Operational Programme Environment 2021-2027
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Operational Programme Environment 2021–2027 We point out that the document is still under preparation - this version is intended for strategic environmental assessment (SEA) and for discussions with the European Commission. The final version of the document might therefore differ. Version: 0.5.5 Date of compilation: 3. 8. 2021
Contents
1. Programme strategy: main problems associated with development and political reaction ... 5
1.A Introduction .................................................................................................................................................... 5
1.B Economic, social, and territorial differences ..................................................................................... 10
1.C Market failure, investment needs ......................................................................................................... 12
1.D Investment needs and complementarity with other support ................................................... 13
1.E Learning from past experience .............................................................................................................. 14
1.F Administrative capacities ......................................................................................................................... 16
1.G Main tasks ..................................................................................................................................................... 17
1.H Macroregional strategy............................................................................................................................ 23
2. Priorities................................................................................................................................................................. 32
2.A Priorities other than technical assistance .......................................................................................... 32
2.A.1 Environment ......................................................................................................................................... 32
2.A.1.1 Specific objective 1.1 Promoting energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas
emissions...................................................................................................................................................... 32
2.A.1.2 Specific objective 1.2 Promotion of energy from renewable sources in accordance
with Directive (EU) 2018/2001, including the sustainability criteria set out in that
Directive........................................................................................................................................................ 37
2.A.1.3 Specific objective 1.3 Promoting adaptation to climate change, preventing the
risk of disasters, and resilience to them, taking ecosystem approaches into account ... 43
2.A.1.4 Specific objective 1.4 Promoting access to water and sustainable water
management .............................................................................................................................................. 49
2.A.1.5 Specific goal 1.5 Support for a transition to the Circular Economy making efficient
use of resources ........................................................................................................................................ 54
2.A.1.6 Specific goal 1.6 Strengthening nature protection and conservation, biodiversity
and green infrastructure, including that in urban areas, and reducing all forms of
pollution ....................................................................................................................................................... 60
22.B Priority of technical aid ............................................................................................................................. 67
2.B.1 Technical aid ......................................................................................................................................... 67
2.B.1.1 Intervention by funds ................................................................................................................ 67
2.B.1.2 Indicators ....................................................................................................................................... 69
2.B.1.3 Indicative division of programme sources (EU) by intervention type..................... 70
3. Financial plan ....................................................................................................................................................... 71
4. Basic conditions .................................................................................................................................................. 73
5. Programme authorities .................................................................................................................................... 87
6. Partnerships ......................................................................................................................................................... 88
7. Communication and Visibility ....................................................................................................................... 90
8. Utilisation of Individual Costs, One-time Sums, Flat Rates and Financing Not Related with
Expenses..................................................................................................................................................................... 92
3CCI 2021CZ16M1OPXXX
Title in English Operational Programme Environment
Title in national language(s) Operační program Životní prostředí
Version 0.5.5
First year 2021
Last year 2027
Eligible from 1. 1. 2021
Eligible until 31. 12. 2029
Commission decision number XXXXXXXXXXXX
Commission decision date XX. XX. 2021
Member State amending decision number
Member State amending decision entry into
force date
Non substantial transfer (Article 19(5)) Yes/No
NUTS regions covered by the programme CZ01, CZ02, CZ03, CZ04, CZ05, CZ06, CZ07, CZ08
European Regional Development Fund
Fund concerned
Cohesion Fund
41. Programme strategy: main problems associated with development
and political reaction
1.A Introduction
General objective
The main objective of the Operational Programme Environment (OPE) is to protect and ensure
a quality living environment for the population of the Czech Republic, to move toward a circular
economy, to support the effectiveness of the use of resources, to limit the negative impacts of
human activities on the environment and the climate, to mitigate the impacts of climate
change, and to make a contribution to resolving problems relating to the environment and the
climate at a European and global level.
Condition of the environment1
The condition of the environment in the Czech Republic cannot be deemed satisfactory in all
aspects, in spite of the significant improvements achieved in the past three decades. Alongside
the continuing problems, new challenges primarily associated with climate change are gaining
in importance.
The frequency of undesirable atmospheric phenomena is rising - torrential rains and floods on
the one hand, periods of drought that build pressure on stocks of groundwater and surface
waters on the other. The level of resistance to the existing and expected impacts of climate
change is insufficient in town and country alike.
Significant occupation of agricultural land continues, which is moreover significantly
threatened by degradation - i.e. water and wind erosion, compaction, humus loss, salinisation,
acidification and contamination. The structure of the landscape, altered by human activity,
disables sufficient retention of water, which quickly flows from the land. The inappropriate
drainage of the land in the agricultural and urbanised landscape also contributes to the
accelerated outflow of water. This results in the fact that less water remains in the landscape
to ensure its ecological functions and sufficient replenishment of stocks of groundwater. Water
1 Information is taken from Report on the Environment in the Czech Republic in 2018 (CENIA and Ministry of
Environment 2019) and from the Statistical Yearbook of the Environment of the Czech Republic 2017 (CENIA 2018)
5courses are in large part technically modified and significantly fragmented by crosswise
barriers, resulting in the deterioration of their ecological stability.
The species composition and the age and spatial structure of trees in most forests differs from
what is natural, reducing its ecological stability. These circumstances reduce the resistance of
forest growth to climatic stresses and to harmful biotic agents.
