Environmental Technologies and Eco-innovation in the Czech ...

1.2.3 | Environmental technologies in the Czech Republic
With regard to the application of environmental technologies, the existence of the
independent Czech Republic can be divided into two periods: Before 2000, technologies
of the first generation clearly prevailed due to the obligations imposed by environmental
legislation. Since 2000, the share of technologies of the second generation started
increasing, which is partly related to the investment cycle of the current technological
facilities and to investments into new technological facilities. The implementation
of Act No. 76/2002 Coll. on integrated prevention also greatly contributed to the
application of environmental technologies. During the implementation, technologies
of more than the one thousand most important industrial and agricultural businesses
were compared to BAT and environmental requirements for newly constructed facilities
were identified.
In quantitative terms, the situation for the application of environmental
technologies can be best evaluated with the help of total investments into
environmental protection, whose magnitude is monitored by the statistical office. It is
further classified into the protection of air and climate; the handling of waste water;
the handling of waste; the protection and remediation of land, underground and
surface water; the reduction of noise and vibrations; the protection of biodiversity
and landscape; the protection against radiation; research and development.
The share of total investment into environmental protection in the GDP of the Czech
Republic between 1993 and 2006 is depicted in Table 1:
TABLE 1 | The share of total investment into environmental protection in the GDP
of the Czech Republic [%], 1993–2006
Year 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
GDP share [%] 2.00 2.50 2.20 2.20 2.24 1.76 1.39
Year 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
GDP share [%] 0.98 0.85 0.61 0.75 0.73 0.61 0.70
SOURCE | Czech Statistical Office
Note: The relatively high GDP growth between 2000 and 2006 should be taken into consideration
when interpreting the data in the table.
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