Unused money from the Green Savings will be returned to Japan

Prague - If the Czechs do not use all the billions that the state currently offers for insulating houses and replacing old coal boilers with ecological heating within three years, the unspent money will be returned to Japan.
    The Ministry of the Environment has obtained billions for the Green Savings program by selling emission allowances that were bought by Japan. Part of the agreement includes a clause for returning unused funds.
    "The remaining money will indeed have to be returned to the Japanese," said Irena Plocková from the State Environmental Fund, which is responsible for the Green Savings program. The funds would be sent back to Japan only after the program ends in three years.
    The program was officially launched on April 22, and since then, five applicants have signed up for the contribution, which can reach up to hundreds of thousands of crowns. The fund has ten billion crowns available just for this year.
    Plocková, however, is not worried that there will ultimately be no interest in the money for insulation. She reminds that a similar program for the renovation of panel houses took two years to get started. "Green Savings will definitely get underway quicker," Plocková stated, noting that a month since the announcement of this ecological program is too short a time for conclusions.
    The State Environmental Fund is counting heavily on the marketing activities of the banks that have joined the program as partners. The fund also wants to cooperate with the Union of Construction Entrepreneurs and other organizations.
    The Green Savings program is planned until 2012. If ten billion crowns are not used this year, they will be moved to the following year. The account should also grow by additional billions as the Czech Republic sells more allowances. The Ministry of the Environment estimates that it might be possible to obtain an additional up to 15 billion crowns in the following years.