The emission of greenhouse gases also remains particularly high. We therefore need to devote
sufficient attention to adaptation and migration measures. Major investment in air protection
in past years significantly helped reduce emissions of certain pollutants. In spite of this,
however, we have been unable to achieve the target values for suspended particles of size
fractions PM10 and PM2.5 and benzo(a)pyrene when it comes to air quality. A significant portion
of the population lives in areas in which these values have been exceeded, having negative
impacts on human health. Ground-level ozone target values have also been exceeded, and
significantly so, which has negative impacts on human health and on ecosystems. Emission
forecasts indicate failure to adhere to national commitments on the reduction of emissions for
nitrogen oxide, volatile organic compounds, ammonia, and suspended particles PM2.5 by 2030.
A number of bodies of surface and underground waters are still not in good ecological and
chemical condition. One reason for this is that part of the population does not have access to
the corresponding infrastructure for treating waste-water. Connecting more of the population
to sewerage and to waste-water treatment plants is therefore a vital step in achieving targets
in the sphere of protecting water.
There is still a part of the population that is supplied with drinking water from sources that are
threatened by drought. Mostly local wells and other small sources. There are also higher
demands on the very quality of the drinking water supplied. Investment in infrastructure for
drinking water is therefore essential to increase the resistance of society.
As for treating municipal waste, the percentage of landfilling is currently in decline, while the
percentage of municipal waste used as material is rising. Landfilling, however, is still the
dominant method of treating municipal waste. There has been an improvement in the
collection of biodegradable waste and its processing and use, and there is support for
preventing the production of waste, for measures which reduce the impact of treating waste
6on the environment, and for the reuse and recycling of waste. A waste hierarchy is applied
better, although still to an insufficient extent, in the treatment of waste. There is still a very high
number of old environmental burdens for which the “polluter pays” principle does not apply
and which present a risk to human health and components of the environment, or for which
the level of such risks is unknown.
A considerable portion of habitats and species of animal and plant of European importance is
in poor condition, which is linked to the overall decline in biodiversity. The negative impact on
valuable natural habitats and biotopes of species is caused, in particular, by inappropriate
economic activities or, by contrast, abandoning the management of such activities, climate
change, the fragmentation of the landscape, limited migration permeability of the landscape,
invasive alien species, pollution, inappropriate building development, and insufficient
enlightenment of the wider public in terms of the importance of sites and biodiversity and
opportunities for their protection. Alongside pressures that play a part in the deterioration of
the condition of the habitats of species, there are also pressures on the members of certain
species of animals themselves. Insufficient data and data processing and subsequent
evaluation (primarily in relation to monitoring individual ecosystems) make it impossible to
effectively plan and execute measures and gauge their impacts.
Causes of the condition of the environment
The problems mentioned above are partly caused by outside factors that are hard to influence,
and partly by internal factors which can be influenced to a certain extent by the interventions
of OPE.
The most significant external factor is climate change (the occurrence of extreme atmospheric
phenomena - floods, torrential rain, storms, extreme drought, rising average temperature).
Neither can the cross-border transmission of air pollution be ignored. Another significant factor
is that the entire territory of the Czech Republic is deemed to be a sensitive area from the
perspective of treating waste-water, on account of its geographical position.
The most significant internal factor is the structure of the national economy, with its high
percentage of industry (32 % GDP), and the composition of the energy mix, with solid fuels
prevailing (40 % of primary consumption). In terms of energy management, poor energy
7performance remains, there is insufficient use of the potential for energy savings and energy
from renewable sources, and the energy parameters of buildings in the private and public
sector are unsatisfactory. This results in high emissions of carbon monoxide and pollutants.
What is fundamental when it comes to air quality is that the percentage of homes heated by
solid-fuel combustion sources remains high (frequently old boilers with low performance and
high emissions of pollutants) and that a significant portion of households are unwilling to
switch to a more ecological way of heating as a result of the financial demands involved. As a
result of this, for example, there remain a high number of inactive connections to natural gas
or unused opportunities to connect to thermal energy supply systems. Larger stationary
sources of pollution also have a local impact on air quality.
The poor retention capacity of the landscape is of considerable significance in the area of water
protection and is caused by technical modifications to watercourses, inappropriate
management of agricultural land, poor forest condition, an increase in built-up areas, in some
cases lack of retention infrastructure (reservoirs, polders, etc.), and incomplete knowledge of
sources of groundwater. As for water quality, the problem lies in the lack of infrastructure in
localities with lower population density, where the construction of water supply and sewerage
networks is very expensive. The percentage of the population connected to sewerage without
connection to a waste-water treatment plant is also significant. One problem not given much
attention thus far is that pollutants are discharged into sewers which cannot be broken down
by standard cleaning technologies (drug residues, chemical products used in households, etc.).
The problem in waste management lies in the persistently high level of landfilling municipal
waste, caused by insufficient waste prevention and insufficient capacities for the material and
energy utilisation of waste. One long-term problem is the high number of old environmental
burdens, which are an internal environmental debt. This debt arose mainly in the past, before
the emergence of adequate environmental legislation, and despite long-term efforts to resolve
it has not yet been restricted.
Great attention must also be paid to the protection and care of protected areas and natural or
nature-friendly elements in the open landscape, improving the condition of natural habitats
and species, reducing the occurrence of invasive alien species, increasing landscape
fragmentation, supporting the natural functions of the landscape, the method of management
8in agriculture and forestry, and the non-conceptual development of residential areas, which
disrupts the city's ties to the open countryside.
