Programme agreement signed for the Environment, Energy and Climate Change programme in Poland

The programme agreement for Poland climate was signed on 7 February 2020.

Photo credits: Christophe Vander Eecken

Key information about the programme

  1. The programme is operated by: The Ministry of Climate of Poland
  2. The Donor Programme Partners in this programme are: the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), the National Energy Authority of Iceland (Orkustofnun) and the Norwegian Environment Agency (NEA) 
  3. The programme’s objective is: Climate change mitigated and vulnerability to climate change reduced
  4. The programme funding amounts to €140 million (excluding co-financing) and is funded by both the EEA Grants and the Norway Grants.

Why is the programme needed?

In order to meet international commitments and fulfil national strategies on climate change mitigation and adaptation and ecosystems protection, investments are required in infrastructure as well as skills development. To that end, the programme will help close investment gaps in greenhouse-gas emissions reductions, climate change adaptation and mitigation in municipalities, implementation of ecosystem management plans and environmental monitoring.

What will the programme achieve and who are the beneficiaries?

The programme will contribute to:

  • Improved energy efficiency in industry, district heating systems and school buildings;
  • Increase the installed capacity of renewable energy, including hydropower and geothermal energy;
  • Construction of facilities for producing biomass pellets from leftover products in forestry and agriculture
  • Municipalities’ efforts on climate change mitigation and adaptation and air quality improvement through, for example, investments in revitalisation of green areas, improved water retention and other emissions reduction measures;
  • Implementation of pilot projects on circular economy;
  • Improve the status of ecosystems through activities like ecosystems restoration and removal of invasive alien species;
  • Increase the quality of monitoring of environmental pollutants;
  • Increased public awareness.

The programme will combine grants and loans for applicants in the energy sector as a means to achieve higher results.

Some of the expected results:

  • Annual CO2 emissions reductions of 620,000 tonnes
  • Training of 260 professional staff individuals
  • More than 1,000,000 persons to be reached by awareness raising campaigns
  • 30,000 hectares of land with improved environmental status

Capacity building and awareness-raising activities are integrated in all outcomes. If successful, the programme will lead to a significant impact towards climate action, including emissions reductions both in the shorter (i.e. Financial Mechanism) and longer term on areas not covered by other funds or where there are still investment needs. The longer-term contributions would come through increased capacities and skills as well as the investment projects on, for example, climate change actions in urban areas and more innovative and energy efficient buildings.

How will the programme strengthen bilateral relations?

The EEA Grants’ Climate programme in Poland will contribute to experience-sharing and promote dialogue and cooperation in areas of mutual interest to Poland and the Donor States. Partnership projects between Poland and Donor entities is actively encouraged and facilitated. The Donor Programme Partners have provided advice on the preparation of the programme and will also be involved in its implementation.

Availability of funding through open calls

The funding in this programme will be made available through 11 open calls, one small grant schemes and three pre-defined projects. Dates are tentative and subject to change:

  • Call 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7, 8 and 9 will be launched in the first half of 2020
  •  Call 3, 10 and 11 will be launched in the second half of 2020

Download the full programme agreement for more detailed information about the programme.

More information can also be found on the website of the EEA Grants in Poland and the websites of the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate, the National Energy Authority of Iceland and the Norwegian Environment Agency.

Read more about the launch event in Warsaw here.