As emphasised by Minister Kurtyka, this is an important day for the signatories of the agreement, and above all for the beneficiaries of the Programme’s environmental projects.

“We have been preparing for the implementation of the Programme for two years, consulting topics with our partners, listening to the voices of the process stakeholders, analysing Polish needs resulting from research and extensive experience in implementing domestic and foreign funds”, said the Minister of Climate.

“We were defining environmental goals, taking into account other important factors of the functioning of the state and society, including the fight against energy poverty and the promotion of the idea of sustainable development through education and respect to the needs of various groups – local governments, entrepreneurs, NGOs”, he added.

Increasing the involvement of the NFEPWM

The head of the Ministry of Climate informed that it had been decided to strengthen the results of the Programme by allocating an additional EUR 115 million from the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFEPWM) for a loan programme dedicated to beneficiaries of projects in the “Energy” area.

Cooperation with partners

The Minister of Climate emphasised that he counted on further, fruitful cooperation with donor states and the National Contact Point, i.e. the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy.

“We want to promote in our projects the idea of bilateral cooperation with institutions from donor countries, the exchange of experience and knowledge, and to facilitate contacts between interested parties. These activities are possible thanks to the support we receive from partner institutions”, pointed out Minister Kurtyka.

“We are facing a very tight and ambitious schedule, including 12 competitions regarding nature, energy, circular economy, climate, addressed to various groups of beneficiaries. This is a huge challenge for the implementing institutions, i.e. the Ministry of Climate with the support of the NFEPWM”, he said.

“I kindly invite you today to the conference inaugurating the Programme, which will take place in Warsaw on 3 March. It will be an opportunity to get more information on support areas and planned competitions”, he added.

The Norwegian and EEA funds are transferred to Poland as non-returnable support in the form of two financial instruments: the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism. These funds come from Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein (donor countries). Poland became a beneficiary of these funds with its accession to the EU.

More information about signed agreements

More information about the “Environment, Energy and Climate Change” Programme