Fundamental horizontal condition
The programme fulfils the fundamental horizontal condition "Effective application and
implementation of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights." All proposed priorities and specific
objectives of the programme respect rights, adhere to principles, and support their application
in accordance with Article 51 of the Charter. Such compliance was verified by human rights
experts by scrutinising the text of the whole programme. The activities proposed within OPE
contribute to better protection and fulfilment of fundamental rights, in particular Article 37
Environmental Protection, as well as other articles, such as Article 35 Health, Article 7 Respect
for Private and Family Life, or Article 17 Ownership. The entire system of programme
management then allows the managing authorities to monitor compliance with the Charter at
the level of specific calls and projects and to check whether there are any breaches of the
Charter. The staff of the managing authority will be trained in the application and control of
compliance with fundamental rights. Any problems will then be reported to the monitoring
committee. Project implementers and other concerned persons can then fully protect their
rights before courts and administrative authorities in accordance with Article 47 of the Charter
and Czech procedural regulations.
Equal opportunities for women and men are taken into account in the preparation and
implementation of the programme. The programme respects the "Strategy for Equality
between Women and Men for the Years 2021-2030 and "Departmental Priorities in Promoting
Equal Opportunities for Women and Men", which are updated every year and published on the
website of the Ministry of Environment.
91.B Economic, social, and territorial differences2
Economic and social differences
It can be said in general that despite overall economic convergence and the improving social
situation, regional disparities are widening. GDP per capita ranges from 63 % of the EU average
in the north-west of the country to 182 % in Prague. In the north-west region (Ústí nad Labem
and Karlovy Vary regions), there has even been a decline in GDP per capita since 2010 in
absolute terms. While, for example, the population of the Moravian-Silesian Region is
declining, demographic development in Prague and the Central Bohemian Region is positive.
Opportunities and challenges in terms of the state of the environment are therefore
concentrated in certain areas.
Territorial characteristics of the condition of the environment
In addition to natural factors, the condition of individual components of the environment is
significantly influenced mainly by the territorial distribution of economic activities, with
emission-significant mining and heavy industry and energy industries concentrated in the
north-western and north-eastern part of the country (lignite mining, coal power plants and
chemical plants in the Ústí nad Labem Region, black coal mining (which is coming to an end),
coke production, and metallurgical plants in the Moravian-Silesian Region).
Significant territorial disparities also persist in water management infrastructure. The share of
the population connected to sewers is between 99 % in Prague and the Karlovy Vary Region
and less than 70 % in the Liberec Region (the national average is 85.5 %), the share of the
population connected to the public water supply is between 100 % in Prague and the Karlovy
Vary Region and 85 % in the Pilsen Region (the national average is 94.7 %). There is also a
significant difference in terms of water supplies and the risk of drought impacts, with South
Moravia, Haná and the Elbe area most at risk.
2 Information is taken from Report on the Environment in the Czech Republic in 2018 (CENIA and Ministry of
Environment 2019), from the Statistical Yearbook of the Environment of the Czech Republic 2017 (CENIA 2018), and
from Report on the Czech Republic 2019 (SWD(2019) 1002 final).
10In terms of air quality, the most congested area is the eastern part of the Moravian-Silesian
Region (Ostrava - Karviná - Frýdek-Místek agglomeration), while the Zlín, Olomouc and Ústí
nad Labem regions and large cities (especially Prague and Brno) are also hit hard.
The total production of waste and the ratio between the production of other and hazardous
waste, as well as the total production of waste per capita in individual regions, mainly relate to
the current state of industry, construction and demolition activities, the rehabilitation of old
environmental burdens, the introduction and use of best available techniques, and the
demographic characteristics of the region. The highest level of total waste production is in
Prague, the Central Bohemian and South Moravian regions, the highest level of total waste
production per capita is in Prague, the Olomouc and South Moravian regions. The total
production of municipal waste and the total production of municipal waste per capita have
long been higher in Prague and the Central Bohemian Region due to the significant
concentration of population and services. There is also high production of mixed municipal
waste per capita in these regions.
The highest fragmentation of the landscape is recorded in the Central Bohemian, South
Moravian and Moravian-Silesian regions, caused by the expansion of built-up areas due to
ongoing urbanisation, particularly urban agglomerations, and as a result of the development
of transport infrastructure, principally including the construction of city ring-roads,
expressways and motorways. By contrast, the regions with the highest area of unfragmented
space include the Pilsen and South Bohemian regions, where the more fragmented landscape
and the more sizeable extent of large protected areas mean that the population density is
lower, and thus the need for transport services is lower.
Forest coverage ranges from 45 % in the Liberec Region and 28% in the Central Bohemian
Region to 11 % in Prague (national average 34 % in 2018). The area of specially protected areas
is similarly unevenly distributed. Its percentage in the area of the region ranges from 6 % in
Prague, 7 % in the South Moravian Region and 10 % in the Vysočina Region to 31 % in the Zlín
Region and 37 % in the Liberec Region.
