The National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management is currently reviewing ongoing projects and summarising expenditure to date under the Modernisation Fund. Once this process is complete, it will be possible to determine the budget for the Just Transition Programme in coal-mining regions that have not received support from the Just Transition Fund.

The meeting, co-organised by the Instrat Foundation, was the latest round of discussions on the creation of a new programme financed by the Modernisation Fund. This programme would support coal-mining regions that do not have access to the Just Transition Fund.

Deputy Minister Krzysztof Bolesta said that a programme dedicated to just transition could focus on the social dimension of the phase-out of coal, as other public funds – apart from the Just Transition Fund, which is no longer available to these regions – do not currently support such measures.
The Instrat Foundation proposes drawing inspiration from the ‘Job after Coal’ programme being implemented in Konin. This programme supports the reskilling of over two thousand residents of Eastern Greater Poland, their re-employment, and the development of the social economy and the cooperative sector. The initial amount discussed during the meeting is PLN 300 million as part of the first call for proposals.

The participants at the meeting also unanimously agreed that it is crucial to create high-quality jobs in regions transitioning away from coal. They agreed that the government’s decisions – including those on the location of strategic investments – will be of crucial importance for the future of their regions. They also called for urgent action to diversify local economies, including through the creation of new investment zones.

The Modernisation Fund is financed by revenue from the Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS).