“From the past to the future: 40 years of environmental protection in Poland”
The Institute of Environmental Protection – National Research Institute invites you to participate in a jubilee international scientific conference, which will be held on 16 June 2026 in Warsaw. The conference is organised to mark the 40th anniversary of the Institute’s activity and is a unique opportunity to summarise the scientific and implementation achievements of the IOŚ-PIB, as well as to present current trends, research results and challenges facing environmental protection in Poland and worldwide.
The aim of the conference is to create a forum for the exchange of knowledge and experience and to establish cooperation between representatives of the scientific community, public administration, business and non-governmental organisations.
Thematic scope of the conference
The conference focuses on key contemporary environmental challenges, in particular:
- climate change and adaptation measures
- biodiversity conservation
- air quality and its protection
- circular economy (CE) and sustainable resource management
- modern environmental technologies
- the state and protection of nature and water resources.
How to get to the conference
CONFERENCE PROGRAMME
9.00 – 10.00
Registration of participants
Plenary session
10.00 – 10.15
Opening of the conference and welcome address – Marcin Stoczkiewicz, PhD, DSc, Director of IOŚ-PIB
10.15 – 11.10
Opening session – 40 years for the environment – time for summaries, time for challenges
10.15 -10.25 – Address by Prof. Barbara Gworek, PhD, DSc, Eng., Director of IOŚ-PIB in 1996–2016
10.25-10.50 – Address by a representative of the Ministry of Climate and Environment’s management and ceremony to present honorary awards for services to environmental and climate protection
10.50-11.00 – Address by Prof. Maciej Nowicki, PhD, Eng., twice Minister of the Environment in 1991 and from 2007 to 2010
11.00-11.10 – Speech by Leena Ylä-Mononen, Executive Director of the European Environment Agency (EEA)
11.10 – 12.10
Discussion panel: “Environmental protection in times of climate and geopolitical crises” – moderated by Marcin Stoczkiewicz, PhD, DSc, Director of IOŚ-PIB
Participants:
12.10 – 13.00
Lunch, group photo
12.30 – 13.00
Poster session and discussion with authors (posters on display from 12:00–16:30)
13.00 – 14.30
Session I (cinema hall) – Legal and social aspects of environmental policy
Session chair: Ilona Jędrasik, MA
- On the evolution of environmental law in Europe. A rough sketch
Prof. Gerd Winter - International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on the Obligations of States in Respect of Climate Change and the Development of International Law
Prof. Małgorzata Fitzmaurice - Environmental law: current status and future directions in Europe and Poland against the backdrop of global trends
Dr Jerzy Jendrośka, Professor at the University of Opole - Between politicisation and socialisation: how to design climate policies and how to talk about them
Dr Przemysław Sadura, MSc Bartosz Matyja, MSc Piotr Drygas - Maladaptation to climate change in urban areas
Dr Mira Poręba
13.00 – 14.30
Session II (conference room) – Monitoring, modelling and environmental technologies
Session chair: Robert Jeszke, MSc
- Air quality management – current solutions, challenges and the role of modern technologies in public policy and implementation practice
Dr Izabela Sówka - National air quality modelling system in the context of the AAQD implementation – from forecasts to decision-making
Joanna Strużewska, PhD, Eng., Prof. Jacek W. Kamiński, PhD, Eng., Paweł Durka, MSc, Eng., Grzegorz Jeleniewicz, MSc, Eng., Aleksander Norowski, MSc, Eng., Wojciech Bagiński, MSc, Aleksandra Starzomska, MSc, Eng., Aneta Gienibor, MSc - The application of satellite remote sensing in environmental protection and natural resource management