111.C Market failure, investment needs
The economic tools of environmental protection
The basic components of the environment (climate, air, water, soil, biodiversity) are public
assets that are affected by negative outside influences (especially anthropogenic pollution and
other activities) on the one hand, but when in good condition create positive outside influences
on the other. Environmental protection is therefore of strong public interest. Market-based
instruments are practically never used in environmental protection, the exception being the
European Emissions Trading Scheme. By contrast, economic instruments of negative
stimulation - payments - are relatively widespread. These are, in particular, charges for air
pollution, waste water discharges, dumping waste at dumps, treating municipal waste, and the
use of natural resources (taking groundwater, occupying agricultural and forest land, extracting
minerals). However, their effect is more fiscal (revenues for the State Environmental Fund of
the Czech Republic, the state budget or regional budgets) than motivational. Taxes (on solid
fuels, mineral oils, natural gas, electricity and the "solar tax") and penalty payments (fines) have
been introduced in addition to charges. The total income from all economic instruments in
2017 was approximately CZK 16 billion, of which charges accounted for approximately CZK 11
billion. The rates are not sufficiently stimulating and thus facilitate the internalisation of only
some of the negative outside influences created.
Economic instruments of positive stimulation mainly include forms of financial support from
public budgets (state budget, regional and city budgets), specialised funds, money from
European funds (especially OPE, partly other programmes, Common Agricultural Policy), and
revenue from the sale of emission allowances (New Green Savings programme and
Modernisation Fund).
Financing environmental protection
Total expenditures (investment and non-investment expenditures) on environmental
protection in the period from 2010 to 2018 stood at around 2 % of GDP, without any clear
trend. In 2018, they amounted to CZK 98 billion, which corresponds to 1.8 % of GDP, of which
public expenditure amounted to CZK 86 billion (1.6 % of GDP). The share of investments in
environmental protection in GDP in the period 2010–2017 averaged 0.66 % GDP, in 2017
12investments amounted to CZK 35.42 billion. Most funds are spent on waste management,
followed by air and climate protection and waste-water management. A comparison of the
level of public expenditure on environmental protection with the revenue from economic
instruments shows the need for additional funding from both internal and external sources.
The total allocation of OPE 2007–2013 was 4.6 billion euro (approx. 116 billion CZK). The total
allocation of OPE 2014–2020 at the end of 2020 was 2.8 billion euro (approx. 73 billion CZK).
The total allocation within the New Green Savings programme for the period 2014-2021 is over
17 billion CZK, in that around 7 billion CZK had been paid out by the end of 2019. Money from
EU funds thus plays a very important additional role in the Czech Republic in the multi-source
financing of environmental protection.
1.D Investment needs and complementarity with other support
Despite relatively high long-term expenditure on environmental protection, a satisfactory
situation has not yet been achieved in all aspects, and new challenges, in particular related to
climate change, are increasingly emerging. Investment needs are therefore found in the
"internal ecological debt" (unfinished water management infrastructure and its partially
unsatisfactory technical condition, heating a significant part of households with solid fuels
burned in obsolete sources, unsatisfactory energy parameters of public buildings, old
environmental burdens, the unsatisfactory structure of the landscape), as well as in new
challenges such as protection from the effects of drought and increasing resilience to natural
disasters or the development of a circular economy.
Investment needs in the field of the environment are not only supported by OPE, but by
Operational Programme Technology and Applications for Competitiveness and the Integrated
Regional Operational Programme. Other important sources of aid are the Modernisation Fund
and the New Green Savings programme. The Operational Programme Fisheries and the
Strategic Plan of the Common Agricultural Policy also provide support for measures relating
to agriculture. The Operational Programme Fair Transformation responds to the specific
problems faced in coal regions in relation to moving away from coal. Another new source of
funding in the field of the environment is the National Recovery Plan. The set of instruments is
accompanied by the Community programme LIFE.
13In some specific objectives, therefore, OPE supports only partial segments or only some of the
beneficiaries of aid and does not focus on the full range of problems.
1.E Learning from past experience
A number of analyses and evaluations were carried out in relation to OPE during the
programme period. Some recommendations affected the programme settings for the
forthcoming programme period. This concerned the factual focus (for example in the field of
air protection, circular economy or environmental education) and the procedural setting (for
example, the form and content of related regulations, communication). More details can be
found in annual reports on the implementation of the programme.
Integrated instruments were used for the first time in OPE 2014–2020, namely integrated
territorial investments (ITI) and community-led local development (CLLD). Although the
allocation made was not exhausted by any one of the instruments, it was an important
experience on which the programme will build.
The ITI implementation model has proven to be seamless, and thus it will continue. The
autonomy of the ITI and the ability of their population to determine the environmental
priorities of the urban agglomeration together with stakeholders are fully respected. The only
direct requirement of the managing authority is the high level of project readiness which it
expects from strategic projects.
On the other hand, experience from OPE 2014–2020 has shown that it is necessary to change
the implementation model of the integrated CLLD instrument. One key requirement is the
elimination of duplicate activities, which were carried out at both local action group (LAG) and
intermediating body level, and which required a high level of expertise on the part of the LAG.
Changes in the focus of the programme on the previous period
More emphasis will be placed in the period 2021-2027 on the following areas in comparison
with the period 2014-2020:
support for projects aimed at the comprehensive reconstruction of public buildings,
which also address an improvement in energy performance, the use of renewable
14energy sources, increasing the quality of the indoor environment, or adapting buildings
to climate change;
raising awareness of climate change, problems in protecting nature and landscape, and
declining biodiversity;
adaptation of the landscape to climate change, in particular water retention in the
landscape;
focusing on important regions from the perspective of threats to the quality and
quantity of surface water and groundwater;
preventing the production and managing other types of waste, in particular food waste,
textiles, disposable plastics and healthcare waste;
support for more efficient waste management technologies;
expanding the monitoring of emissions and immissions of pollutants into the air,
including means for data management.
