The European Climate Initiative (EUKI) is a financial instrument of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. Its mission is to support cooperation in the field of climate within the European Union with the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, primarily through the strengthening of cross-border dialogue and cooperation, as well as the exchange of knowledge and experience.

Basic information about the project:

• Leading partner: “CEEweb for Biodiversity” organization from Hungary

• Partners: a total of 10 partners from 8 EU countries are involved in the project, namely 10 non-governmental organizations from Hungary, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Romania, Slovenia, Poland and Slovakia.

• Project goal: monitoring decision-making on policies related to the financing of climate change mitigation and adaptation measures.

• Duration: September 2021 – December 2023

The EU’s transition to climate neutrality, committed to the European Green Deal (EGD), will require a fundamental change in public funding and incentives. Most of the National Recovery and Resilience Plans (NRRPs) have already been adopted (November 2021) and partnership agreements and operational programs are being discussed. However, as has been shown in the past, these documents alone do not always guarantee the best use of EU money for the environment and climate. The aim of the project is to contribute to the promotion of the effective use of EU money in the participating countries, to draw attention to best practices and lessons learned, and to widely disseminate these observations at the national and international level. The project will therefore help improve the level and quality of EU funding and fiscal policy for EU climate action and EGD implementation by targeting game-changing measures at national level. At the same time, it will provide valuable inputs for the effective use of EU funds in the field of climate protection at the EU level as well.

Activities

• Enabling civil society to participate in the evaluation of programs and projects and to propose recommendations for their implementation

• Transfer of knowledge about the current situation at the national level and preparation of evaluations

• Preparation of policy recommendations and dissemination of best practice examples for climate-related policy reforms through direct communication with target groups

• Communication campaign to increase awareness of all interested parties

Goals

Long-term: Contribute to aligning financial flows with the path to low-GHG and climate-resilient development as outlined in the Paris Agreement.

Short-term: Improve the level and quality of funding and fiscal policy for EU climate action and EGD implementation by focusing on game-changing measures at national level, providing valuable inputs for better use of EU money and at EU level, and raising civil society awareness.

Impact: It should lead to more targeted and effective support for climate and environmental measures, reducing incentives and funding for programs and projects that are not in line with the European Green Deal. This will help accelerate the decarbonisation of the EU economy and support climate change mitigation in all sectors. The best practices identified during the project will be very useful for all EU countries. The level and quality of spending from the European Structural and Investment Funds and the Recovery and Resilience Instrument will improve in participating countries, with a likely impact in other countries through international networking and capacity building beyond the project team.

The Slatinka Association is involved in the project in cooperation with the Climate Coalition from Slovakia. It follows on from the Green Restart initiative, which was created in 2020 based on the cooperation of environmental organizations, with the aim of climate- and environmentally responsible post-covid economic recovery.