Slovenia calls for suggestions for draft climate change law

Slovenia is drafting the Climate Change Act to create a legal framework for implementing climate policy and reporting on all its aspects. The goal is to cut net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050.

The Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning has started to prepare the draft for a law on climate change. It invited all stakeholders to submit proposals by October 21.

The aim is to create a legal framework in Slovenia for implementing climate policy and reporting on all its aspects. The proposal will be developed in accordance with the Long-term Strategy of the Republic of Slovenia until 2050, the ministry said. The document sets the path for the country to achieve carbon neutrality by the middle of the century.

Legislators from numerous areas will participate in the production of the draft, due to the horizontal and cross-sectoral nature of climate change

The draft Climate Change Act is envisaged to provide solutions for meeting the goals of international treaties like the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, the ministry said. It will transpose the European Union’s legislation into Slovenia’s legal system and regulate cooperation with stakeholders, according to the public call.

The new law will include the climate provisions that are currently part of the Environmental Protection Act, the ministry added. Legislators from areas like education, healthcare, spatial planning, building construction, agriculture, and transportation will be involved in drafting the bill, due to the horizontal and cross-sectoral nature of climate change, the announcement revealed.

The future climate change law needs to be aligned with the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) and other strategic documents and action plans at the municipal level. The ministry pointed out that the draft would include provisions related to the operation of the climate change fund.