The following principles will be applied in the implementation of projects across the entire
programme:
1. effective level of support - the level of support will be determined differently for
individual types of interventions; for example, depending on the priority of the
intervention, or the economic parameters of the project, etc.;
2. elements of green public procurement - aid beneficiaries will be motivated to
behave responsibly and use the principles of green procurement;
3. innovation - innovative approaches to environmental solutions will be supported
alongside conventional solutions;
4. comprehensive projects - implemented projects should be based on a
comprehensive approach, where they pursue multiple goals at the same time and do
not solve individual issues in isolation.
All interventions are designed so as not to lead to significant damage to environmental
objectives in accordance with Article 17 of Regulation (EU) No 852/2020 of the European
Parliament and of the Council. We will achieve this using the set conditions of aid - the
15conditions require, for example, a minimum energy standard, the achievement of values
according to the best available techniques (BAT), or a link to strategic documents such as river
basin management plans or waste management plans. The basic conditions of aid are listed
for individual specific objectives in section 2, and complete conditions in a separate document
entitled Rules for Applicants and Beneficiaries.
1.F Administrative capacities
The programme is ensured from the administrative perspective by the Ministry of Environment,
as the managing authority, in cooperation with the SEF, as the intermediating body.
Experience from all previous programme periods made it possible to create a quality
implementation structure which will ensure the administration of the programme within these
institutions. The structure includes in particular:
project managers and coordinators;
expert sponsors of supported areas;
specialists on European funds.
The existing implementation structure will have to adapt flexibly to new needs - the
programme has a different structure, new measures will be supported, etc. Ensuring qualified
administrative capacity, including the development and use of human resource development
plans, will proceed in line with “Framework for strengthening the administrative capacity of the
implementation structure of European funds in the programme period 2021-2027”.
Strengthening and stabilising the structure is supported by the technical assistance of the
programme.
We expect reduction of the overall administrative demands of the programme for aid
beneficiaries and for the implementation structure, which should be mainly achieved through
the use of simplified methods of cost reporting - unit costs and lump sums. These will apply in
particular to selected appropriate measures in the field of energy savings, renewable energy
sources, adaptation to climate change, and the protection of biodiversity. A flat rate will be
used for the whole programme to finance the indirect costs of projects.
161.G Main tasks
The programme is based on the National Concept for the Implementation of Cohesion Policy
in the Czech Republic after 2020, taking into account the recommendations of the Report on
the Czech Republic 2019, Annex D - Investment Guidelines for Financing Cohesion Policy in
the period 2021-2027 for the Czech Republic3. The main national strategic document on which
the programme is based is the State Environmental Policy of the Czech Republic 2030.
The programme is a strategic follow-up to the Green Agreement for Europe and responds to
a number of its aspects according to the structure presented below.
Climate and clean energy
In terms of climate and clean energy, OPE is only one of many support programmes that
contribute toward supporting measures aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and
adapting to climate change. It therefore provides support to only some of the necessary
measures and only to a limited range of beneficiaries. The programme places considerable
emphasis on climate measures and 48 % of the allocation is earmarked for it across individual
specific objectives.
Investment guidelines determine high-priority investments as increasing energy efficiency,
developing renewable energy sources, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air
pollution by replacing fossil-fuel boilers. By supporting these measures, the programme will
primarily contribute to fulfilment of the following legislative objectives:
reducing final energy consumption to around 990 PJ by 2030, compared to the current
1,057 PJ4 according to the target setting as at 1. 1. 2021;
fulfilling the commitment to make new energy savings of 84 PJ in 2030, which
represents 462 PJ of cumulated savings in the period 2021–20305;
3 European semester 2019: Assessment of progress on structural reforms, prevention and correction of
macroeconomic imbalances, and results of in-depth reviews under Regulation (EU) No 1176/2011
4 Directive 2012/27/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on energy efficiency
5 Directive 2012/27/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on energy efficiency
17 reducing energy consumption in buildings from the predicted level of 373 PJ in 2020
to 345 PJ in 2030 according to the optimal scenario6;
increasing the share of energy from renewable sources in gross final energy
consumption to at least 22% by 20307;
reducing greenhouse gas emissions from non-ETS sources by 14 % by 2030 compared
to 20058.
We envisage that the supported projects will lead to a gradual reduction of final energy
consumption of around 1.2 PJ per year and a reduction of annual primary energy consumption
of around 2.1 PJ per year. The programme will also achieve a gradual cumulative reduction of
greenhouse gas emissions of almost 97 thousand t CO2 eq/year. At the same time, these
measures will contribute to fulfilment of the objectives of the National Emission Reduction
Programme of the Czech Republic.
As part of the development of renewable energy sources, there are plans to support the
installation of new capacity of 309 MW, which will lead to the generation of 998 GWh per year.
These objectives are in line with the Climate Protection Policy, the National Energy and Climate
Plan, and the Long-Term Building Renovation Strategy.
Moreover, the programme actively addresses the issue of heating with unsatisfactory heat
sources in low-income households, when support for the replacement of these with new low-
emission or emission-free sources is aimed directly at the most vulnerable groups of the
population. We estimate the remaining number of solid-fuel boilers in operation in the lowest
emission classes (according to ČSN EN 303-5 standard) that must be replaced at the lower
hundreds of thousands. The programme will support the replacement of 35,000 of these.
