VILNIUS - Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda called on Friday on the general public, the government and businesses to come together to mitigate climate change and promised to table legislative initiatives to make it mandatory for authorities to assess the potential environmental impact of their decisions.

"I will initiate amendments to the Law on Legislative Framework to provide for mandatory assessment of initiatives in terms of environmental impact, including climate change," Nauseda said at the Climate Week conference at the Presidential Palace in Vilnius on Friday.

"Moreover, the doors of the Presidential Palace will soon open for further discussions on environmental and climate change issues," he said. "I will personally encourage efforts to seek agreement on what we can and must do for a greener and cleaner Lithuania."

Nauseda invited business, industrial, non-governmental, municipal, environmental, and scientific and research organizations to join the Green Lithuania initiative.

However, the president noted that a well-thought-out, socially just and efficient economic transformation geared toward sustainable growth will be needed as the European Union aims to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

"With this in mind, together with the Latvian and Estonian leaders, we are signing a joint document to the European Council. We are clearly stating our commitment to a climate-neutral economy, but we are also noting that this change requires sustainable funding, too," Nauseda said.

"We cannot allow climate change adaptation and mitigation to take place at the expense of our well-being. While investing in a cleaner and healthier environment, we must also maintain and increase Lithuania's competitiveness," he said.

Lithuania expects to approve its final Integrated National Energy and Climate Action Plan for 2021-2030 by December 18 and submit it to the European Commission by the end of the year.