The National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, is the country’s largest public institution funding Poland’s eco-development. We present 35 key facts from the 35th anniversary of the National Environmental Protection and Water Management Fund.
FACT 1: UNIQUE POSITION
The National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management is a unique, specialized institution supporting pro-environmental investments, which is an original Polish solution and has no equivalent in Europe.
FACT 2: ROUNDTABLE
The establishment of the National Environmental Protection and Water Management Fund was one of the results of the political transformation. The establishment of the institution was based on the findings of the Round Table, which met from February 6 to April 5, 1989.
FACT 3: THE ESTABLISHMENT ACT
The amendment (of April 27, 1989) to the Law on Environmental Protection and Shaping and the Water Law became the legal basis for the establishment of the National Environmental Protection and Water Management Fund.
FACT 4: THE BEGINNING OF OPERATIONS
July 1, 1989. – is the date on which the National Environmental Protection and Water Management Fund formally began its activities, according to the decree of the Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources on granting the statute of the National Environmental Protection and Water Management Fund.
FACT 5: CONSTITUTION STANDARD
A key determinant of NFOŚiGW’s activities is Article 5 of the Polish Constitution, which states, among other things, that the RP “shall ensure the protection of the environment, guided by the principle of sustainable development.”
FACT 6: STATUTORY REGULATION
The activities of the NFOŚiGW are regulated (art.400 – 411a) by the Law on Environmental Protection – the first Polish legislation on ecology, enacted in April 2001, referring to European law.
FACT 7: OTHER LEGAL ACTS
The NFOŚiGW’s activities are influenced by a number of legal acts, e.g.: the Energy Law (1997), the Law on Public Finance (2009), the Law on RES (2015), the Law on Energy Efficiency (2016), the Law on Electromobility (2018).
FACT 8: FORMAL STATUS
State legal entity is the formal legal status of the National Environmental Protection and Water Management Fund, which was established in 2010. Previously, the institution operated as a special purpose fund.
FACT 9: LEADER OF THE SYSTEM
The NFOŚiGW co-owns the system for financing pro-environmental projects with 16 provincial funds for environmental protection and water management and the Bank for Environmental Protection.
FACT 10: BENEFICIARIES
NFOŚiGW directs financial support to: local governments, enterprises, institutions, state budget units, national parks, universities, NGOs, housing communities, individuals.
FACT 11: APPLICATION GENERATOR
GWD – stands for “grant application generator,” an online tool created in 2015 with which potential beneficiaries can submit documents to NFOŚiGW.
FACT 12: HOTLINE
The National Environmental Protection and Water Management Fund has a helpline, manned by a few people, through which interested parties can obtain information on programs and subsidies.
FACT 13: STOP DEGRADATION
For the first few years, NFOŚiGW’s goal was mainly to remove the effects of environmental degradation inherited from the communist era. In 1989, due to sewage, the water in the Vistula near Krakow was saltier than… the Baltic Sea.
FACT 14: DOMESTIC RESOURCES
NFOŚiGW’s resources come from environmental fines and fees, product, operation and concession fees, fees under the Energy Law and the Vehicle Recycling Law, among others.
FACT 15: FOREIGN FUNDS
NFOŚiGW is Poland’s largest partner of international financial institutions in handling foreign funds for ecology, especially from the EU.
FACT 16: NEW SOURCES
The NFOŚiGW has and will continue to receive new EU funds: from the National Reconstruction Plan (NRP), the European Funds for Infrastructure, Climate and Environment (FEnIKS), the European Funds for Eastern Poland (FEPW), as well as the Fair Transformation Fund (FST) and the Modernization Fund (FM).
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
FACT 17: FORMS OF SUBSIDIES
Funding from the National Environmental Protection Fund includes repayable (interest-bearing loans) and non-repayable (grants) forms. Other financial instruments, such as equity inputs, are also used.
