The Ministry of Environment has prepared a draft updated Climate Protection Policy (APOK), which was due to be discussed by the Government in summer 2024. This top-level strategic document of the country's climate policy has undergone only limited public consultation, received minimal media attention and exhibits three types of scientifically described deficiencies: ambition gap, policy adoption gap and policy outcome gap.
The paper “Green Transformation: why doesn’t the Czech Republic have a plan?” describes the deficiencies of government climate policy in three main areas: governance and oversight of climate policy, economic assumptions and a just transition. By ignoring these deficiencies, the Czech Republic may be missing an opportunity to link decarbonisation goals with addressing other social and environmental challenges and improving quality of life for all.
The main problem is an aversion to redefining the basic political and social assumptions of the transformation towards a sustainable society. The state assumes that climate policy will be implemented within the same legal and social frameworks that led to the need to address the climate crisis in the first place.
The policy paper warns that without addressing the identified shortcomings, the chosen measures may not ultimately be implemented or will only be implemented formally. Deficiencies in the economic fundamentals may undermine cost-optimal decarbonisation of technologies, and without addressing the deficiencies in equitable transition, the decarbonisation of the economy may slow down due to growing dissatisfaction with government climate policy. Each of these deficiencies can make it significantly more difficult to meet climate targets, which will be very challenging for the country in the medium and long term.
