Toward a Green Taxonomy in Armenia : A Working Paper

Overview & Synopsis

The World Bank Group supports the Ministry of Economy of Armenia in developing a green taxonomy (GT) as a key step toward a sound system of identifying, selecting, and financing green and sustainable development projects and actions, and as an essential milestone toward establishing an architecture for green investment and finance in the country. This working paper presents the objectives, key principles, and overall approach to developing and taking first steps toward operationalizing the GT in Armenia, elaborated through a broad consultation process under local ownership and building on the existing set of national and sectoral strategies and international obligations of the country. Briefly outlining the context for GT development in Armenia, it presents the rationale behind policy choices already made and the GT development process led by the Ministry of Economy and supported by a working group of local technical experts, as well as its key result— the first version of the GT adopted in Armenia.6 Further, the paper identifies expected benefits for each group of potential users and recommends enabling policy measures to operationalize the GT. It also focuses on the implementation challenge in a broader context of transition to a green and circular economy model, and associated policy choices yet to be made, discussing available solutions for key implementation issues. The paper also provides limited general observations and preliminary recommendations on key issues and next steps; however, elaborating implementation details, including verification rules and procedures, was out of its scope.