Despite progress, especially in improving environmental infrastructure, Czechia still has a mixed performance in implementing environmental policies effectively, owing mainly to governance gaps. There is progress in areas such as waste management, a boilers exchange scheme, or nature conservation.
Consequently, despite Czechia making significant progress in some areas, such as management of some waste streams and air quality, more ambition is needed to overcome existing challenges and meet the objectives of the clean transition as regards water management and circular economy.
Highlights
In 2024, Czechia introduced a simplification of the conditions for assessing the environmental impacts of wind power projects.
Food waste is one of the priority waste streams in Czechia’s updated National Waste Prevention Programme.
Main Challenges
Circular Economy
While Czechia shows a growing commitment to transitioning to a circular economy, its resource productivity remains well below the EU average and the Circular Czechia 2040 framework needs to be speedily implemented in practice. Czechia is at risk of not meeting the 2035 target of max 10% of municipal waste landfilled and has made no progress on shifting reusable and recyclable waste away from incineration.
Pollution
Regarding water quality, the ecological and chemical status of Czechia’s surface water and groundwater bodies is deteriorating. There is still no progress towards decarbonising the transport sector.
Governance and investment
Czechia’s investment gap stands at an estimated €2.3 billion per year, which represents around 0.82% of its GDP (slightly higher than the EU average of 0.77 %).
On environmental governance there is room for further improving access to courts in national environmental cases by the public concerned and eliminating practical barriers, such as excessive costs. Czechia should publish more exhaustive information on environmental impact assessment (EIA) and strategic environmental assessment (SEA) procedures, including on public participation possibilities and publication of final decisions, and provide information on the average duration of all steps in the EIA process.