Azerbaijan. This again highlights the importance of this topic for the Caucasus region.

In addition, the students identified the main sources of air pollution: deforestation, industrialization, and transportation. Deforestation and industrialization account for only a small part of air pollution, while the transportation sector is considered to be the main pollutant. For example, in the case of Georgia, transportation produces 71% of all air pollution (for Tbilisi, this number increases to 95%). In Azerbaijan, this number increases to almost 80%, while transportation accounts for 90% of air pollution in Yerevan. The presenters reviewed the causes of this problem in depth.

The students also overviewed current and projected government policies that is/will be dedicated to reducing air pollution. For instance, the Georgian government plans to implement the mandatory technical inspection of cars, and change legislation to incentivize people to import environmentally-friendly cars. The government will also develop infrastructure for electric cars, implement monitoring of the quality of fuel, and develop and modernize public transport. 

Moreover, current and projected environmental policies for Azerbaijan are the replacement of medium-sized buses with large ones in public transport, setting up air quality monitoring systems in the eight major industrial cities, introducing vehicle emission limits (Euro 2 and Euro 4 standards), and vehicle inspection and compliances.

Finally, the students proposed several suggestions for policymakers: to consider a separate policy for rural and urban areas; introduce light-duty vehicle acquisition/registration tax or ownership tax; impose import restrictions on cars, and promote biogas production. The possible results of these policies will be lower GHG emissions, improved air quality in the larger cities, lower energy and health costs for consumers, reduced fuel imports, and compliance with international standards.

Moreover, the First Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Environment and National Resources Protection of Georgia, Teimuraz Murgulia, attended the seminar and talked about the perspectives of environmental policies in Georgia. The presentation was followed by questions and a discussion and is just one of eight such seminars that will be held in the academic year 2016/17.