SDG and environment

1. SDG and environment In the Eastern Partnership Index

3. Environment and climate policy • Institutional weaknesses, and a lack of assessment systems, hinder a comprehensive evaluation of the effectiveness of the implementation of environmental policies. In the case of Georgia and Moldova, potential institutional shortfalls include the combination in one ministry of both the environment and agriculture portfolios at a time when environmental considerations and sustainable development should play a bigger role in policies concerning both agricultural production and regional development. • Evaluation of implementation of policies is complicated by the fact that out of 42 main UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) environmental indicators, Moldova provides statistics for only three, Azerbaijan eight, Georgia 14 (slightly grown), Ukraine 17, and Belarus 27 (slightly increased). Armenia, with 37 indicators, is the only country close to the benchmark of 42.

4. Bilateral cooperation • Ukraine is the most active country in bilateral co-operation, having concluded more than 50% of the possible total number of bilateral environmental agreements with EU and EaP countries. The number has increased in the case of Georgia, which has signed agreements with 42% of the potential partner countries, while the other EaP countries have concluded between 20% and 30%. Azerbaijan is the least active in concluding bilateral agreements.

9. SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC GROWTH • The dynamics of domestic material consumption (DMC) – consumption driven by domestic demand – provide insight into whether there is a decoupling between the use of natural resources and economic growth. Among the six countries, Belarus has the worst rate at 17.5 tonnes per capita. The other five countries’ rates range from Ukraine at 12.5 to Georgia at 6.8 tonnes per capita. • The highest agriculture value added – 14.9% – is observed in Armenia, followed by Moldova and Ukraine on 12.2% and 10.2% respectively in spite of the fact that their high rates of arable area raise concerns about the resilience of their ecosystems. Georgia, in contrast, combines a very low percentage of arable land with agriculture value added of only 7%. e least sophisticated agriculture of the six countries is evident in Azerbaijan – with agriculture value added of only 5.6%.

10. Research and InnovationInfrastructure • All six countries have low levels of research and development (R&D) expenditures. Belarus has the highest rate at 0.7% of GDP. Ukraine spends 0,6%, Moldova spends 0.4%, Georgia and Armenia 0.3%, and Azerbaijan 0.2%. In the Global Innovation Index, rates range from 30.2% in Azerbaijan to 38.5% in Ukraine.60 • Internet use ranges from 52.5% of the population in Ukraine to 78.2% in Azerbaijan, while mobile broadband is booming, ranging from 108 subscriptions per 100 population in Moldova to 144 in Ukraine. The quality of overall infrastructure is best in Belarus, Georgia and Ukraine (4.6-4.7 out of a maximum of 7), 4.5 in Azerbaijan and 4.3 in Armenia, but substantially lower at 3.3 in Moldova.61

11. ENSURE SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION PATTERNS • The material footprint is an accounting of fossil fuels and other raw materials extracted globally and used in a particular country. It reflects the amount of primary materials required to meet a material standard of living or level of capitalization of an economy • The EaP countries – with a lower level of consumption – all have a material footprint several times lower than EU member states, but the levels are gradually increasing. The poorest performing EaP country, Ukraine, has a footprint of 12 kg per US$ of GDP, followed by Georgia on 9.1 kg/US$. Armenia and Azerbaijan have lower footprints at 8.2 kg/US$ and 6.3kg/ US$ respectively. The lowest material footprints are evident in Belarus (0.1kg/US$) and Moldova (1kg/US$).

12. RESOURCE EFFICIENCYAND STATE OF ENVIRONMENT • The worst Water Exploitation Index scores of more than 50% continue to be seen in Azerbaijan and Armenia (the Water Exploitation Index measures water withdrawal as a percentage of annual long-term water flow). In contrast, the index values fell further in Georgia (to 3.3%), Moldova (15%) and Ukraine (9.8%). Belarus continues as the best placed EaP country with 3.2%, although went from 1% in the previous Index. • Municipal waste intensity was reduced in Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine, although Moldova remains the worst performer in the group, with almost 30kg/capita annually. Armenia witnessed a slight increase in municipal waste production. Nevertheless, the share of municipal waste recycled remains very low in the six countries. Belarus – with 15% – and Moldova – with 10% – are leading, but remain a long way behind recycling rates in EU countries.

13. RESOURCE EFFICIENCYAND STATE OF ENVIRONMENT • The pressure on the environment is growing from the increasing discharge of non-treated water in the majority of EaP countries – at its highest in Moldova, where the share of non- treated waste waters in annual waste water discharge is 82.8%. In Azerbaijan, the discharge is only 5.3%, while in Belarus almost all waste water is treated. There is a trend of carbon emission reduction in some EaP economies, but higher levels of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions suggest that the negative picture on emissions has not changed much yet. • With forestation, a slight growth in forested areas is evident for Belarus, but the opposite trend is apparent in Georgia and, even more markedly, in Azerbaijan. Ukraine enlarged the territory of nature protected areas by 5% and Georgia by 0.6%, while other countries remain unchanged.

14. RESOURCE EFFICIENCYAND STATE OF ENVIRONMENT

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