Slovak Republic

The Slovak Republic drops six places in the current CCPI to 40th, ranking it among the overall low performers.

The Slovak Republic receives low ratings in three of the four main CCPI categories. For GHG Emissions, it earns a medium.

Fossil fuel subsidies continue

In December 2018, the Slovak Republic’s government announced it would phase out state coal mining subsidies and terminate them by 2023. This statement is also part of the country’s integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP), which includes a long-term objective of significantly reducing fossil fuel subsidies.

It’s now clear this target is highly unlikely to be reached. The CCPI country experts maintain that subsidies continue to encourage fossil fuel use, which obviously is incompatible with the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The European Commission indicates that the most problematic aspect is reimbursing excise duties on diesel fuel used for commercial purposes. The experts therefore believe the law has failed to deliver.

Moreover, future targets for climate action in the Slovak Republic generally lack ambition. For example, the 2030 target for total energy from renewable sources is only 23%. The unambitious goal for the agriculture sector is to reduce the GHG emissions level from 2005 by 1% by 2030. On a more positive note, the 2030 national target under the European Union Effort Sharing Regulation will be to reduce emissions from sectors outside the EU Emissions Trading System by 22.7% compared with 2005, which is higher than the EU average of 15%. However, the experts find the Slovak Republic’s climate governance weak overall due to a lack of implementation and unambitious targets in the NECP.

Some progress in renewables

The experts also strongly criticise the Slovak Republic’s energy use policy. For example, they cite the NECP’s low targets for industry, existing support schemes for industry that go against adopted climate policies, low emphasis on public transport exemptions for excise duties for trucks, and weak implementation of NECP measures for transport. The criticism also reflects the country’s score in the Energy Use category.

The experts do welcome some progress in renewables. They note that renewable energy was lifted from the government’s priority list. More emphasis was given to community energy projects, and a renewable energy sources (RES) contact point was established to help investors. Still, the experts want to see faster energy production increase from RES and faster acquisition of the necessary permits for installing solar photovoltaic panels and connecting them to the electricity grid.

Overall, the experts demand alignment of climate targets, policy, and measures with the Paris Agreement, adoption of strong measures, and a comprehensive plan for fossil fuel subsidies to phase out and for adoption of a climate law that will ensure strong implementation of climate measures.

Key Outcomes

CCPI experts

The following national experts agreed to be mentioned as contributors for this year’s CCPI:

• Katerina Chajdiakova (Slovak Climate Initiative)