Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic as the Programme Operator organized the "Final Conference of the SK-Climate Programme"
The Closing Conference dedicated to the “Climate change mitigation and adaptation”, also titled with the shortened name as “SK-Climate Programme” was held on October 10, 2024.
The conference was officially opened by the State Secretary of the Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic, Gabriela Matečná, who highlighted cooperation between the Slovak Republic and the Kingdom of Norway. During the opening block, representatives of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway in Vienna, the Norwegian Environment Agency, the Norwegian Directorate for Water Resources and Energy, together with the representative of the National Focal Point (hereinafter referred to as "NFP") from the Ministry of Investments, Regional Development and Informatization of the Slovak Republic had their speeches.
The Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic as the Programme Operator, together with the Donor programme partners from Norway, actively participated in achieving the programme's goal, which was to contribute to the mitigation of climate change and reduce vulnerability to climate change. The goal of the program was fulfilled through two program outputs. The implementation of the program was supported by the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area (EEA FM) through the contributing countries Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland, and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism (NFM) through the Kingdom of Norway, up to 85%, while the state budget of the Slovak Republic contributed up to 15%. The total allocation of funds for this programme amounted to 21.4 million euros.
Today, the EEA and Norway grant is a "brand" that finds its established place in the social consciousness, and can be described as a "success story" working together for a green, competitive and inclusive Europe, which, by the way, was also the appropriate European motto of the Grants for the 2014-2021 programme period. The closing conference was attended by more than 100 participants, including representatives of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway from Vienna, representatives of the Donor Programme Partners, representatives of NFP, project partners, project promoters and other relevant stakeholders.
The aim of the event was to summarize the achieved outputs and results of the programme thanks to successfully implemented projects, therefore the individual presentation blocks were divided according to the Calls of the Programme into the following panels: CITIES (Calls ACC01/ACC02, “ClimaUrban”), SCHOOLS (Call ACC03/SMG1, “ClimaEdu”), WETLANDS (Call ACC04, “ClimaLocal”) and AWARENESS RAISING (Call ACC05, “ClimaInfo”).
During the closing conference, specific projects that were implemented within the SK-Climate Programme were presented. The individual project blocks provided a detailed view of the progress of the implementation of the programme to date and offered a comprehensive picture of the state of the Program, which aimed to increase resistance to the impacts of climate change, mitigate and adapt to climate change, and support sustainable development in Slovakia. It was a unique opportunity for the recipients to implement their projects based on bilateral cooperation with subjects from Norway or Iceland through created partnerships to gain and mutually share experience and knowledge in the area supported by the Call.
Climate change and environmental protection are social tasks that require an active approach at the local level. Cities and schools can play a key role in shaping the consciousness and behavior of individuals, thus contributing to a sustainable future for the whole society. The city projects had as a priority the creation of an action plan for mitigation and adaptation to climate change as well as the implementation of specific measures on the subject in accordance with the action plan. The goal of the school projects was to raise the awareness of students about mitigation and adaptation to climate change in the form of theoretical teaching, as well as in the form of implementation of specific physical measures in school premises and school campuses.
An important priority of the program was wetlands, which play a key role in ecosystems, serve as natural filters, capture pollutants, contribute to improving the quality of water resources, and are home to many species of plants and animals. The main goal of their support within the SK-Climate Program was to restore and strengthen the ability of degraded wetland ecosystems to adapt to climate change and ensure the sustainable fulfilment of their ecosystem services, in order to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change on the environment and the quality of life of the inhabitants. Raising awareness of mitigation and adaptation to climate change within the SK-Climate Program was also implemented taking into account the principles of informal learning within the Call “ClimaInfo. Thanks to a combination of soft and hard measures, the implemented projects contributed to increasing the climate literacy of the individual through the popularization of the latest scientific knowledge, innovative approaches and best practices on climate change mitigation and adaptation with respect for practical use in everyday life.
A special place within the programme is the predefined project: “Center for Climate Change and environmental education (Living Lab) in Dropie”. The goal of the project was to create a sample an eco-center with implemented adaptation and mitigation measures that serve the general public, including climate education for kindergarten to secondary schools, organizing workshops for university students for local governments and farmers. The final conference of the SK-Climate Program confirmed the importance and success of implemented projects that contribute to mitigating and adapting to climate change in Slovakia. Current initiatives and projects create a solid foundation for further steps in the field of climate protection, and it is essential that we continue our efforts for sustainable development and increasing climate literacy in all spheres of society. Protecting our natural resources and ecosystems is key to ensure a healthy and prosperous future for all.
The SK-Climate programme represents an example of successful cooperation between the Slovak Republic and Norway, which demonstrates how we can together face the challenges of climate change and work on the way to a sustainable future for our countries. Cooperation between the Slovak Republic and Norway, as well as the active participation of cities and schools proves that collective efforts can lead to real results and positive changes in our communities.
We thank all partners, participants and supporters who contributed to the success of the Program SK- Climate and we look forward to further cooperation in this area in the future.
Presentations from the final conference are published: HERE
Photos from the final conference are published: HERE
Working Together for a green, competitive and inclusive Europe.