FACT 18: FIRST AGREEMENTS
NFOŚiGW signed its first loan agreement on October 11, 1989, with the Zywiec Hospital Equipment Factory, and its first grant agreement on October 17, 1989, with the A. Wojtasik Water and Sewage Company in Krynica Morska.
FACT 19: FIRST BUDGET
In 1989, the first budget of the National Environmental Protection Fund was about PLN 1.4 billion. This meant that every third zloty invested in environmental protection in Poland at the time came from the National Fund’s resources.
FACT 20: PROGRAMS
Of the 54 programs currently being implemented by the NFOŚiGW, as many as 20 relate directly to zero-carbon, and several relate directly to climate change adaptation.
FACT 21: PRIORITIES
The green priorities for NFOŚiGW are projects in the fields of climate protection, air quality improvement, development of RES and prosumer energy, energy transition, decarbonization of the economy, increase of energy efficiency, development of electromobility.
FACT 22: ISPA and PHARE
In January 1999, with the participation of the National Environmental Protection Fund, the implementation of pre-accession assistance programs began: ISPA (Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-Accession) and PHARE (Program to Assist Poland and Hungary in Restructuring the Economy).
FACT 23: OPIE 2007-2013
In 2007, the implementation of the Operational Program Infrastructure and Environment (OPI&E) 2007-2013 began, with the National Environmental Protection Fund entrusted with the role of Implementing Authority.
FACT 24: OPI&E 2014-2020
NFOŚiGW has also become the Implementing Authority for the Operational Program Infrastructure and Environment (OPI&E) 20014-2020 for Axis I “Decarbonization of the economy” and Axis II “Environmental protection, including adaptation to climate change.”
FACT 25: NMF AND MF EOG
In 2004. NFOŚiGW began coordinating the implementation of projects co-financed by the Norwegian Financial Mechanism (NMF) and the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area (EEA).
FACT 26: LIFE +
National Implementing Authority of the LIFE+ (Programme for the Environment and Climate Action) Financial Instrument in Poland – this is the status that NFOŚiGW gained in September 2008.
FACT 27: PL02, PL03 AND PL04
NFOŚiGW in 2011 became the Operator of Programs: PL02 (protection of biodiversity and ecosystems), PL03 (environmental monitoring and control activities) and PL 04 (support for energy efficiency and RES).
FACT 28: LIFE
In December 2013, the LIFE program was established as a continuation of LIFE +, and the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFOŚiGW) became the National LIFE Contact Point for the 2014-2020 EU financial perspective. This status has been extended for the period 2021-2027.
FACT 29: GIS
Under the Law on Greenhouse Gas and Other Substances Emission Management System, the NFOŚiGW became the National Operator of the Green Investment Scheme (GIS) in 2009.
FACT 30: EFTA
The National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFOŚiGW) has been responsible for the distribution of European Economic Area Funds (EFTA members: Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) since 2004.
FACT 31: STRATEGIC GOAL
Achieving climate neutrality by 2050, as well as establishing a zero-carbon economy, is Poland’s strategic goal, in the implementation of which NFOŚiGW is participating.
FACT 32: FINANCIAL POTENTIAL
Approximately PLN 15 billion – this is how much money the NFOŚiGW distributes to Poland’s eco-development every year, having the largest potential in the country for financing environmental, climate and nature protection.
FACT 33: NUMBER OF AGREEMENTS
Approximately 550,000 agreements with beneficiaries have been signed by the NFOŚiGW in the 35 years of its existence.
FACT 34: VALUE OF PROJECTS
Nearly 300 billion zlotys is the total value of the projects that NFOŚiGW has financially supported during its 35 years of operation under the concluded agreements.
FACT 35: MONEY FOR TRANSFORMATION
PLN 180 billion is the amount of money that the National Environmental Protection and Water Management Fund plans to spend over the next 10 years on financing the energy transition to achieve climate neutrality, a zero-carbon economy and energy security for Poland.