"The transformation to a zero-carbon economy must be smooth. This requires capital, maintaining the competitiveness of the national economy and ensuring social acceptability" - stressed the Minister of Climate, Michał Kurtyka at the opening of the "TOGETAIR" 2020 Climate Summit. The first day of the event, which took place on 22-24 June 2020, was also attended by Deputy Ministers Ireneusz Zyska and Jacek Ozdoba.

The challenges and opportunities for the development of electric vehicles in Poland were the key issue discussed during the first meeting of the Polish-German Platform on E-mobility. The event held on June 16th of 2020 was attended by the Minister of Climate Michał Kurtyka.

The Ministry of Climate and the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management are launching three new programmes related to electromobility aimed at different beneficiaries with a total value of approximately PLN 150 million. The call for proposals under the “Green Car”, “eVAN” and “Hummingbird” will commence on 26th June of 2020.

Up to PLN 5 thousand in subsidies for home stormwater or snowmelt retention systems will be available under the new “My Water” programme. The programme is another initiative of the Ministry of Climate and the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management which will invest 100 million in mitigating the effects of drought in Poland. The call for proposals will commence in July.

The Ministry of Climate published drafts of three regulations on connecting microinstallations to power grids, rules of settlements with prosumers and functioning of energy cooperatives. At the same time, the package of regulations was submitted for public consultation, which will be open until 29 May.

The new rendition of the “Clean Air” Programme, which significantly simplifies the procedures for obtaining grants to replace obsolete boilers and insulate homes, starts on 15 May 2020. The new version of the programme gets rid of a lot of red tape, thanks to changed grant application form, which now takes as little time as possible and requires only a couple of necessary attachments.

“Due to the level of ambition, the realisation of this vision is a big challenge for the EU and Poland, but at the same time the level of innovation required to achieve this objective is a big development opportunity for us,” said the Minister of Climate Michał Kurtyka during the opening meeting of the Green Transformation Council, organised by the Lewiatan Confederation. The meeting, which was held in the form of a video-conference, took place on 6 May 2020.

Voluntary Fire Brigades are set to receive more than 125 million PLN for rescue and fire-fighting vehicles as part of the implementation of the National Programme for Financing Emergency Services, established within the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the European Emissions Trading Scheme – the EU ETS, a ‘cap and trade’ system that covers more than 11,000 power plants and production facilities in EU Member States, as well as in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, covering approximately 45% of total EU emissions.

Counteracting climate change in the time of economic recovery following the coronavirus pandemic was the main topic of the 11th edition of the Petersberg Climate Dialogue. The meeting, held on 28 April 2020, was attended by the Minister of Climate Michał Kurtyka and Vice-Minister Adam Guibourgé-Czetwertyński.