Environment and Energy in the Baltic Countries

This chapter discusses the challenges for environmental policy in the Baltic countries; Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The first part describes their major pollution problems, focusing on water and air and changes in Baltic environmental protection that have occurred since independence. The second part considers their energy use and its negative impact on the environment and the economy because of low efficiency and high dependence on imported fossil fuels. It concludes that energy conservation will be an important policy instrument for the Baltic countries in order to reduce pollution and cut energy costs.