High priority measures in investment guidelines also include nature-friendly adaptation
measures in relation to climate change, rainwater retention and capture, and measures to
address contamination, water run-off and water quality, and priority measures include green
6 Directive 2010/31/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the energy performance of buildings
7 Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the promotion of the use of energy
from renewable sources
8 Regulation (EU) 2018/842 of the European Parliament and of the Council on binding annual greenhouse gas
emission reductions by Member States
18infrastructure in the urban environment. These measures will contribute to the implementation
of the Climate Change Adaptation Strategy in the Czech Republic, the National Action Plan for
Adaptation to Climate Change, the Concept of Drought Protection for the Czech Republic,
national river basin plans and flood risk management plans at river basin level. Selected
measures under specific objective 1.3 also contribute to the preparedness for, reduction or
prevention of risks identified in the Threat Analysis for the Czech Republic. Specific objective
1.3 also incorporates measures based on the State Programme of Environmental Education
and Awareness and Environmental Consultancy for the years 2016–2025. The measures
implemented in residential areas will then help to fulfil the objectives of the Smart Cities
concept.
Specifically, necessary measures covering a total area of 2,563 ha should be implemented in
open countryside and residential areas. In terms of raising awareness about climate change, it
is planned to modernise approximately 50 education centres focusing on climate education.
Approximately 115,000 people will also gain better access to drinking water.
Circular economy
One significant contribution of the programme can be expected in supporting the transition
to a circular economy. In accordance with the investment guidelines, the programme focuses
mainly on waste prevention, reuse, and recycling. The programme will contribute to fulfilment
of the following legislative objectives:
recycling 55 % of municipal waste in 2025 at the latest, 60 % in 2030, and 65 % in
20359;
dumping in landfills a maximum of 10 % of the municipal waste produced no later
than 203510;
recycling 70 % by weight of packaging materials by 2030 at the latest11;
recycling 90 % of single-use plastic products by 2029 at the latest12;
9 Directive 2018/851/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on waste
10 Directive 2018/850/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the landfill of waste
11 Directive 2018/852/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on packaging and packaging waste
12 Directive (EU) 2019/904 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on the reduction of the
impact of certain plastic products on the environment
19 ensuring that plastic drinks bottles contain at least 30 % recycled plastics by 2030 at
the latest13.
The capacity for waste recycling will increase by 139 thousand t per year thanks to the
programme. Waste prevention measures, primarily including compost bins for the prevention
of municipal waste, RE-USE centres for product reuse, activities for repairing and extending the
life of products included, building infrastructure for food banks and support for the prevention
of waste from disposable tableware or disposable packaging should contribute to the
fulfilment of landfill objectives, whereby projects implemented in this area should create
additional capacity for the prevention of municipal waste amounting to 227 thousand t per
year.
The proposed measures and objectives comply with the Waste Management Plan of the Czech
Republic and related regional waste management plans, the Waste Prevention Program of the
Czech Republic, the Raw Materials Policy of the Czech Republic in the field of minerals and
their sources, the Secondary Raw Materials Policy of the Czech Republic for 2019– 2022, and
the Circular Czech 2040 document.
Biodiversity
OPE has long been a key programme in support of measures to strengthen biological diversity.
The programme will fulfil the following legislative objectives within the proposed measures:
ensuring the protection of valuable components of nature and landscape14;
taking measures to eradicate emerging invasive alien species and taking measures to
regulate widely-occurring invasive alien species that are included in the list of invasive
alien species of Union concern15.
The proposed measures are based on the Strategy for the Protection of Biological Diversity of
the Czech Republic 2016–2025 and the State Programme for Protection of Nature and
Landscape of the Czech Republic for the period 2020–2025. Measures aimed at supporting the
13 ibidem
14 Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, Directive
2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the conservation of wild birds, and Act No. 114/1992
Sb. on protection of nature and landscape, as amended
15 Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the prevention and management
of the introduction and spread of invasive alien species
20objects of protection of Natura 2000 sites draw on the Priority Action Framework for the Natura
2000 System in the Czech Republic for the period 2021–2027, according to which it is necessary
to carry out recovery management over 28 thousand hectares. Both within the Natura 2000
system itself and outside it. In total, measures will be implemented over an area of 2,919
hectares with the support of the programme.
Elimination of pollution
The programme also focuses greatly on the elimination of water, air and soil pollution. This is
in line with the investment guidelines, among the high-priority activities in which are improving
urban waste-water treatment and the previously-mentioned reduction of air pollution. Priority
activities include the decontamination and rehabilitation of industrial sites and contaminated
soil, including old and illegal dumps. The main objectives of the legislation in this area include:
reducing emission pollution with suspended particles PM10, PM2.5 and
benzo(a)pyrene16;
meeting national commitments to reducing emissions of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen
oxides, volatile organic compounds, ammonia and suspended particulate matter of
size fraction PM2.5 by 203017;
The proposed measures comply with the National Emission Reduction Programme, air quality
improvement programmes in zones and agglomerations, river basin management plans and
water supply and sewerage development plans.
To meet objectives relating to air, it is planned to support 154 stationary sources of air pollution
at which measures will be taken to reduce emissions, whereby the quantity of eliminated
emissions of primary PM2.5 and precursors of secondary PM2.5 should gradually reach about
437 t per year. The programme will also contribute to meeting commitments to reduce
emissions of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ammonia, and other pollutants.
