According to shadow economy index calculations, which have been carried out in the Baltic states since 2009, the volume of the shadow economy in Latvia since 2016, with a small exception in 2019, has had an upward trend: 20.7% of GDP in 2016, 24.2% of GDP in 2018, 25.5% of GDP in 2020. In 2021, the shadow economy in Latvia grew to 26.6% of GDP, but in 2022 it decreased slightly, reaching 26.5% of GDP.

 

With the help of the program, it is intended to support and facilitate the replacement of old and inefficient heating equipment (biomass, coal, and peat heating equipment) in cities to reduce their negative impact on air quality and public health. During the implementation of the program, the opportunity will also be provided to renovate, rebuild, or construct heating systems and install solar panels.

 

In Latvia, the dairy industry continues to face serious difficulties, and the viability of milk producers is threatened, having experienced a sharp drop in milk procurement prices in the first months of the year.

 

The Riga municipal SIA “Rīgas ūdens” is currently planning a green bond issuance worth 35 million euros, which could take place in several stages...

 

To diversify its energy generation portfolio, achieve European Union (EU) scale decarbonization goals, and ensure long-term value for shareholders, Latvenergo has set goals for increasing green energy production capacity, including by using an active mergers and acquisitions strategy, the company reports.

 

In Latvia, the average price of biofuel during the last heating season was 38.07 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh), which is 52% higher than a year earlier, according to data from the international biofuel exchange Baltpool.

 

The flow of Kazakh cargo through the port of Klaipėda more than quadrupled in the first quarter of this year to reach 63,100 tonnes; however, the President of the Lithuanian Stevedoring Association, Vaidotas Šileika, admits that Lithuania's strict policy in complying with international sanctions prevents it from using the potential of the Central Asian country, and that Latvia is the winner from this.

 

 

On 1 June, the results of the Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings (THE Impact ranking 2023) were published, in which several Latvian universities were named among the world's leading universities, including for the fourth year, the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies (LBTU), known in the international environment as Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies.

 

The Constitutional Assembly of the “Turība” University of Business unanimously elected the Dean of the Faculty of Business Administration, Associate Professor Zane Driņķe, as Rector on 24 May, the university informed.

 

The Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies (LBTU) is organizing the enrollment of new students in the summer – during July and August. From 18 to 24 July, everyone has the opportunity to apply in person for one of the study places in all undergraduate and master's study programs, while enrollment for doctoral study programs will take place from 21 to 30 August.

 

 

The Latvian Nature Tourism Code of Ethics is being developed by the Latvian Rural Tourism Association “Lauku ceļotājs”, which has made a significant contribution to the development of the long-distance hiking routes “Jūrtaka” and “Mežtaka” in Latvia and neighboring countries. The draft code is being created in close cooperation with representatives from the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development, the Nature Protection Agency, the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia, all coastal municipalities, as well as the Kurzeme, Riga, and Vidzeme planning regions.

 

The climate is changing. In Latvia, too, we are observing heatwaves more and more frequently in the summer, with temperatures even at night above 20 degrees Celsius, and in the afternoons even exceeding 30 degrees. The weather has also become more volatile in the winter, when in some years a stable snow cover has not formed in Latvia. Very recently, in 2020, winter effectively did not arrive on the western coast of Latvia – in Rucava and Liepāja, snow cover thicker than one centimeter was recorded for four and three hours, respectively. The average air temperature this calendar winter was 5.7 degrees higher than the climatic norm (average for the period from 1981 to 2010). The precipitation regime is also changing, which has a significant impact on the overall water cycle.

 

...in the LIVE LAKE project, the preservation of natural values of 10 Kurzeme lakes, one body of water, and three North Lithuanian lakes has been promoted over two years. A very significant contribution of the project is the development of the nature protection plan for the Tosmare Lake nature reserve, as the document plans the development, use, and protection of the territory for the next 10 years, thereby both ensuring the area's involvement in Liepāja city's tourism flow and identifying renewable meadows and marshes.

 

Lake Ummis is a unique lobelia lake on the scale of all of Latvia and the Baltics. It is one of the few remaining clear-water or oligotrophic lakes in Latvia, where the only species of the lobelia family in Latvia can be found – the Water Lobelia, which is an indicator species for particularly clean lakes. The plant is listed in the first category of the Latvian Red Data Book as an endangered species.

 

On 2 June, the Summer Flower Bed Planting Marathon of SIA “Rīgas meži”, which lasted more than three weeks, concluded – the final flowers were planted in the early afternoon in the newly created bed in the Atis Kronvalds Park. The author of its design is the artist Elita Patmalniece, the flowers for the bed were selected by “Rīgas meži” landscape architect Ligita Tomiņa, and they were planted in situ by employees of the “Gardens and Parks” department.

 

The sewage pumping station on Daugavgrīvas Street 101 can justifiably be called the most powerful and largest in the Baltic states. The current station has been operating for more than 30 years and needed a technological modernization to continue to guarantee safe collection and pumping of wastewater to the “Daugavgrīva” Biological Treatment Plant.

 

 

 

EFSA provides an annual report assessing MRL (Maximum Residue Levels) of pesticides in food products on the European market. The 2021 EU report on pesticide residues in food provides an overview of pesticide residue controls carried out in EU member states, Iceland, and Norway. In Latvia, 237 samples were analyzed within the framework of the EU coordinated multiannual control program, of which 20.25% were of Latvian origin, 54.43% of EU origin, and 25.32% of third-country origin. Exceedances of the maximum residue level were found in 2.53% of food produced in other countries.

 

 

The Law on Natural Resources Tax is being amended in the Saeima in great haste. The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development (VARAM) has discovered, to its great surprise, that the current letter of the law practically prohibits the installation of solar panels and associated electricity batteries in Latvia. Until now, the panels could only be installed because state institutions, led by VARAM, had simply forgotten about what was written in the law. Both households and companies that have installed solar panels, as well as solar panel distributors, can now only hope that the state will not start collecting the natural resources tax (NRT) from them. State institutions admit that they have specifically set tax rates that are unaffordably high.