Lithuania has established official diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Tonga, BNS reports. The official ceremony took place in conjunction with the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York. Until now, Tonga was one of the six remaining UN member states with which Lithuania had no diplomatic relations. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis thanked…
Several ministries in Estonia have criticised the Ministry of Climate’s proposed new climate law, ERR reports. The ministries argued that the bill’s structure and purpose were unclear, and that the bill failed to define the rights and obligations under the proposed law. Interior Minister Lauri Läänemets and Justice Minister Liisa Pakosta said that the bill…
The Latvian government has approved an updated national energy and climate plan, aimed at meeting the EU’s climate targets by 2030, LSM reports. The plan outlines five key areas: decarbonisation and renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy security, integration with the EU’s internal energy markets, and research, innovation, and competitiveness. The plan includes around 250 measures…
A recent study reveals a significant increase in the occurrence of heat waves in the Baltic States, particularly Estonia, over the past 30 years, ERR reports. Using data from 40 weather stations in 1951-2021, the study assessed changes in heat waves using five common indices: Number, duration, total days, amplitude, and magnitude, showing a marked…
Latvia’s ruling coalition will soon need to discuss “painful decisions” on taxes, Prime Minister Evika Silina stated, LETA reports. Speaking in an interview with TV3, Silina said that simplifying taxation was an important priority. The Ministry of Finance has developed potential proposals for changes on real estate tax, labour costs, corporate income tax, VAT, small…
Lithuania is experiencing increasingly common heat waves with temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius, which experts say is becoming the new summer norm due to climate change, LRT reports. Gytis Valaika from the Lithuanian Hydrometeorological Service (LHMT) and Justinas Kilpys from Vilnius University highlight that such temperatures were rare before 2000 but have occurred annually since…
Estonia’s capital, Tallinn, ranked the highest in the Baltic States on Serbian database Numbeo’s Quality of Life index in 2024, BNS reported. Tallinn ranked 17th out of 195 cities worldwide. Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, ranked 36th on the index, while the Latvian capital, Riga, ranked 88th. Numbeo’s index assesses various factors affecting quality of life, including…
Latvia’s Minister of Environmental Protection and Regional Development, Inga Berzina, has proposed renaming the ministry to the Ministry of Nature Protection and Regional Development, LETA reports. Earlier, environmental services were transferred to the Ministry of Climate and Energy. Berzina said that the name change could be implemented after the distribution of functions in July 2024….
Lithuania experienced its least sunny month on record in December 2023, with an average of only 8.7 hours of sunshine, less than a third of the usual amount, LRT reports. This surpassed the previous record of 9.9 hours set in December 2018, according to the Lithuanian Hydrometeorological Service (LHMT). Vilnius only registered 2.9 hours and…