President Andrzej Duda signed an amendment to climate change adaptation plans for smaller cities

“The main purpose of the act, as indicated in the justification to the draft act, is to support pro-environmental projects carried out both at the central and local government levels,” the president's office explained, informing about the signing by Andrzej Duda amendment to the Environmental Protection Law.

The law firm pointed out that the changes introduced by the acts include: establishing the obligation to develop an urban adaptation plan for a city with a population of 20,000 or more.

“The urban adaptation plan will have to include at least an analytical part, a concept for the management of rainwater and meltwater resulting from atmospheric precipitation in the city, a set of spatial data, a program part, an indication of how to implement the plan, as well as conclusions and recommendations,” it was noted.

These cities will also have to take into account the aspect of adaptation to climate change in strategic documents, including those regarding city spatial planning. Agglomerations that have not yet developed adaptation plans will have to develop and adopt them by January 2, 2028. The plans will be adopted by the commune council by way of a resolution.

The plans are to be developed with the possibility of public participation and will be acts of local law adopted by city councils. The concept of greening the city (increasing the area of ​​green areas) and the concept of managing rainwater and meltwater are to be a component of the urban adaptation plan.

The plans are to be updated every six years. Additional regulations will be introduced to protect green areas against the so-called concrete or “wild” green areas that fulfill retention functions.

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The new regulations are also intended to allow for the inclusion of the climate and environmental component in the development strategies of municipalities, supra-local development, voivodeships, metropolitan associations and the country. The amendment will also oblige cities that already have urban adaptation plans to implement the conclusions arising from these plans in the context of spatial development.

Another change is the introduction of regulations regarding the dismissal of members of the supervisory board and management board of the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFOŚiGW) or the Provincial Funds for Environmental Protection and Water Management (WFOŚiGW), who, before the date of entry into force of the Act, submitted a vetting declaration confirming “work or service in state security organs or cooperation with these organs” or against whom a final judgment was issued stating that the declaration of these persons was untrue.

Moreover, current members of the NFOŚiGW bodies who did not submit such declarations were obliged “to submit them within 30 days from the date of entry into force of the Act”. If they fail to do so, they will be dismissed.

The amendment is also intended to improve two anti-smog programs – “Clean Air” and “Stop Smog”. In the case of the former, the aim is to clarify the method of determining the average monthly income from a farm for the purposes of issuing an income certificate, which is necessary to apply for higher subsidies from the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management.

The second program is to be more attractive to municipalities, including: by simplifying its operation and eliminating the asset criterion. The project envisages an increase in the amount for the implementation of a low-emission project from PLN 53,000. up to 106 thousand zloty.

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The level of investment financing from the state budget is also to be increased from 70 to 90 percent. At the same time, this will reduce the commune's own contribution from 30 to 10 percent. In the case of the largest cities (over 100,000 inhabitants), the contribution will have to be greater than 10%.

The new regulations also include a delegation to issue a regulation on quality requirements for biomass fuels placed on the market for use in home boilers.

Quality requirements will appear for: biomass obtained from trees and shrubs in the form of pellets or briquettes; plant biomass from agriculture in the form of briquettes or pellets; biomass obtained from trees and shrubs in the form of wood chips or lump wood.

The changes will also affect the State Council for Nature Protection through, among others, introduction of a 5-year term of office for this institution. As a rule, the regulations will enter into force 14 days after their announcement.