On Tuesday 29 April in Warsaw, during their informal discussions organised by the Polish Presidency of the Council, European environment and climate ministers agreed to speed up climate adaptation and support green innovation in the face of intensifying risks.
At the press conference, Poland’s Minister for Climate and the Environment, Paulina Hennig-Kloska, spoke of the “floods, fires and droughts” that have recently hit several regions of the continent. As she pointed out, “the problems of adaptation and climate change are cross-border in nature”.
She added that “Europe is currently the fastest-warming continent”.
The European Commission is preparing the future European Adaptation Plan, which should make it possible to anticipate the effects of climate change more effectively at the State, region and city level.
The Executive Director of the European Environment Agency (EEA), Leena Ylä-Mononen, who was also in Warsaw, called for all levels of governance to be involved, in particular to strengthen water security, which is a major issue in Central Europe. On the subject of financing, Poland presented its Phoenix fund, endowed with 10 billion zlotys (around €2.3 billion), which supports the development of adaptation plans and the implementation of concrete projects at local level.
Several ministers felt it was necessary to include specific appropriations in the EU budget, dedicated to adaptation.
Over lunch, the ministers also learnt about the GreenEvo initiative, a Polish green technology accelerator. Supported by the Polish Ministry of Climate, this programme supports the development of technological solutions in the fields of water, energy and waste management.
The Polish Presidency proposed the creation of a European database of adaptation technologies, in order to strengthen the exchange of best practices, sustainable public procurement and the Union’s technological autonomy. In addition to these technical aspects, the issues of climate governance were raised.
The Polish minister told the press that “several Member States would like to have more flexibility in the period between 2030 and 2050”, in particular to adapt their climate trajectories to national industrial realities and technological advances. The Commission has not yet presented its legislative proposal on the 2040 climate target.
“Probably because there is still no unified position and no majority in favour of the 90% by 2040 target”, she explained.
Asked about the European Emissions Trading System (ETS), Minister Hennig-Kloska said that, while the discussion remained informal at this stage, several delegations were in favour of revising the mechanism in order to limit the volatility of allowance prices, better protect households and adapt the ETS to the needs of a more competitive low-carbon industry.
The Polish Presidency indicated that a group of Member States is already working on this issue, pending a formal legislative initiative from the Commission, planned for 2026. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)