16 Directive 2008/50/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on ambient air quality and cleaner air for
Europe and Directive 2004/107/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council relating to arsenic, cadmium,
mercury, nickel and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air
17 Directive (EU) 2016/2284 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the reduction of national emissions
of certain atmospheric pollutants
21In terms of water pollution, 1,179 kilometres of sewers and a capacity for waste-water
treatment of 89 thousand population equivalents will be built. However, there are still 1.85
million inhabitants who are not connected to sewerage and waste-water treatment plants. To
ensure compliance with the requirements of the urban waste-water treatment directive, it is
necessary to continue with their connection - we identify 28 agglomerations that are
unsatisfactory in terms of meeting legislative requirements. The estimated additional capital
costs for the execution of priority measures are 1.818 to 2.219 billion euro to 2030.
Contamination shall also be removed from an area of 27 hectares. These areas are located in
some of the 450 sites that require remedial action.
18Costs of pending type A measures according to river basin management plans.
19OECD (2020), Financing Water Supply, Sanitation and Flood Protection: Challenges in EU Member States and
Policy Options, OECD Studies on Water, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/6893cdac-en.
221.H Macroregional strategy
The Czech Republic is involved in the macroregional EU Strategy for the Danube Region.
OPE contributes to fulfilment of the objectives of this strategy with support in the field of
environmental protection and sustainable energy, in accordance with the updated Action Plan
for the implementation of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region.
Specifically, we are mainly referring to priority area 2 "Promoting more sustainable energy",
priority area 4 "Restoring and maintaining water quality", priority area 5 "Environmental risk
management", priority area 6 "Protection of biodiversity, landscape, air and soil quality“ in that
strategy.
The relevant specific objectives of OPE follow on from the above-mentioned priority areas of
the EU Strategy for the Danube Region. It can be said that almost all supported activities of
OPE in some way contribute to fulfilment of the Action Plan for this strategy.
Priority area 2 "Promoting more sustainable energy" is linked to SO 1.1 and SO 1.2 of OPE.
Priority area 4 "Restoring and maintaining water quality" is linked to SO 1.4 of OPE. SO 1.3 of
OPE will primarily contribute to fulfilment of the objectives of priority area 5 "Environmental
Risk Management". The topics addressed in Priority Area 6 "Protection of biodiversity,
landscape, air and soil quality" are incorporated in SO 1.6 of OPE. Moreover, some of the
supported activities within SO 1.5 of OPE are linked to priority area 8 "Support for the
competitiveness of enterprises".
23Table 1
Policy objective Specific objective Reasoning (summary)
Problems
low level of energy performance
Causes of the problems that the specific objective will resolve
Policy Objective 2 - the low level of energy performance of public infrastructure
1.1 Promoting
a greener, low-
o Energy consumption in buildings in the non-residential sector, including public
energy efficiency
carbon Europe by buildings, represents 12 % of total final energy consumption.
and reducing
supporting the
o Obsolete public buildings such as schools, offices, cultural facilities, and other
transition to clean greenhouse gas
public infrastructure, etc., were often not built with low energy consumption in
and fair energy, emissions mind.
green and blue Investments in the field of energy efficiency are among the high priority investments in Report
investment, the on the Czech Republic 2019, Annex D.
circular economy, The aim is to support compliance with the Czech Republic's commitments in the area of final
adaptation to climate energy consumption savings, and thus contribute to meeting EU targets by the year 2030.
change and risk 1.2 Promotion of Problems
prevention energy from insufficient use of renewable energy sources
management
renewable sources in Causes of the problems that the specific objective will resolve
accordance with limited market motivation to build renewable energy sources
Directive (EU) o The percentage of renewable energy sources in gross final consumption in 2019
2018/2001, including was 16.2 %. The target for 2030 is to achieve a percentage of 22 %. To achieve the
24the sustainability objective, it is necessary to build large sources and at the same time build small
criteria set out in energy sources in public buildings and infrastructure. The problem with such
construction from the point of view of investors is the unclear return involved.
that Directive
Investment that supports shortening the payback period is therefore important in
fulfilling the predictions of the National Plan of the Czech Republic in the field of
energy and climate.
domestic heating with solid fossil fuels
o According to data on fuel and energy consumption in households in 2015, the
share of solid fossil fuels in final consumption was 13 %. There is therefore room
in which to further increase the share of renewable energy sources (biomass,
heat pumps) or natural gas. Local heating sources are also a significant air
pollutant. In 2018, household heating accounted for 74 % of PM2.5 emissions and
99 % of benzo(a)pyrene emissions.
Investments in the field of renewable energy sources are among the high priorities in the Report
on the Czech Republic 2019, Annex D.
The aim is to support compliance with the Czech Republic's commitments in the field of
renewable energy sources and thus contribute to meeting the EU's targets for 2030.
1.3 Promoting Problems
adaptation to the negative impacts of climate change - floods, droughts, declining levels of
climate change, groundwater, rising temperatures and landslides and rock falls - on ecosystems and
urban areas
preventing the risk
insufficient awareness of climate change
of disasters, and
25resilience to them, Causes of the problems that the specific objective will resolve
taking ecosystem the disturbance of and a lack of functional landscape elements and inappropriate forest
approaches into management
account o The ability of the landscape to retain water is lower because the network of
vegetation and aquatic landscape elements is severely disrupted and weakened.
