The International Energy Agency (IEA) developed this Sustainable Transport Policy for Georgia roadmap under the European Union-funded five-year EU4Energy programme, which supports evidence-based energy policy and data capabilities in Eastern Partnership countries, including Georgia.
The roadmap supports sustainable transport planning at national and city levels, summarising legislation, planning documents, and research on passenger and freight transport. Key metrics include accessibility, safety, convenience, equity, energy efficiency, emissions reduction, congestion and service reliability. Policies and targets are proposed to help Georgia meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and achieve its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) pledges.
The government of Georgia is encouraged to integrate these recommendations into legislation and planning. While transport covers many fuels and technologies, this roadmap focuses primarily on reducing emissions and energy use in road transport while improving accessibility, performance and safety. It also provides guidance for non-governmental organisations (NGOs), development financiers and the private sector.
This roadmap begins with an outline of Georgia’s institutional and policy framework, followed by the broader context, highlighting transport’s role in the economy and its environmental impacts. It reviews transport’s effects on people’s lives, including both benefits (access to goods and services) and drawbacks (congestion, air and climate pollution, and road injuries and deaths).
Since national and municipal policies shape transport technology, infrastructure and operations, the report first examines the country as a whole, followed by Georgia’s largest cities. With road vehicles responsible for more than 98% of domestic transport energy use and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, the focus is on road transport.
Opportunities identified include improving vehicle efficiency – particularly by accelerating electric vehicle (EV) adoption – and cutting reliance on inefficient vehicles by reducing unnecessary car travel and shifting to buses, metro, walking and cycling, as well as intercity passenger and freight rail. These opportunities are presented as a coordinated and sequenced portfolio of policies designed to enhance transport efficiency and effectiveness while advancing road transport electrification.