Environment Minister Povilas Poderskis, who previously worked as a wind energy lobbyist, participated in drafting looser rules on how wind farms’ impact on birds is assessed – changes seen as favourable to wind farm developers, news portal 15min.lt reported Wednesday.
The draft order prepared under Poderskis outlines new rules for protecting rare birds and bats from the harmful effects of wind turbines.
According to 15min.lt, a comparison of the current regulations with Poderskis’ proposal shows the original 46-page document on bird protection has been reduced to just eight pages. Several measures safeguarding birds have been removed.
The proposed changes would eliminate mandatory buffer zones around protected bird nesting sites, reverse the current approach by allowing construction unless authorities prove environmental harm, remove clear minimum monitoring periods, and make the conclusions of the State Service for Protected Areas nonbinding.
The draft was submitted to government agencies for review last week. Officially, it lists Algirdas Klimavičius, head of the Environment Ministry’s Nature Protection Policy Group, as its author. Klimavičius denies authorship, saying Poderskis wrote the draft – a claim supported by the accompanying cover letter, 15min.lt reported.
At the end of July, Poderskis told 15min.lt he would not take part in preparing the order. He later said his expertise in the field made it important to be involved.
“It’s not easy – when you have specific knowledge and experience, it’s natural to want to directly help colleagues. Sometimes in such situations, you feel like you’re being punished for your competence,” Poderskis said.
He described the order as a collective effort by the ministry, adding that he took “leadership and responsibility” while emphasising the importance of both energy independence and environmental protection.
Poderskis argued that current bird protection requirements have completely halted wind farm development in Lithuania.
Renewable energy industry representatives said the proposed changes were “positively unsurprising”, while environmental experts said the situation appears to present a conflict of interest.
The Seimas Environmental Protection Committee is set to discuss the draft rules in an extraordinary session on Wednesday.
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