Progress in 2019-20 and plans till end 2020

1. EU4Environment in Azerbaijan:
Progress in 2019-20 and plans till end 2020

2. Result 1. Greener decision making (UNEP)
Progress in 2019-20 (May) Plans for 2020
 Identified institution(s) to host, promote and deliver
an introductory Green Economy (GE) course
 Nomination of candidates from various government
bodies for participation in an in-depth GE policy-
making course
 On-going consultations to identify an inter-ministerial
body for GE dialogue support
 On-going consultations to determine direction and
scope of investment analysis
 Translation, hosting, promotion and delivery of the
introductory GE course among various civil servants
 Learning needs assessment conducted among all
nominated trainees
 Delivery of a tailored, interactive webinar training to
nominated participants (from all EaP countries)
 Inter-ministerial coordination mechanism identified for
future support
 Begin development of an investment analysis for a
priority sector

3. Result 1. Greener decision making (UNECE: SEA/EIA)
Progress in 2019-20 (May) Plans for 2020
 Assistance for finalizing the legal reform on SEA and on
transboundary EIA:
- support in finalizing the draft secondary implementing
legislation on EIA and SEA (2 draft regulations) incl.
alignment with relevant international standards;
- legal review of the two draft regulations (on EIA and
SEA) incl. suggestions for the alignment (Dec 2019 – Feb
2020);
- revision of the draft regulations by the Ministry of
Ecology and Natural Resources (in progress) to be
followed by review of revised drafts by UNECE legal
experts
 Coordination meeting with 6 beneficiary countries in the
margins of the UNECE Working Group on EIA and SEA (26-28
November 2019, Geneva), no cost for the project
 Assistance for finalizing the legal reform on SEA and
transboundary EIA (cont’d):
- Roundtable on the Development of Secondary
Legislation on EIA and SEA in Azerbaijan (originally
planned as a physical event in Baku for April; currently
planned as a partly virtual roundtable for July)
- finalization of the draft regulations (summer 2020)
 Pilot SEA of a draft government plan/programme
- subject to Azerbaijan’s identification of a strategic
document
 Training workshop on SEA
 First sub-regional training workshop on SEA and
transboundary EIA (planned for October 2020, Tbilisi)
- likely as a virtual training

4. Result 2. Circular economy and new growth opportunities (UNEP)
Progress in 2019-20 (May) Plans for 2020
 Consultations to identify direction and scope of work
on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) systems
 Review existing waste policies and initiate technical
assistance for strengthening draft EPR policy
documents
 Participation in regional trainings on SPP
 Participation in a regional experience sharing event on
eco-innovation for SMEs

5. Result 2. Circular economy and new growth opportunities (UNIDO)
Progress in 2019-20 (May) Plans for 2020
 Consultations with NFPs and other stakeholders on
identification of the National Implementing Partner
(NIP)
 One tender launched to identify the RECP NIP
 Identified synergies for collaboration with the Agency
for the Development of Small-and Medium-Sized
Enterprises
 A project roadmap on EU4Environment support to
SMEs was jointly developed with OECD and discussed
with the NFPs
 Identification and recruitment of the National
Coordinator
 Identification and recruitment of the NIP
 Kick-off meeting and establishment of RECP
stakeholders group
 Training of 10 RECP experts started
 RECP assessment of 15 manufacturing SMEs started
 Launch of 2 RECP Clubs

6. Result 3. Environmental level playing field (OECD)
Progress in 2019-20 (May) Plans for 2020
 Regional workshop on BAT (October 2019)
 Environment dimension of the SME Policy Index (including a chapter on
Azerbaijan)
 Scoping mission on projects “Reforming regulatory regimes for large
emission sources” and “Strengthening of Compliance Assurance Systems”
(January 2020)
 Draft estimates of fossil-fuel subsidies for 2016-2019 for the OECD-IEA
Fossil-fuel subsidies database
 Launch of preparatory work on green
finance and investment (green bonds) and designing and costing a green
public investment programme (draft ToRs)
 Launch of preparatory work on administrative capacity for environmental
management project (consultations with SIGMA, draft ToR, outline and
concept note)
 Draft and finalize report on existing approaches on regulations for large
enterprises (Activity 3.1)
 Two assessment reports: on the compliance assurance system and on
administrative sanctions, monetary payments and penalties for non-
compliance
 Preparatory work for launch of project on designing and costing a green
public investment programme (planned for 2021)
 Explore synergy effects with the review of the Ecological Fund in Moldova
and develop, if relevant, potential lessons for Azerbaijan
 Analytical report on fossil-fuel subsidies, including Azerbaijan and collection
of data on energy-related taxes
 Mission to Azerbaijan on green bonds project (subject to travel policy)
 Analytical report on existing/required administrative capacity in the
environmental sector
 Regional meetings on greening SMEs, on green finance (October 2020) and
on BAT (November 2020)

7. Result 5. Monitoring progress at environment-economy nexus (OECD)
(5.3. Green growth indicators)
Progress in 2019-20 (May) Plans till end 2020
 Overview of available green growth indicators in the
OECD database for Azerbaijan and initial internal
discussions on its extension
 Country profile
Activities 5.1 and 5.2 on coordination and
communication will be discussed under Items 4 and 5 of
the Agenda.
 Critical amount of work on green growth indicators
in planned for 2021-22
 Video on green growth indicators (regional)
 New edition of the country profile

8. Discussion
1. Feasibility of using alternative modes of operation (e.g. virtual
meetings, web-based trainings, use of local consultants)
2. Maintaining/postponing/advancing activities

9. Item 4: Co-ordination (Result 5.1)
Progress in 2019-20 (May) Plans till end 2020
 Launch event in Azerbaijan (April 2019, Baku)
 Inaugural Regional Assembly meeting
(June 2019, Brussels)
 Six EaP country virtual consultations (May-June
2020)
 Second Regional Assembly meeting:
 Virtual (Zoom) meeting on 22-23
September 2020
 in-person meeting in November-December
2020, if travel restrictions lifted, possibly in
Kyiv, Ukraine

10. Item 5: Communication (Result 5.2)
Progress in 2019-20 (May) Plans till end 2020
 Programme leaflet in Azerbaijani
 Country profile
 Web site (OECD domain:
http://www.oecd.org/site/eu4environment/
 Inaugural Newsletter, reaching more than 200
subscribers*
 Videos “About EU4Environment” and “About the Inaugural
Assembly meeting”
 Use of social media (YouTube, Flickr, existing Twitter
channels)
 Generic totems for meetings
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 Development and launch of a new web site (more
interactive features)
 Newsletter on a monthly basis (extension of the list of
subscribers)
 Production of new videos (Regional Assembly, thematic
videos, interviews)
 Use of Social media on a regular basis
 Work with “young EU ambassadors”
 Promotion at national and international events (incl. the
EaP Ministerial, 7 October 2020, Luxembourg)
 Translation of totems/selected documents into national
languages
 Reinforced coordination with other programmes (i.e.,
OPEN Programme, EU4Business, etc.)