While waiting for the September elections, Slovakia President Zuzana Čaputová named a caretaker government headed by Prime Minister Ľudovít Ódor.
Summarising its work over the past three years, the Ministry of Environment led by Ján Budaj was very positive. It recalled some important regulations and reforms, like the one related to national parks, which also aimed at attracting more responsible tourism, which can be more remunerative than the sale of wood.
Slovakia was also the first country in Central and Eastern Europe to adopt a deposit scheme for plastic bottles, at the beginning of 2022. According to the Ministry, one billion plastic bottles and approximately 350 million beverage cans enter the Slovak market each year. Thanks to the adoption of the scheme, more than 820 million beverage containers were collected and recycled in the first year alone.
The Ministry also introduced support schemes for home renovations, in order to reduce cities’ CO2 emissions. In this regard, earlier in February, the Ministry prepared the draft of the much-awaited climate law that will help the country reach carbon neutrality in line with the European Union targets. The proposal included specific climate targets for the sectors excluded by the EU Emission Trading System (EU ETS), such as road transport, buildings, agriculture, land use, forestry and waste.
Minister Budaj also devoted attention to the protection of biodiversity, signing several decrees to protect Slovakia’s wilderness and Natural 2000 sites, while also announcing new protected areas.
The newly-appointed Minister Milan Chrenko said to want to continue what was started by his predecessor in the past years.
“We will try to initiate further changes so that whoever comes after us, will find the good conditions to continue working,” emphasised Minister Chrenko.
At the same time, the new Minister is looking at the transition to a greener and more responsible Slovakia as a great opportunity that the country must not miss.
“Protecting nature, air, water, or adapting to climate change means also protecting the health of not only all of us but especially our children,” he underlined.
Equally important is the green transition, which is an opportunity for innovation and a prerequisite for sustainable economic growth, increasing Slovakia’s competitiveness and creating new jobs.