Highlight 16/2025: How is Georgia tackling air pollution challenges?
Anuka Bakuradze, 7 March 2025
“Clean air shouldn’t be a privilege dictated by where you can afford to live but a right to which we are all entitled”. This heart-rending statement by the American politician Kevin de Leon underscores the importance of the clean air as a fundamental yet often overlooked right of a human being.
The protection of air quality in Georgia, widely known and celebrated for its breathtaking landscapes and rich cultural heritage, has emerged as a critical concern. The 2023 IQAir Index ranks Georgia 62nd out of 134 countries in terms of air pollution, with an average national pollution level considered “unhealthy for sensitive groups”. The alarming numbers indicate that the annual average of fine particles in Georgia’s air, PM2.5, exceeds the World Health Organization’s air quality guideline by at least three times. According to the study commissioned by the Washington University, Georgia is ranked third per 100,000 people, with total deaths from diseases caused by the air pollution, linked to everything from lung cancer to heart disease to strokes. Fortunately, Georgia has recognized this challenges and is actively collaborating with international organizations and donors to address it. These multilateral pivotal partnerships are not just beneficial, they are essential for ensuring a sustainable future for the country with respect to UN Sustainable Development Goals, SDG target 3.9.1, which calls for a substantial reduction in deaths and illnesses from air pollution.
Clean air is no longer just a luxury but a necessity for both the health of people and the preservation of the environment. On 19 April 2024, the four-year initiative “Clean Air For Georgia” was inaugurated, benefiting from EUR 4 million in EU funding, and from the cooperation of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, with UNDP, WHO, UNECE, and the Environment Agency Austria (UBA). The ambitious goals set for completion by the end of 2027 include strengthening Georgia’s air quality surveillance network and enhancing national capacities in monitoring, modelling, and predicting air quality, along with its impact on public health. Furthermore, the project will assist Georgia in establishing a national reference laboratory and implementing efficient strategies to regulate industrial emissions and mitigate pollution in alignment with Best Available Techniques and international practice.
Another significant initiative is the Tbilisi Urban Transport Project, which consists in the collaboration with the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to promote greener public transport in Tbilisi. To modernize Georgia’s transportation sector, and ease Tbilisi’s troubling car-focused planning and decrease the city’s car dependency international financial institutions, invested EUR 5 billion in Georgia to date through 283 projects, to introduce electric buses, improve public transit infrastructure, and promote non-motorized transport options like cycling. These measures not only reduce emissions but also enhance the quality of life for urban residents. Moreover, Georgia’s partnership with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) has enabled the country to invest in sustainable waste management systems, further mitigating air pollution from landfill sites.
In conclusion, clean air is not just an environmental issue – it is a matter of public health, economic stability, and social well-being, and Georgia’s ongoing initiatives are transforming challenges into hope.
Anuka Bakuradze, Highlight 16/2025: How is Georgia tackling air pollution challenges?, 7 March 2025, available at www.meig.ch
The views expressed in the MEIG Highlights are personal to the authors and neither reflect the positions of the MEIG Programme nor those of the University of Geneva.