A press release issued after the fund's supervisory board endorsed the interim report on Wednesday, said that the amount of subsidies was double that paid out in the first half of 2018 and above the average annual level in recent years.

Favourable loans worth EUR 18 million were taken out in the first half of the year, an increase of 50% compared to the first half of last year.

"For more than a quarter of a century, Eco Fund has been stimulating investment into a green future. We offer incentives in the form of grants, favourable loans and free advice," the release reads.

In the past 10 years the fund granted EUR 260 million in subsidies for 110,000 investments in efficient energy consumption and EUR 280 million loans for 10,000 environmental investments.

The investments reduced carbon emissions by almost 320,000 tonnes and saved 1,380 gigawatt hours of energy, creating 1,500 jobs. Taking into account indirect effects, the incentives create about 2,400 green jobs, according to the release.