“In Poland, over 80 projects are already financed from the EU LIFE Program. Due to climate challenges, we want to increase the number of LIFE projects in Poland in this year’s recruitment, as well as in the next programming period 2021-2027 “- said Minister of Climate Michał Kurtyka.
As emphasized by minister Michał Kurtyka, the situation in which Poland and the entire European Union found themselves in connection with the progressing climate change and coronavirus pandemic requires radical and effective action on several levels.
The head of the climate department also noted the gradual change of the program objectives. “The LIFE program, which until now in Poland has focused on supporting the” Natura 2000 “network, is increasingly becoming an offer for enterprises and non-governmental organizations that have ideas for innovative solutions to problems in the field of climate change” – he added.
The Vice President of the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management Artur Lorkowski reminded that in 2020 the EC began the recruitment of applications for which it allocated EUR 450 million.
“The National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management will not only co-finance Polish projects approved by the European Commission to the amount of 95 percent. eligible costs, but will additionally grant non-governmental organizations advance payments up to 50,000 PLN to pay for the costs of preparing an application for the LIFE Program “- he noted.
In order to increase the effectiveness of Polish entities in applying to LIFE, NFEPWM – as a National Contact Point – has developed a package of solutions aimed at supporting applicants in the financial, substantive and organizational area. These changes include:
- Total LIFE and NFEPWM subsidies for all up to 95%,
- Loan at non-qualified costs (low interest rate),
- Shortening the processing time at the national level from 45 to 35 days,
- Facilitation in applying for national support (in the initial assessment without the requirement to provide material and financial schedule, resignation from the cost-effectiveness assessment of the project),
- Expert support at the application preparation stage (including consultations, e-training),
- “LIFE Incubator” – a novelty in the LIFE Program, which includes four elements “LIFE Incubator” (up to PLN 50,000 in support for preparing LIFE applications), “eConsultantLIFE” (electronic tool), “Find your partner for LIFE” (database of entities ), “LIFE support” (substantive support).