Dr Agata Hościło, BSc Oliwier Zając, MSc Milena Cudak, MSc Aneta Lewandowska, MSc Alicja Rynkiewicz - Supporting biodiversity and climate policy through tree cover monitoring with Copernicus Land Monitoring Service products
Dr Laura-Ainhoa Prischl, Assoc. Prof. Joanna Balasis-Levinsen, Dr Usue Donezar - Measurements of fugitive emissions using UAVs
Dr Jolanta Telenga-Kopyczyńska, Dr Jacek Żeliński, Dr Rafał Bigda - Central Emission Database – high-resolution emissions for the whole of Poland
Dr Karol Szymankiewicz, Dr Lech Gawuć, MSc Marek Soliwoda, Dr Anahita Sattari, MSc Agnieszka Bartocha, Dr Iwo Augustyński, MSc Małgorzata Soliwoda, MSc Jadwiga Maciejewska, MSc Dorota Kawicka
13.00 – 14.30
Session III (auditorium) – Biodiversity, ecosystems and sustainable agriculture
Session chair: Dr Michał Żmihorski
- Restoring natural resources: a regulatory challenge for a sustainable food system – a comparative analysis
Dr Monika A. Król, Professor at the University of Łódź - Legal challenges and innovations in the 2023 Agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction
Dr Konrad Marciniak - The agricultural landscape as a space for biodiversity restoration – the importance of eco-schemes and agri-environment-climate interventions
Dr Eliza Grabowska - Tracking the resilience of arid areas: soil biogeochemical variability along a gradient in 2020 and 2022 in eastern Australia
Dr Jerzy Szejgis, Assoc. Prof. Yolima Carrillo, Dr Thomas C. Jeffries, Prof. Feike A. Dijkstra, Prof. Jeff Chieppa, Dr Dylan Bristol, Dr Premchand Maisnam, Prof. David Eldridge, Assoc. Prof. Uffe N. Nielsen - Genetic diversity as a guarantee of forest sustainability: conclusions from the oak family-provenance research plots in Oleszyce for gene resource conservation strategies
Dr Magdalena Trojankiewicz - Optimal design of agri-environmental contracts to reduce methane emissions from dairy production in Poland
Dr Adam Wąs, Professor at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW), Dr Paweł Kobus, Professor Edward Majewski, Professor Davide Viaggi, MSc Grzegorz Rawa
14.30 – 15.00
Coffee break
15.00 – 16.30
Session IV (conference room) – Climate change, risk and environmental resilience
Session chair: Dr Zbigniew Karaczun
- The obligation to remedy climate damage in international law
Prof. Cezary Mik - Climate-Induced Sea-Level Rise, Statehood, and the Challenge to the International Legal Order
Dr Agnes Rydberg - Geological factors influencing the resilience of the Polish coast to climate change
Dr Grzegorz Uścinowicz - Development of the Agricultural Drought Monitoring System in Poland in the context of increasing climate risk
Dr Katarzyna Żyłowska, Dr Jerzy Kozyra, Dr Małgorzata Kozak, MSc Piotr Koza - Climate vulnerability of groundwater in Poland
Dr Małgorzata Woźnicka, Agnieszka Kowalczyk, MSc - How much do extreme weather events cost Poland? The importance of loss assessment in climate change adaptation
Dr Ewelina Siwiec, MSc Klaudia Chruściel, MSc Michał Marcinkowski
15.00 – 16.30
Session V (conference room) – Energy transition, local policy and environmental management
Session chair: Dr Maciej Cygler
- The urban adaptation plan as a tool for equitable adaptation to climate change
Prof. Eliza Kalbarczyk, Prof. Robert Kalbarczyk - Between the state and the market: why are the ‘commons’, though problematic, a key element of local climate policy?
Dr Agnieszka Sobol - SMR as a tool for the just decarbonisation of heating and industry: a legal and regulatory model for the allocation of network and transition costs in the era of AI and data centres
Dr Robert Zajdler - The climate neutrality management system of the Wielkopolska Province as a tool integrating adaptation, mitigation and resilience measures within the LIFE AFTER COAL PL project
Dr Jacek Willecki - From diagnosis to remedial action – the use of Strategic Noise Maps in environmental protection
Patrycja Chacińska, MSc
15.00 – 16.30
Session VI (auditorium) – Environmental remediation, waste and resource management
Session chair: Dr Sylwia Łaba, Eng.
