Benzo(a)pyrene concentrations

Limit values for assessing the level of air pollution according to Decree of the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic no. 250/2023 Coll. on air quality

Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (Agenda 2030) was approved by the UN General Assembly (including Slovakia) in September 2015 ("Transforming our world: Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development") and represents the most comprehensive set of global priorities for achieving sustainable development to date. The 2030 Agenda builds on the UN Millennium Declaration from 2000 and calls on states to take a coordinated approach to solving global challenges. The goals of sustainable development that it sets concern all countries of the world, regardless of their level of economic and social development. Its key principles are transformation, integration, and universality. It contains 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) developed into 169 related sub-goals, which aim to guide the structural political, economic, and social transformation of individual countries in the world in response to the threats facing humanity today. It connects all three dimensions of sustainable development: economic, social, and environmental. The 2030 Agenda is not legally binding. It expresses the intention of countries to lead their development towards sustainability and to set their national policies, strategies, and planning to contribute to the achievement of global goals. The Slovak Republic signed up for the implementation of Agenda 2030 in the document "Starting points for the implementation of Agenda 2030 for sustainable development" approved by Government Resolution no. 95/2016, while he perceives it primarily as an opportunity and a means to determine long-term priorities for the development of our country. The elaboration of the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for the conditions of the Slovak Republic will largely take place in the form of updating existing sectoral plans and concepts. In this context, it was established by the resolution of the Government of the Slovak Republic no. 350 of July 24, 2017, of the Government Council of the Slovak Republic for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which will ensure that the issue of sustainable development becomes an integral part of all public policies.

The European Green Deal The European

Green Deal represents the European Commission's plan for the ecological transformation of the European Union's economy in the interests of a sustainable future. Its primary goal is to ensure that by 2050 Europe will be the first-ever climate-neutral continent. The given long-term goal means that by 2050 the EU will transform into a fair and prosperous society with a modern and competitive economy that uses resources efficiently, where net greenhouse gas emissions will be zero, and where economic growth does not depend on the use of resources.

Greener Slovakia – Environmental Policy Strategy of the Slovak Republic until 2030 (Envirostrategy 2030)

The environmental strategy is a basic strategic document for the environment with long-term goals aimed at the transition to a green, low-carbon, and inclusive economy. The Envirostrategy 2030 defines the vision until 2030 (to achieve a better quality of the environment and a sustainable circular economy using as few non-renewable natural resources and hazardous substances as possible), identifies basic systemic problems, sets goals for 2030, and proposes framework measures to improve the current situation.

Climate change adaptation strategy of the Slovak Republic - update

The main goal of the updated adaptation strategy is to increase the resilience and improve the preparedness of the Slovak Republic to face the adverse consequences of climate change and establish an institutional framework and coordination mechanism to ensure the effective implementation of adaptation measures at all levels and in all areas. The achievement of the main goal of adaptation should contribute to the fulfillment of sub-goals, which are: ensuring the active creation of a national adaptation policy, implementing adaptation measures and monitoring their effectiveness, strengthening the projection of the goals and recommendations of the adaptation strategy within the framework of multi-level public governance and business support, raising public awareness on the issue of climate change, support for synergy between adaptation and mitigation measures and the use of an ecosystem approach in the implementation of adaptation measures, and support for the reflection of the goals and recommendations of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement. The strategy tries to connect scenarios and possible consequences of climate change with proposals for suitable adaptation measures in the widest possible range of areas and sectors. From the point of view of adaptation to the adverse consequences of climate change, the key areas and sectors are considered to be: rock environment and geology, soil environment, natural environment and biodiversity, water regime in the country and water management, residential environment, population health, agriculture, forestry, transport, tourism traffic, industry, energy and other areas of business and the area of risk management.

Low-carbon development strategy of the Slovak Republic until 2030 with a view to 2050

The Slovak Republic is fully aware of the seriousness and extent of the threat posed by climate change. It is also for this reason that Slovakia, as well as the entire EU and dozens of other countries around the world, have committed to achieving climate neutrality as early as 2050. The low-carbon development strategy of the Slovak Republic until 2030 with a view to 2050 (hereafter the strategy) aims to select and analyze measures in a cost-effective manner, while support from the relevant departments and state and public administration bodies will be essential for implementation and, what is important, that were these policies and other unrelated policies cross-sectionally interconnected and consistent both between individual departments and within individual departments. The strategy represents a cross-sectional document across all sectors of the economy, which must be done by individual policies in such a way that they complement each other in order to meet the common goal, which is to completely decarbonize the whole of Slovakia by the middle of this century. Slovakia set this ambitious goal only at the last stage of the preparation of this strategy (when the modeling had already been completed), and therefore only less ambitious scenarios of emission reductions (and increasing captures) that do not get us to climate neutrality are analyzed in detail.

National emission reduction program of the Slovak Republic
Among the biggest environmental challenges of the Slovak Republic are also the goals based on Directive (EU) 2016/2284 on the reduction of national emissions of certain air pollutants, which amends Directive 2003/35/EC and repeals Directive 2001/81/EC.
These are commitments to reduce emissions of sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, non-methane volatile organic compounds, ammonia and PM_2.5, dust particles by 2030. To achieve these goals, the MoE of the Slovak Republic has currently developed a draft of the National Emissions Reduction Program, in which policies and measures for achieving the aforementioned national commitments in two stages: the period from 2020 to 2029 and the period from 2030 onwards.
The National Emissions Reduction Program contributes to the achievement of air quality targets under Directive 2008/50/EC, as well as ensuring compliance with plans and programs set out in other relevant policy areas, including climate, energy, agriculture, industry, and transport. At the same time, this will support the transfer of investments into clean and efficient technologies.