PSA is an organisation whose aim is to make Polish air clean and compliant with Polish and European air quality standards.
This aim is achievable. However, the following changes need to be introduced and enforced:
- Anti-smog resolutions at a provincial (voivodship) level which introduce an obligation to replace the old boilers with modern and air-friendly heating systems. These provisions should streamline the replacement of around 4 million non-compliant coal and biomass boilers, nicknamed ‘smokers’ because of the large quantities of pollutants emitted;
- Coal quality standards. The quality of coal sold to households has been unregulated for many years and poor quality coal, including coal waste, was often sold to households. This has changed due to PSA pressure and in 2018 Poland’s first coal quality standards were introduced. These provisions need to be enforced and made stricter;
- Emission standards for solid fuel boilers. Over 70% of particulate pollution in Poland comes from low power solid fuel boilers. Although solid fuel boilers (burning coal and wood) are still the most popular source of heating in single family buildings, due to PSA pressure emission standards for household boilers were established in Poland in 2018;
- Introduction of low emission zones in cities with heavy car traffic. The number of cars per 1,000 inhabitants in Warsaw is over twice as high as in Berlin. The situation is similar in other large Polish cities. The average age of passenger car in Poland is over 13 years and half of cars are diesel. Due to PSA pressure Polish cities have gained the right to establish low emission zones and eliminate the most polluting cars. The first such zone was voted in Krakow in 2022 and Warsaw soon followed and implemented the first stage of its LEZ in 2024;
- Introduction of excise tax for cars based on Euro norms. Currently Polish excise tax is based on the engine volume rather than emissions, which encourages importation of second-hand diesel cars from western countries, which have banned them from city traffic;
- Tightening of provisions on MOT testing, including DPF tampering;
- Introduction of incentives for development of public transport in rural and suburban areas;
- Solutions that will allow for better control of emissions from industrial facilities.
financing
- Effective implementation of subsidy schemes that support the elimination of old coal and wood boilers and encourage thermal renovation of houses. Following extensive PSA pressure, such a scheme was established in 2018. Nearly 1,000,000 households already applied for these subsidies and invested in clean heating;
- Support for the poorest citizens in the process of heating system replacement (fuel poverty alleviation programmes), including subsidies for installation of new heat sources and thermal renovation of houses.
enforcement
- Regulations aimed at improving air quality must be accompanied by regulations encouraging citizens to take action,
- To achieve this an effective system of control over the use of household solid fuel boilers and types of fuels burnt in these devices has to be introduced. Currently 80% of municipalities in Poland do not have an effective control system in place,
- Effective enforcement and control is also important for traffic and industrial emissions.
foto: fotohuta.pl
information
Lowering smog alert thresholds. Polish citizens are not fully informed of dangerous air pollution situations. Among all EU states, Poland has one of the most lenient regulations in the EU for determining pollution levels and informing the general public about the scale of the problem. Just to compare – in Paris, a smog alert is announced when PM10 levels reach 80 µg/m3 whereas the applicable alert threshold in Poland is almost twice as high, at 150 µg/m3.