Sharing knowledge on the transition of coal regions – study visits of stakeholders from Ukraine to Polish mining regions

The exchange of experiences between the mining regions of Poland and Ukraine was inaugurated by the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFOŚiGW ) and the World Bank in consultation with the European Commission in October 2020. As part of this cooperation, IETU and the Central Mining Institute - National Research Institute (GIG-PIB) will host study visits of stakeholders from the mining regions of Ukraine. The project is co-financed by the World Bank and the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFOŚiGW).

The meeting on the transition of mining regions in Ukraine with representatives of partners from the World Bank, European Commission and from the Polish side - the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFOSiGW), IETU and the Central Mining Institute took place on December 15, 2020 in the form of a videoconference. The meeting was attended by Valentina Moskalenko, Regional Policy Adviser to the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Artur Lorkowski, Vice-President of the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management, Michael Stanley and Bryan Land from the World Bank, and Anna Sobczak from the European Commission DG ENER.

The aim of the meeting was to present a knowledge exchange programme based on a series of study visits of representatives of Ukrainian coal regions in Poland. The visits, which now must take the form of on-line meetings, will enable Ukrainian participants to get familiar with Polish experiences gained during the three decades of transformations in the mining sector, with particular focus on regulatory, organisational, economic, social, spatial and environmental aspects of these processes. They will also learn how stakeholders in mining regions can plan and implement transition plans or initiatives generating new investments and jobs. The hosts of the visits will be IETU and GIG-PIB.

Anna Sobczak presented the conditions of energy transition in compliance with the European Green Deal strategy.

Piotr Cofałka, Deputy Director of IETU for Research and Development and Jan Bondaruk, Deputy Director of GIG for Environmental Engineering presented Polish experiences in the transition of coal regions both in the historical context and with regard to the current activities.

The National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management will finance the study visits and meetings organised in Poland by IETU as part of the project "Sharing knowledge on the transition of coal regions - study visits of stakeholders from Ukraine to Polish mining regions".

The participation of the Ukrainian side in the knowledge exchange will be ensured thanks to the resources of the World Bank (ESMAP and EGPS trust funds), in cooperation with the European Commission.