LITHUANIA, June 3 - Earlier today, the Prime Minister addressed the International Finance Conference: Making Green Finance a Reality in the Baltics.

‘Today we are facing an unprecedented situation where several crises are interwoven: recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, fighting climate change and the war against Ukraine. Coping with all these challenges requires a shared and unified approach. The world must become greener, or we will face new crises linked to climate change’, said the Prime Minister.

Ingrida Šimonytė has underlined that the EU has an ambitious goal to become the world's first climate-neutral continent by 2050. Lithuania shares this goal, as the green transition will help to strengthen economic resilience and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. That is why it is important to strengthen our efforts and speed up decision making.

The Prime Minister has noted that in the context of recent geopolitical events, Lithuania has already demonstrated leadership in this area by making a decision to completely refuse Russian oil, gas and electricity. The green transition is not only about the protection of nature, but also about independence – by securing our green economy for current and future generations.

Looking ahead, Lithuania is actively working towards ensuring energy independence and fully transitioning to renewables by 2050. Lithuania also welcomes the efforts of the European Commission in this regard. It is crucial to stop Russian oil and gas imports even if this requires short-term investments in new fossil fuel infrastructure.

The green economy and sustainable investment are high among the priorities of the Government of Lithuania. We will show leadership through ambitious measures adopted in the Government Programme and agreed with the public, businesses, and municipalities: economic instruments for greening our economy, climate neutral scenarios for each sector, increasing green public procurement, financing the transition to green technologies, and promoting behaviour changes in pursuit of a circular and climate-neutral economy’, said the Prime Minister.

According to preliminary estimates in the National Energy and Climate Plan, Lithuania’s financial needs in this area amount to over 14 billion EUR. Of this, almost 10 billion EUR is made up of public funds, both EU and national. We are seeking to mobilise the remaining 4 billion EUR from the private sector.

The national RRF plan – ‘New Generation Lithuania’ – is focused on addressing long-term challenges, one of which is the green transformation.

There is no doubt that green finance is an essential catalyst for the future. I hope that this Conference will bring us together for productive discussions and joint problem-solving. I wish you all an interesting and fruitful conference’, said the Prime Minister.