The implementation of the “Clear air” Programme in Poland including voivodeships

Abstract

Air pollution is a global problem affecting millions of people worldwide. Climate warming, increasingly difficult access to drinking water resources, and desertification of areas have all resulted in population migrations in search of better areas to live and work. High mortality rates due to smog and crop, soil, and water pollution are just some of the problems facing the whole civilised world. In 2019, in response to these and other climate challenges, the EU adopted the Green Deal, a strategy whereby the EU member states have committed to an energy transition. Climate neutrality, according to the document, should be achieved by 2050. From 2018 to 2029, the government program “Clean Air” will be implemented in Poland with the aim of reducing environmentally damaging emissions from heating single-family houses with harmful fuel in old and polluting stoves. The article presents the program's assumptions in relation to the priorities of the European Green Deal and statistical data concerning the replacement of boilers under the “Clean Air” program by province, the use of various heat sources in Poland, as well as the demand for each heat source based on the number of applications submitted. The paper highlights two aspects related to the functioning of the “Clean Air” program, the first of which is economic in character and pertains to heat source replacement costs, whilst the second concerns the management of renewable energy sources. Statistical data referred to in this article were finalised as of December 2022.