Poland is the biggest recipient of European aid provided within the framework of the CohesionFund, having received euro 67 billion in the period 2007-2013. The European Union is preparing to finance this country with a further euro 80 billion from the CohesionFund for the period 2014-2020. At a time when energy transition is a highly topical issue against the background of the current budget crisis and Warsaw will host the 19th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC on climate change in 2013, some directions this country is taking in the field of energy, climate and biodiversity are not the most congruent. To better understand the situation and the decisions that have been made on these issues in the country, the French-Swiss publication, LaRevueDurable, conducted a comprehensive survey in 2012 which gave rise to an exceptional report just off the press (PDF, 4 Pages, 1.1 MB) (in french)

In this enquiry, LaRevueDurable visited the office of the Swiss Enlargement Contribution in Warsaw and in particular one municipality involved in an energy transition pioneer project, Busko-Zdrój, in the Swietokrzyskie Voivodship in south-east of Poland. This small community with a big reputation as a thermal centre is looking above all for ways to improve the quality of its air and to reduce costs. The aim of the project, which has a budget of CHF 22.5 million (of which CHF 17 million has been contributed by Switzerland), is to reduce CO2 emissions in nine of the Voivodship’s municipalities. Almost 4’000 individual houses and 23 public buildings will be equipped with solar water heaters.