Georgia is located in the South Caucasus Region, sharing land borders with Russia to the north, Turkey to the southwest, Armenia to the south and Azerbaijan to the east. With an area of 69,700 square kilometers, it lies between natural boundaries on three sides, in the form of the Greater Caucasus mountains in the north, the Lesser Caucasus mountains in the south, and a 320 km Black Sea coast in the west. The country has a population of approximately 3.72 million people (2019) and has experienced negative population growth since independence from the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, primarily due to high levels of outward migration. Over the past two decades, Georgia has experienced significant economic change, urbanization and displaced populations (due to conflict and disasters triggered by natural hazards). As of 2018, approximately 2.2 million people (58% of the population) live in urban areas, including in the capital Tbilisi (which has an estimated population of 1.1 million). Georgia’s economy is reliant on the service sector (which accounts for 55%–60% of GDP), and the rise in prominence of services has been accompanied by a reduction in the importance of agriculture (which typically accounts for 7%–8% of GDP). Unemployment has remained high: Georgian unemployment rate of 13.9% was the lowest recorded since the early 2000s.

Georgia developed and submitted its Initial Nationally Determined Contribution to the UNFCCC in 2017. Georgia submitted its Updated Nationally Determined Contribution in 2021, fully committing to an unconditional limiting target of 35 % below 1990 level of its domestic total greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and to a target of 50%–57% of its total greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 1990, in case the global greenhouse gas emissions follow the 2 degrees or 1.5 degrees scenarios respectively. Georgia is also in the process of finalizing its national climate change strategy and related action plan (2021–2030). Georgia completed and submitted its Fourth National Communication to the UNFCCC (NC4) in 2021. Agriculture, water resources, forestry, energy, waste, mineral resources, and health have been identified as highly vulnerable sectors to projected climate changes. Adaptation priorities focus on the country’s key sectors of agriculture, forestry, water resources, natural hazards, and energy sectors, with target areas including mountain ecosystems, water resources, forests and biodiversity, extreme weather, tourism, agriculture and public health. The country’s mitigation focuses target key sectors, energy (generation), transport, buildings (energy efficiency), industry, agriculture, waste management and forestry. Adaptation and mitigation efforts are also paired with economic planning to support the country’s development agenda and resilience to anticipated impacts.