We have witnessed significant loss of ecologically functional landscape elements
that are able to naturally retain water and balance temperature extremes
(watercourses, wetlands, in-field strips and patches, etc.). The representation of
deciduous trees in forests is insufficient. In 2019, the percentage of deciduous
trees was only 28 % of the total area of forest. The natural species composition,
meanwhile, means a share of 65 %.
landslides and rock falls
o Climate change is increasing the risk of natural disasters such as landslides and
rock falls. A total of 21.8 thousand cases of slope instability were registered in
2020. Landslides covered an area of 84.3 thousand ha.
poor rainwater management in built-up areas
o Rainwater management remains unsatisfactory, particularly within the context of
drought. Municipalities use impermeable surfaces when building public areas.
What is more, they do not have systems in place for regulating the run-off and
use of rainwater. Building roofs with retention capacity on buildings is presently
also a rarity.
insufficient anti-flood protection
26o Damage caused by floods can be effectively prevented by quality flood
prevention in the shape of better town and country planning, flood
management plans, etc. This is still lacking in many municipalities.
insufficient facilities at environmental centres
o The capacity and level of centres is insufficient to raise awareness of climate
change - in 2019, the Czech Republic was one of the EU countries where
perception of the threats of climate change was at its lowest, and where
willingness to address climate change was very low.
Investments in adaptation to climate change are mentioned as high priorities in the Report on
the Czech Republic 2019, Annex D.
The aim of such investment is to contribute to implementation of the National Action Plan for
Adaptation to Climate Change and the Concept of Protection from the Consequences of Drought
for the Czech Republic.
1.4 Promoting access Problems
to water and the unsatisfactory quality of surface water and groundwater
sustainable water vulnerable drinking water distribution network
management Causes of the problems that the specific objective will resolve
insufficient connection of households to waste-water treatment plants and insufficient
quality of treatment
o In 2018, 85.5 % of the population was connected to the sewerage system, which
is merely the average value within the European Union. Treatment proceeds at
272,677 waste-water treatment plants, in that only 56 % of treatment plants
provide secondary and tertiary treatment.
fragmented and incomplete water-supply network
o There is absolutely no water supply for public use in some municipalities (5.3 %
of the population is still not connected to the water supply). People use their
own wells as a source of water in small municipalities in particular, in that the
quality of the water is not monitored and the water supply is at risk in the event
of floods or droughts. The yield of current water sources might also be lower as
a result of long-term drought.
Improving the water management infrastructure, particularly in relation to waste-water
management, is one of the high-priority investments specified in the Report on the Czech
Republic 2019, Annex D.
The aim of such investment is to improve the level of surface water and groundwater and to
ensure compliance with the urban waste-water treatment directive by having a larger number of
people connected to the waste-water treatment system. The second objective is to increase the
resilience of the drinking water supply system to climate change.
1.5 Promoting the Problems
transition to a insufficiently applied waste management hierarchy
circular economy Causes of the problems that the specific objective will resolve
insufficient waste prevention
28that uses resources o The production of municipal waste rose from 494 kilograms to 551 kilograms
effectively per capita from 2012 to 2019. It is clear from this that there is the need to create
conditions in which to change consumption patterns in a coordinated manner,
to provide opportunities to use products with a longer lifespan, to promote the
reparability and recyclability of products, and to reduce the production of non-
recyclable products.
insufficient capacities for the use of waste as material and for energy
o In spite of the downward trend, landfilling is the dominant method of municipal
waste management in the Czech Republic, having a 46-% share in 2019. Any
significant move away from landfilling at this time is predominantly affected by
the lack of capacity for using waste as material and for energy.
The need to make investments in support of the prevention, reuse, and recycling of waste is also
mentioned in the Report on the Czech Republic 2019, Annex D. Investments in this area are
considered to be high-priority.
The aim of transitioning to a circular economy is to help achieve the objectives of the circular
economy package.
1.6 Reinforcing the Problems
protection and the loss of biodiversity
conservation of air pollution
nature, biodiversity, the high number of contaminated sites
and green Causes of the problems that the specific objective will resolve
29infrastructure, in the unsatisfactory condition of species’ natural habitats and biotopes
urban areas too, and o An evaluation of the state of natural habitats shows that 26 % are in poor
reducing all forms of condition and up to 54 % in unsatisfactory condition. The level of species of
animals and plants of European importance is also under observation. From this
pollution
we know that 27 % of the monitored species were at a poor level in the period
2013–2019 and 37 % at an unsatisfactory level.
insufficient care for protected areas
o Protected areas occupy 22 % of the area of the Czech Republic. The main
problem is that appropriate management based on current data and information
is lacking.
emissions from industry and agriculture
o Industry, the energy industry included, is a major producer of SO2 (74 % of total
emissions), NOx (43 %) and VOC (38 %) emissions, and these pollutants are also
precursors of dust particles. The main sources of industrial emissions of SO2 and
NOx are the public energy industry and heat production, and to a lesser extent
industrial energy. In the case of VOC, production processes using organic
solvents are the main source of emissions. Fugitive emissions of dust particles
from industrial activities are problematic at a local level (mainly involving
metallurgical plants, foundries, the extraction of mineral resources, etc.).
o In the case of ammonia, the dominant source of emissions is "Livestock
breeding" (39 %), although "Application of mineral nitrogen fertilisers" (29 %)
and "Stable fertilisers applied to soil" (approximately 21 %) are also significant.
30You can also read
