Order No. 130 of the Cabinet of Ministers validating Environmental Policy Guidelines for the period of 2014-2020.

Environmental Policy Guidelines for 2014-2020 (VPP2020) is a medium-term policy planning document for the environmental protection. It was developed in accordance with the priorities set in the Latvian National Development Plan for 2014-2020 (NAP2020). The goal of the implementation of VPP2020, is to provide citizens with the opportunity to live in a clean and orderly environment, by implementing activities aimed at sustainable development, preserving the quality of the environment and biological diversity, ensuring the sustainable use of natural resources, as well as public participation in decision-making and awareness of the state of the environment. VPP2020 also includes a section on environmental monitoring, which is carried out in order to obtain information about the state of the environment and natural resources, which gives the opportunity to plan environmental and nature protection measures and control the effectiveness of environmental protection.
The policy objective is to ensure good environmental management at all levels, as well as good environmental communication, based on as complete and balanced environmental information as possible; to promote broad public involvement in solving environmental issues; to ensure the quality of ecosystems, the balance of nature protection and socio-economic interests, to promote the formation of the image of Latvia as a "green" country. By 2020, to reduce the impact of air pollution on the population and ecosystems to a level that does not pose a risk to health and does not cause ecosystem degradation. The minimum requirements for achieving this goal are compliance with the current air quality standards and reduction of the actual volume of emissions below the emission ceiling level. The general policy objectives are: (a) to ensure Latvia's contribution to reducing global climate change, taking into account Latvia's environmental, social and economic interests; and (b) to promote Latvia's readiness to adapt to climate change and its causes for influence. Policy objective related to the Baltic sea and water resources is to ensure the good status of waters and their sustainable use.
The overarching goal of Latvia's environmental policy is to provide citizens with the opportunity to live in a clean and orderly environment, implementing activities aimed at sustainable development, preserving environmental quality and biological diversity, ensuring sustainable use of natural resources, as well as public participation in decision-making and awareness of the state of the environment. The principles used in Latvian environmental policy derive from the policy implemented in the country, are based on international experience and are confirmed in Latvian environmental protection regulatory acts: (a) the principle of sustainable development; (b) evaluation principle; (c) principle of prevention; (d) precautionary principle; (e) "polluter pays" principle; (f) the principle of public information and participation; and (g) the principle of producer responsibility.
Latvia is a country of the Baltic Sea region and its successful sustainable development is impossible without preserving the environment of the Baltic Sea. Therefore, one of the objectives of the environmental policy is to preserve and improve the quality of the marine environment, protect the sea coast and reduce the impact of economic activity on the marine environment.