With the project ‘NACAO – Nature Based Carbon Offsets’, we are looking for solutions for regions, cities and municipalities to effectively offset carbon emissions. Climate change requires urgent action. In addition to rapid emission reductions, we need measures to promote carbon sequestration. The debate on offsetting in the public sector in Europe has been developing slowly, the methodologies designed are limited and the indicators very traditional. The NACAO project will promote the understanding of effective carbon offsetting at regional level, seeking nature-based solutions and policy measures to develop them further.

The exchange of experience between different regions in Europe will allow for the search for and sharing of information on the potential for carbon offsetting in both terrestrial and water ecosystems. The aim is to find solutions that will actually increase carbon sequestration and thus effective offsetting. At the same time, experiences in the use of carbon credits and local carbon markets, etc. will be shared.

The project will identify good practices on successful approaches to carbon offsetting in the regions involved in the project activities. The collected knowledge will also be used by a regional stakeholder group, which will play an important role in putting the results into practice and ultimately contribute to the improvement of the regional policy instrument.

Such an instrument in our voivodeship is the ‘Environmental Protection Programme for the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship for the period 2015-2020 with an Outlook to 2025’, which aims to improve the state of the environment, reduce the negative impact of pollution sources on the environment, as well as protect and develop the values of the environment and manage its resources rationally. Work is currently underway on a new Programme, which will incorporate the assumptions of the European Green Deal and new climate protection policies. In its assumptions, the document implements the main objectives and directions set by the key strategic documents on environmental protection and climate change. Although climate change policy is mainly discussed at international level, most of the impacts will be felt at regional and local level. It is local governments that will have to deal with the consequences of carbon emissions. In this regard, the international NACAO – Nature-based Carbon Offsets – project is part of the region’s environmental policy and the draft of a new document called the ‘Świętokrzyskie 2030 Environmental Programme’, which will update information on promoting good climate protection practices and biodiversity in all environmental components. On the basis of the experience gained from the project, we would like to develop appropriate educational, financial tools that will enable beneficiaries in the voivodeship to implement eco-innovation and adaptation and mitigation measures.

The project involves regions and stakeholders from Spain, Italy, Poland, France, Germany and Finland. The Polish partner is the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship – the Marshal’s Office of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship in Kielce – and direct implementation is managed by the Department of Investment and Development in cooperation with the Department of Nature and Climate.

The NACAO – Nature-based Carbon Offsets project is 80% co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund under the Interreg Europe 2021-2027 programme, Policy objective 2: A greener Europe, Specific objective: Climate change. The total project budget of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship is €174,820.00, of which the own contribution is €34,964.00.

CONTACT:

Liliana Krężołek – project coordinator, Economic Cooperation and European Projects Unit, Department of Investment and Development, Marshal`s Office of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, phone: +48 41 395 14 52, e-mail: liliana.krezolek@sejmik.kielce.pl

Magdalena Pokora – head of the Nature Protection Unit, Department of Nature and Climate, Marshal`s Office of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, phone: +48 41 395 11 29, e-mail: magdalena.pokora@sejmik.kielce.pl

OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE NACAO PROJECT:
https://interregeurope.eu/nacao

SOCIAL MEDIA:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/nacaoproject