- Up to 11.5 billion euros could reach Poland in relation to the establishment of the Social Climate Fund. Our country will be the main beneficiary of the Fund’s resources within the European Union.
- The goal of the Social Climate Fund is to minimize the negative effects of moving away from fossil fuels, including transport exclusion. A significant portion of the funds from the Fund should and can be spent on decarbonisation of transport – says PSNM.
- The spending basis of the funds is national socio-climate plans. The Polish plan for transport transformation foresees a decidedly low budget – the organisation emphasizes.
- PSNM’s White Paper on proposals for funding zero-emission transport in Poland from the Fund’s resources was prepared in cooperation with Maruszkin’s Office.
As part of the legislative package “Fit for 55”, the European Union adopted regulation 2023/955 of 10 May 2023 regarding the establishment of the Social Climate Fund. Its goal is to carry out the concept of fair transformation by minimising the negative social effects associated with moving away from the burning of fossil fuels.
– The genesis of establishing the fund is significantly influenced by the revision made last year to the directive on the emissions trading system (ETS). The new system will start operating from 2027 or 2028. Its goal is to reduce CO2 emissions resulting from burning fuels in buildings, road transport, and other sectors. ETS 2 will include fuel suppliers who will be responsible for purchasing and retiring permits to cover emissions. However, in practice, the costs associated with fulfilling obligations under ETS 2 will be passed onto end consumers. As a result, spending on the operation of combustion vehicles could significantly increase – says Dr. Radosław Maruszkin, a lawyer at Maruszkin’s Office.
To mitigate the negative consequences associated with the implementation of the ETS 2 system, including the increase in transport exclusion, the European Union established the Social Climate Fund. Support from the Fund will primarily be directed towards households, micro-enterprises, and transport users who are in a difficult situation.
– The fund will be largely financed by resources from the sale of emission permits under ETS 2. Between 2026 and 2032, up to 65 million euros will be available for use from the Fund. Poland will receive a maximum of almost 11.5 million euros of support from the Fund, which represents almost 18% of the total budget. Given the increasing costs of using combustion vehicles, in order to counter transport exclusion, which in Poland is becoming more prevalent, the resources from the Fund should largely be allocated to support Poles purchasing zero-emission vehicles. Thus, we have published a White Paper in cooperation with Maruszkin’s Office, through which we want to engage constructively in the discussion about to implement the Social Climate Fund in Poland – says Aleksander Rajch, a board member of PSNM.
The PSNM emphasizes that the first step in implementing the fund is to identify those zero-emission transport sector areas that have so far not been covered by financial support from public resources or where support has been insufficient. The electromobility market in Poland is still in an early phase of development. The share of electric cars in the new passenger car market is about 3%, which is over four times lower than the EU average. Poland also has one of the oldest bus fleets in the member states, and the number of zero-emission bus registrations fell year on year by a quarter in the first three quarters of 2024. Another problem is access to the necessary infrastructure. In almost one third of the largest (with more than 100 inhabitants) cities in Poland, the number of publicly available DC charging points does not exceed 10. The Social Climate Fund can help address these challenges.
– In order to use the funds within the Social Climate Fund, member states must submit socio-climate plans to the European Commission, which form the basis of expenditure. The available funds can be used to ensure better access to zero-emission and low-emission transport within national and local support programs, through tax incentives or subsidies for vehicle purchases. In addition, it can be related to providing access to the necessary infrastructure. In cases where zero-emission vehicles are affordable and possible to implement, support for such vehicles should be prioritized in socio-climate plans – says Dr. Radosław Maruszkin, a lawyer at Maruszkin’s Office.
The White Paper, prepared by PSNM in cooperation with Maruszkin’s Office, contains proposals for support, which could be included in the Polish socio-climate plan. Proposals include support for zero-emission suburban public transport to reduce transport poverty in smaller localities and facilitate transport from rural areas to larger cities or towns, support the used electric car market to reduce emissions from individual transport and increase demand for zero-emission vehicles among natural persons not carrying out economic activity, or co-financing the purchase of non-public charging stations, especially for households or housing communities.
– During the process of shaping specific subsidy instruments, it is necessary to involve the social side and expert environments in order to provide effective support for transport users in difficult situations. Otherwise, the introduction of the ETS 2 system will bring about negative social consequences and discourage Poles from ambitious climate policies. We also postulate a decisive increase in the budget for transport transformation, which is included in the currently prosecuted draft of the Polish socio-climate plan. The government proposal assumes co-financing of this area with the amount of 1.44-1.71 billion euros, which represents an excessively low sum, considering the transport challenges facing Polish society and the total resources available for Poland – says Łukasz Witkowski, vice president of PSNM.
The PSNM further stressed that determining the optimal rules for distributing resources from the Fund should be correlated with the development of a national industrial strategy aimed at increasing Poland’s R&D potential in innovative technologies. This is a condition necessary for maintaining (and subsequently raising) the competitiveness of the Polish automotive industry, which accounts for 8% of GDP and 13.5% of Poland’s annual exports. The lack of a long-term strategy in this area, as well as the inefficient or insufficient support for the domestic market with funds from the Fund, will not only result in the loss of prospects for economic benefits but also the weakening of the entire automotive industry in Poland and negative social consequences: employment reduction, closure of many companies and plants, reduced budget revenue and a decrease in GDP.
Source: https://managerplus.pl/spoleczny-fundusz-klimatyczny-moze-pomoc-w-rozwoju-elektromobilnosci-w-polsce-74558
