Lithuania’s incoming centre-left government has revealed its draft programme for the next four years, LRT reports. The new coalition plans to focus on welfare, with more child benefits and better accessibility to health care and education. Also, the government may make changes to tax policy, moving towards progressive taxation. The new government plans to reverse…
US engineering company KBR has signed a cooperation agreement with Latvia’s GI Terminal on a project to build a renewable aviation fuel plant at Latvia’s Port of Liepaja, LSM reports. Under the memorandum of understanding, KBR will provide engineering solutions and equipment for GI Terminal’s planned sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plant and CO2 liquefaction terminal…
The Estonian government will allocate almost EUR 200mn for the construction of the Rail Baltica railway and another EUR 75mn for a joint rail depot in Tallinn’s Ülemiste district over the next four years, Infrastructure Minister Vladimir Svet announced, ERR reports. He said that the funds would come from the sale of CO2 quotas. The…
The three Baltic States, together with Finland, Poland, and Germany, should build a green hydrogen corridor by 2040, according to a feasibility study commissioned by the Nordic and Baltic gas transmission system operators, BNS reports. The 2,500-kilometre corridor would transport up to 2.7 million tonnes of hydrogen fuel per year. The corridor could reduce CO2…
Latvia’s Riga International Airport (RIX) has begun drawing up a 40-year “master plan” and a strategic environmental impact assessment, LSM reports. RIX has contracted Spanish engineering and consultancy company Ineco and Latvian environmental engineering services company VentEko to develop the plan over the next 18 months. The master plan will include guidelines for the airport’s…
The constitutional and finance committees of the Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu, have decided to amend the car tax bill, ERR reports. Earlier, President Alar Karis rejected the bill, arguing that it violated the principle of equal treatment. Constitutional committee chairman Hendrik Johannes Terras and finance committee chairwoman Annely Akkermann said that discussions with various ministries…
The Estonian government has approved draft legislation to introduce an annual car tax and a vehicle registration fee, ERR reports. Under the plan, the new law will enter into force as of 2025. The amount of the car tax and the registration fee will depend on the vehicle’s emissions and age as well as weight…
Latvia’s greenhouse gas emissions rose by 7.5% in the first quarter of 2023, compared to the same period of 2022, according to Eurostat data, LSM reports. The increase was the second highest in the EU. Overall greenhouse gas emissions in the whole EU decreased by nearly 3% over a year.
Estonia’s Finance Ministry has proposed two alternative models for a motor vehicle tax, BNS reports. Under the first model, the tax would be based on the environmental impact of the motor vehicle over its entire life cycle, including manufacture, use, and disposal. Under the second model, the tax would be based on the amount of…