Exploring new opportunities for the Polish-German cooperation on low emission strategies

When it comes to climate mitigation in Europe, municipalities play a decisive role: In Germany, almost 3.000 municipalities are engaging in climate action as part of the country’s National Climate Initiative (NKI). In Poland, more than 800 municipalities have already applied for funding to develop low emission plans. Municipalities are thus proving to be progressive players in climate policy. They are already making a pivotal contribution towards climate mitigation in Poland and Germany and are a decisive factor in the success of the European Union’s ambitious climate and energy policy.

In this project adelphi focused on the strategic importance of municipalities aiming  to intensify experience exchange in climate mitigation between both countries and develop new approaches in climate and energy cooperation. Best practice exchanges between Polish and German municipality representatives were fostered through dialogue forums, and adelphi has increased the incentive for innovation by establishing a competition for municipal climate action strategies. In the long run, this information exchange led to the compilation of a new and comprehensive handbook for climate policy instruments that practitioners in Polish municipalities can use. This manual builds upon experiences gathered in a German handbook, which has already been developed by adelphi. Training concepts that examine innovative approaches for municipal climate mitigation and respective funding mechanisms in Poland complement the existing set of measures. Additionally, adelphi brought together representatives from both countries’ economic and political sectors for bilateral discussions on low emission strategies, with a focus on positive perspectives towards this issue. The project also identified the potential for innovation and cooperation of companies in Poland and Germany that was implemented as part of ambitious climate action measures.

Contributing its many years of experience in developing innovative approaches to municipal climate action, low emission development and green development, adelphi implemented the project in cooperation with the Polish National Energy Conservation Agency (KAPE), the Polish Confederation "Lewiatan", and the BDI – The Voice of German Industry. This project is funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) using funds from the advisory assistance programme for conservation in middle and eastern European states, Caucasus and Central Asia, with technical supervision given by both the BMUB and the German Federal Environmental Agency (UBA).