- Microcontaminants in the environment: active pharmaceutical ingredients and microplastics
Prof. Grzegorz Nałęcz-Jawecki, Dr Agata Drobniewska, Dr Milena Wawryniuk - Molecular sieves in the selective remediation of soil and water environments: from heavy metals to the challenges of the era of pharmaceuticals and nanoparticles – 40 years of research experience
Prof. Barbara Gworek, PhD, Eng. - The significance of reclaimed waste heaps in the circular economy
Dr Joanna Fajfer, Dr Paulina Kostrz-Sikora - Transboundary movement of waste – international cooperation and challenges for law enforcement agencies
Ewelina Gałuszka, MSc
16.30 – 17.00
Summary and conclusion
Important dates
by 20 March 2026
registration and submission of conference presentations and poster topics;
by 27 March 2026
notification of participants regarding the acceptance of their presentation and/or poster;
by 30 April 2026
submission of abstracts prepared in accordance with the Organiser’s guidelines.
Publications
Abstracts of presentations given during the paper sessions will be published in a book of abstracts.
Post-conference articles may be published free of charge in the journal of the Institute of Environmental Protection – National Research Institute Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, provided that they meet the editorial requirements.
Detailed information is available on the website Journal – Institute of Environmental Protection – National Research Institute.
Composition of the Scientific Committee:
Chair of the Scientific Committee
Secretary of the Scientific Committee
Members of the Scientific Committee
Prof. Maciej Nowicki, PhD, DSc, Eng.
Monika Król, PhD, DSc
prof. UŁ
Przemysław Sadura, PhD, DSc
prof. UW
Michał Żmihorski, PhD, DSc
prof. IBS PAN
Joanna Strużewska, PhD, DSc, Eng.
Composition of the Organising Committee:
Chair of the Organizing Committee
Secretary of the Organizing Committee
Dorota Szulc
Members of the Organizing Committee
Marzena Spyra-Kałuska, PhD, Eng.
Katarzyna Jurkowska-Książek
Małgorzata Kacprzak
Monika Biernat
Sylwia Łaba, PhD, Eng.
Agnieszka Stangreciak
How to get to the conference
Public Transportation
- Warszawa Gdańska Station – accessby Metro Line M1, buses: 116, 157, 518, trams: 6, 15, 36, and SKM trains: S4 and S40. Entrance through the Żoliborska Gate. Walking time: approx. 13–15 minutes.
- Most Gdański Stop – access by bus 185 and trams 1, 6, 18, 28, 71. Entrance through the Nowomiejska Gate.
- Park Traugutta Stop – access by buses 178 and 503, trams 1, 6, 18, 28, 71. Entrance through the Nowomiejska Gate. Walking time: approx. 15 minutes.
- Cytadela Stop – access by bus 185. Entrance through the Brama Straceń/Execution Gate
Current timetables available at wtp.waw.pl.
Access by car and taxi
Access available only from Wybrzeże Gdyńskie.
Underground car park available on site. Parking fee: PLN 6/hour.
Taxis also enter the underground car park – available 15-minute free parking ticket, must be collected upon entry.
Access to the parking lots:
- NOTE It is not possible to exit the main lane of the Gdynia Coast.
- Entry to the parking lots is only possible from the side lane from the Gdynia Coast towards the Center. You should exit Wisłostrada before the intersection with ul. Krasiński.
- The entrance is located directly behind the Fosa i Stoki park.
- From ul. Krasińskiego: choose the right lane, direction Śródmieście/Mokotów/Ursynów.
- Access via Wisłostrada from ul. Krasińskiego and from the E67 route – towards the Center.
Entry to the access lane
https://muzhp.pl/wizyta#anchor-504
Conference secretariat
Dorota Szulc
The conference is organised as part of a project financed from the state budget, allocated by the Minister of Science and Higher Education under the Science Vectors Programme.
Please direct any questions to: konferencja40lat@ios.edu.pl