OECD Environmental Performance Review of the Slovak Republic Remarks by DSG Fabrizia Lapecorella

Slovak Republic 2024

Fabrizia Lapecorella OECD Deputy Secretary-General

Slovakia managed to decouple some environmental pressures from economic growth

Population Freshwater abstraction

Note: LULUCF: land use, land-use change and forestry.

Sources: IEA (2023), IEA World Energy Statistics and Balances (database); OECD (2023), OECD Environment Statistics (database); OECD (2023), OECD Economic Outlook (database).

Municipal waste generation

Total energy supply

Nitrogen oxides emissions

Slovakia is not on a net-zero pathway

Note: LULUCF: land use, land-use change and forestry. Dotted lines refer to national projections with existing measures. Dashed lines refer to projections with additional measures.

ESD targets: under the EU Effort Sharing legislation and amended Effort Sharing Regulation (EU 2023/857). LULUCF 2030 target: under the LULUCF Regulation (EU 2023/839).

ETS: emissions under the EU Emissions Trading System. 2022 data are estimates.

Source: MoE (2023), National Inventory Report 2022; EEA (2023), Member States' greenhouse gas (GHG) emission projections, 24 October.

Coal is being phased out Nuclear power is set to increase further

Note: Total energy supply excludes electricity trade and non-renewable waste; 2022: provisional data.

Source: IEA (2023), World Energy Statistics and Balances (database).

Despite progress, air pollution remains an issue

PM2.5 average concentrations, OECD European countries, 2021

Source: EEA (2023), Europe’s air quality status. Guideline value recommended by the World Health Organization

Further expanding wastewater treatment coverage is a challenge

Source: OECD (2023), OECD Environment Statistics (database).

Slovakia is lagging on waste management

Note: Municipal waste: household and similar waste collected by or for municipalities, originating mainly from households and small businesses. Includes bulky waste and separate collection.

Source: OECD (2023), OECD Environment Statistics (database).

Climate is a priority of the recovery plan but price support limits incentives to save energy

Slovakia's Recovery and Resilience Plan allocations

Tagged for climate of which: REPowerEU

Green economy

Gross fiscal costs of energy support measures as % of GDP, 2022-23

2022 2023

Renewable energy and energy infrastructure

Renewable energy and energy infrastructure

Building renovation

Building renovation

Sustainable transport

Sustainable transport

Decarbonisation of industry

Decarbonisation of industry

Adaptation to climate change

Adaptation to climate change

Education

Science, research, innovation

Health

Efficient public administration and digitisation

EUR billion

Note: Right panel: not accounting for the effect of possible accompanying energy-related revenue-increasing measures, such as windfall profit taxes on energy companies.

Source: EC (2023 and 2021), Analysis of the recovery and resilience plan of Slovakia; OECD (2023), OECD Energy Support Measures Tracker.

Slovakia receives large amounts of EU funds, but their absorption is low

Structural funds and Recovery and Resilience Facility grants, OECD EU countries, 2014-20 and 2021-27

Cohesion policy implementation, 2014-20 spending as % of planned amounts

Slovak Republic EU28

Total cohesion policy

Environmental protection and resource efficiency

Low carbon economy

Climate adaptation and risk prevention

Network infrastructure in transport and energy

Note: In left panel, data refer to total allocations (excluding national co-financing) in current prices as a percentage of 2021 GDP. Structural funds: European Regional Development Fund, Cohesion Fund, European Social Fund; 2021-27: including Just Transition Fund; 2014-20: including Youth Employment Initiative. Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) grants: including REPowerEU grants.

Source: EC (2023), Cohesion Open Data Platform, period covered up to 30 June 2023; EC (2023), Consolidated Regulation (EU) 2021/241 establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility, 28 February; EC (2022), RRF: Update of the maximum financial contribution, June.

The green tax reform should be pursued

Revenue from green taxes increased until 2019, driven by road fuel consumption while inflation eroded fuel taxes

Environmentally related tax revenue by tax base, 2010-22

Note: Energy includes revenue from a surcharge on electricity to finance feed-in tariffs for renewables and co-generation and subsidies for electricity generation from domestic coal. The decrease in 2022 reflects the fall in revenue from the surcharge, as high market prices have led to a reduction in support for electricity and combined heat and power producers.

Source: EC (2023), National Tax Lists, 21 April.

habitats

Bogs, mires & fens

Grasslands

Sclerophyllous scrubs

Heath and scrub

Freshwater habitats

Coastal habitats

Dunes habitats

Habitats and species are in an unfavourable state

Other invertebrates Vascular plants Non-vascular plants

Amphibians

Note: Report for 2013-18 based primarily on data from KIMS (Complex Information Monitoring System). Sclerophyllous scrubs: Juniperus communis formations on heaths or calcareous grasslands; Coastal habitats: inland salt meadows and pannonic salt steppes and salt marshes; Dune habitats: pannonic inland dunes.

Source: EEA (2021), Conservation status of habitat types and species: datasets from Article 17, Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC reporting.

Reinforcing the strategic framework for biodiversity

Slovakia’s Ecosystems

➢NBSAP 2030

➢Restoration plan

➢Finance strategy

Note: NBSAP: National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan .

Source: Adapted from Černecký et al. 2021, Value of Ecosystems and their Services in Slovakia.

Degraded

Annual cost of degradation: EUR 20 billion

Protected area network is extensive but has shortcomings

Terrestrial protected areas by IUCN category of protection, top 15 European countries of the OECD, 2022

Landscapes/seascapes, areas with sustainable use of natural resources, no category (V-VI)

Natural monument, habitat/species management area (III-IV)

Strict nature reserve, wilderness area, national park (I-II)

2030 target

2020 target

Note:2020 Aichi target 11 of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity; 2030 target 3 under the under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework

Source: OECD (2023), OECD Environment Statistics (database).

Shifting towards more sustainable forestry models

Slovakia has a high intensity of logging

Intensity of use of forest resources, top 10 OECD countries, 2022

Czechia

Note: Data refer to the ratio of fellings to productive capacity (gross increment).

Source: OECD (2023), OECD Environment Statistics (database).

Making the most of the new CAP for biodiversity

Index 2010=100

Biodiversity in agricultural land continues to decline

Trends in common farmland birds, 2010-21

Source: MoE (2023), Enviroportal (database); EBCC (2024), Common bird index by type of species - EU aggregate, European Bird Census Council.

Reversing

the decline in carbon removals from land-use, land-use change and forestry

Forest land Cropland Grassland Settlements Other lands Harvested wood products

Note: 2005: wind damage to forests in the High Tatras. 2020/21: reduced forestry activity owing to COVID-19. Settlements and other lands: GHG emissions from the construction of transport infrastructure, industrial sites and municipal development. 2022 data are estimates.

Source: MoE (2023), National Inventory Report 2022; EEA (2023), Member States’ greenhouse gas (GHG) emission projections, 24 October.

CONTACTS

Head of Division: Nathalie Girouard Nathalie.Girouard@oecd.org

Report Co-ordinator: Frédérique Zegel Frédérique.Zegel@oecd.org

Communications: Natasha Cline-Thomas Natasha.Cline-Thomas@oecd.org