EIMIN: €52 million more EU investment to boost sustainable production and reduce pollution
On the initiative of the Ministry of the Economy and Innovation, two calls will be launched this autumn for Lithuanian industry to reduce pollution and increase sustainable production. The European Union (EU) Modernisation Fund will provide €52 million.
"Lithuanian industry is currently modernising in line with EU environmental requirements: by 2030, it must save 20% of Lithuania's total energy consumption. With this in mind, we want to make a significant contribution to the transformation of this industry towards a climate-neutral economy. This will allow us to reduce pollution and use more renewable energy sources," says Ieva Valeškaitė, Vice-Minister of the Economy and Innovation.
The call for proposals to reduce pollution and decarbonise industry will provide €42 million of EU investment. It will finance projects that improve energy efficiency and introduce cleaner production technologies. The maximum amount available per project and per applicant is €10 million.
The next call, for the deployment of renewable energy technologies, will distribute €10 million of EU funding. The maximum amount per applicant will be €2.5 million.
"We believe that these investments will make an important contribution to the competitiveness and sustainable development of Lithuanian industry and will help our country to achieve the EU's objectives. Therefore, these investments will finance projects that will enable Lithuanian industry to meet the EU requirement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 62% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels," said Grėtė Lelė, Advisor to the Minister of the Economy and Innovation.
In order to accelerate the transition of Lithuanian industry towards a climate-neutral economy, the Ministry of Economy and Innovation, together with the Innovation Agency and the Environmental Project Management Agency, is already conducting consultations with industrial companies. These will present the possibilities of the EU Modernisation Fund and aim to meet the expectations of the social partners.
The Ministry of the Economy and Innovation is also actively preparing investment programmes for the use of the EU Modernisation Fund to be submitted to the European Investment Bank.
It is hoped that the implementation of all the planned funding initiatives will help the Lithuanian industrial sector not only to meet the EU's high environmental targets, but also to gain a competitive advantage.