Improving air quality and efficient use of energy in schools and enterprises, increasing the production of energy from renewable sources or combating climate change – support for these and a number of other initiatives is provided by the programme “Environment, Energy and Climate Change” starting today. Agreements on the implementation of the new programme, financed from European Economic Area Grants, were signed by the Minister of Development Funds and Regional Policy, Małgorzata Jarosińska-Jedynak, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to Poland, Olav Myklebust, and the Minister of Climate, Michał Kurtyka.

The event was also attended by Deputy Minister of Development Funds and Regional Policy, Grzegorz Puda, and Vice-Chairman of the Management Board of the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management, Artur Szymon Michalski.

New programme, new possibilities

Total budget of the Program “Environment, Energy and Climate Change” is EUR 164.7 million, of which EUR 140 million are resources of the EEA Financial Mechanism and EUR 24.7 million national contribution.

“Today, we are launching the largest support programme in Poland and Europe in the framework of the 3rd edition of the EEA and Norway Grants. Caring for the environment is not only large ventures, such as striving for a zero-emission economy, it is also educating students about ecology and climate change. The Programme “Environment, Energy and Climate Change” approaches environmental protection in a comprehensive manner. Co-financing will be directed to the public and private sectors, and to non-governmental organisations. All initiatives planned in the programme are important and necessary,” Minister Małgorzata Jarosińska-Jedynak emphasises.

Local government units and their associations, non-governmental organisations, higher education institutions, entrepreneurs (including industrial enterprises, municipal companies, including energy and heat producers, and owners of small hydropower plants), among others, will be able to apply for support under the Programme, depending on the call.

The implementation of the Programme was entrusted to the Ministry of Climate which will cooperate with the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management and partners from donor countries: the Norwegian Environment Agency (NEA), the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), the National Energy Authority of Iceland (OS). The eighth programme of the 3rd edition of the EEA and Norway Grants in Poland (out of nine programmes managed by the Polish side) is a continuation of the environmental programmes implemented with the support of two previous editions of the EEA and Norway Grants.

The Ministry of Climate is planning three groups of calls for applications for co-financing. In the first one planned for the second quarter of 2020, it will be possible to apply for support for the protection of species and habitats, protection against invasive alien species and prevention of their spread, improvement of energy efficiency of school buildings, development of high-efficiency industrial cogeneration, and investment in green and blue infrastructure in cities.

The second group of calls which will start in the second quarter of 2020 will focus on awareness-raising activities among students in the area of climate change mitigation and adaptation. As part of this round, it will also be possible to apply for co-financing of actions related to the construction or modernisation of municipal heating systems, elimination of individual heat sources or construction of installations for the production of fuel from wood and agricultural biomass.

The third group of calls is planned for the third quarter of the year, and co-financing will be granted to applicants operating in the area of construction of heat sources using geothermal energy, increasing the efficiency of energy generation in existing small hydropower plants and enhanced implementation of the circular economy.

The scale of co-financing varies depending on the area of support. Beneficiaries implementing projects related to the development of high-efficiency industrial cogeneration and the construction or modernisation of municipal heating systems and removal of individual heat sources will be able to apply for the biggest money, from EUR 1 to 7 million. The level of funding in the Programme will range from 45 per cent to 100 per cent and will depend on the nature of a given area, as well as the maximum limits associated with applicable state aid regulations.

Strengthening bilateral cooperation with donor countries in the field of the environment

Strengthening bilateral relations with donor countries remains an important aspect of the implementation of the EEA and Norway Grants in their third edition. Additional EUR 900,000 from the budget of the Bilateral Cooperation Fund will be allocated for the implementation of the Programme “Environment, Energy and Climate Change.” These funds can be used for actions implemented jointly by Polish institutions and institutions from donor countries. Since 10 January, the Programme Operator has been accepting applications for projects in the field of bilateral cooperation – they can be submitted by Polish entities in cooperation with entities from donor countries.

What are the EEA and Norway Grants?

The full and official name of the so-called EEA and Norwey Grants is the EEA Financial Mechanism and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism.
The main goal of the Norway Grants and the EEA Grants is to reduce economic and social differences within the EEA and to strengthen bilateral relations between donor countries and beneficiary countries. In return for the financial assistance, donor countries benefit from access to the EU internal market, even though they are not members.
Poland is using this money for the third time. In the last, second edition of the Grants – 2009-2014 – the pool of funds for Poland amounted to EUR 578.1 million. It enabled co-financing of over 1,300 projects. In the third edition of the Grants, Poland, with a gross allocation of EUR 809.3 million (from a total pool of over EUR 2.8 billion), like in previous editions, will remain the largest beneficiary of this money in the EU.

The Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy is responsible for coordinating the implementation of the EEA and Norway Grants in Poland. It cooperates with the Financial Mechanism Office in Brussels. Individual programmes of the third edition of the Grants are implemented by Polish public institutions. Similarly to previous editions, the exceptions are the areas of ‘Civil society’ and ‘Social dialogue – decent work’ which are managed by donors (the Financial Mechanism Office in Brussels, and Innovation Norway, respectively).
Programmes in the framework of the EEA and Norwey Grants will be implemented until 2024. The exception is the Bilateral Cooperation Fund which will be implemented until 30 April 2025.
More information on the website of the National Contact Point www.eog.gov.pl.