EU Member States are facing the most severe financial and economic crisis in recent decades. With soaring energy prices, out-dated energy infrastructure, and ever increasing global greenhouse gas emissions, Europe also faces other significant problems. These challenges are intertwined in many ways. Against this background, Ecologic Institute - in cooperation with the European Climate Foundation - organized a conference in Warsaw to discuss how Poland and Germany can address these challenges in a manner that is mutually reinforcing. Ilona Antoniszyn-Klik, State Secretary at the Economics Ministry of Poland, and Freiherr Jürgen von Fritsch, German Ambassador to Poland, opened the conference. High-level business representative spoke at the conference. Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, co-chaired the event.

At the conference, Polish and German companies made a strong business case for greener operations. Innovation and resource efficiency were considered key aspects of a strong and sustained European recovery. Companies identified numerous opportunities in improved resource efficiency. The participants also discussed the role of EU policies in the transition towards a green economy with particular focus on the EU energy efficiency directive and funding schemes. The conference was funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, and supported by the German embassy in Poland.

Presentations and further information are available at the conference website. The conference in Warsaw was a follow up to an event in Budapest.