In April 2021, after a contentious process, the Czech government presented a new version of its draft Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), with significant changes relative to previously released drafts. Throughout the process, civil society actors have criticized the lack of opportunities for effective participation.
Together with other available financial instruments, the RRP can principally be seen as a positive contribution to much-needed progress on the green transition in Czechia. Nevertheless, the government’s application of the climate tracking methodology does not always stand up to closer scrutiny, and the risk of a high carbon lock-in through investments in fossil gas projects remains a particular issue.
Green Spending Share
We find that Czechia’s draft recovery plan (RRP) achieves a green spending share of 22%, below the EU’s 37% benchmark. Furthermore, we find that 15% (€1.0bn) may have a positive or negative impact on the green transition depending on the implementation of the relevant measures, illustrating the importance of further scrutiny during the further planning, review and implementation of the recovery measures. According to the government, the plan’s climate spending share is 37% (see page 5 of the full country report for more details).
Our calculation of the green spending share aims to mirror the approach used for the official assessment of national recovery plans (find more information here).
