Clean Air “runs on fumes”

– We observe that at the government level, unfortunately, the issue of air quality is not treated as a priority – said Andrzej Guła, president of the Polish Smog Alert, in an interview with PAP. It's about the Clean Air program.

Andrzej Guła said that there are individual ministers or institutions that take action. As an example, he pointed to the Ministry of Climate and Environment and the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management, which are working on changes to the Clean Air program. – This program must stay reformed, debureaucratized, streamlinedthere are many things that need to be changed and it has started to happen, he noted. He noted that Clean Air in 2024 will cost nearly PLN 5 billion.

According to Guła, the program must be provided with stable financing, which will not happen without the participation of the Prime Minister and all coalition partners. Guła reminded that the problem of transferring money for Clean Air has existed from the very beginning because – as he pointed out – when creating this program, a long-term financial plan was never prepared.

– The Clean Air Program, to put it colloquially, is already running on fumes, the funds from the Cohesion Fund that finance the program are practically exhausted in this area – emphasized Guła, adding that the funds from the National Reconstruction Plan intended for this are also running out. objective.

In his opinion, fulfillment of point nine of the coalition agreement, which talks about fighting against smog through thermal modernization of houses and replacement of heat sources, may “turn out to be only a declaration on paper.”

According to the head of the Polish Smog Alert, it is crucial to launch other sources of financing for the program, including revenues from ETS (Emissions Trading System), the EU emissions trading system. He noted that a decision of the government, including the Ministry of Finance, which manages ETS, is required to provide funds for the program.

Guła pointed out that thermal modernization is needed not only to protect air quality in Poland, but is also important in times of energy crisis.

– It is absolutely crucial to immunize households against the effects of this and other energy crises, because the best, healthiest and cheapest fuel is the one we save – noted the president of PAS. He estimated that increasing the energy efficiency of homes could reduce the energy demand in residential buildings twice over the next few years, thereby “protecting households from high heating bills and increasing the country's energy security.”

– I hope that the government will decide to unlock long-term financing for this program using ETS funds – he said. In his opinion, individual ministers are unable to effectively provide financing without the involvement of the entire government. Guła expressed the opinion that for some in the government the Clean Air program is like a fifth wheel, and it should not be like that.

However, the PAS president sees a positive reform of the program, which – as he pointed out – is aimed at removing pathologies that have accumulated in recent years. He stated that dishonest companies were looking for beneficiaries who were offered to install heat pumps in unsuitable, uninsulated buildings. – Installing a heat pump in such a case is a direct path to “horror bills” – he emphasized.

He pointed out that as part of the reform of the Clean Air program, the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management has introduced the requirement of an energy audit, which will check whether the building is suitable for installing such a device. – A heat pump is a very good solution, but it requires prior preparation of the building – he noted. In addition, the Fund has introduced a list of certified devices for which a subsidy can be obtained, which is intended to ensure the installation of good quality, proven devices. – I assess these efforts of the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management very positively – he added.

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Guła reminded that the Clean Air program is aimed at single-family buildings, and in the case of multi-family buildings there is – as he said – the Thermal Modernization and Renovation Fund “forgotten by politicians and the government”. The government has allocated PLN 220 million for this second program this year.

He noted that the needs for thermal modernization of multi-family buildings, where “half of the households live, are much greater than the amounts allocated for FTiR.”

The head of PAS also calls for the government to help local governments that will be obliged to create Clean Transport Zones by, among others, support for public transport. – If you give an order, it is worth it to be accompanied by real support – he emphasized.

Such zones are to be created in cities with over 100,000 inhabitants. inhabitants where the permissible levels of nitrogen dioxide are exceeded. Currently, these are Kraków, Warsaw, Wrocław and Katowice, although – according to the president of PAS – after measurements are taken, more cities will be on the list. – In some places there is “no problem” because no measurements of traffic pollution are carried out – he emphasized.

Clean Air – with a budget announced at PLN 103 billion – is the largest anti-smog program in Poland. Owners of single-family houses can, for example, receive funds to replace non-ecological heat sources, as well as to improve the energy efficiency of the building, among others. by insulating it.

In mid-June, the program introduced a requirement to carry out an energy audit and to cover only heat pumps that are on the green equipment and materials list (UTI) with subsidies. The decision was explained, among others, that the Polish market offers many heat pumps manufactured in Asia that do not meet the requirements.

It was pointed out that buyers of heat pumps have difficulty distinguishing high-quality devices, e.g. manufactured in Poland by a Polish manufacturer, from Chinese ones that may not meet the requirements. The fund also indicated that dishonest sellers take advantage of the funding for these devices offered by the fund. It was also announced that from 2025, only heat pumps with parameters confirmed by full tests carried out in an accredited laboratory located in the EU or EFTA countries will remain on the UTI list.

The program is financed from the National Reconstruction Plan and the Cohesion Fund. Problems with funds appeared in mid-December last year. The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Environmental Protection informed then that payments had been stopped due to the exhaustion of money in the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management. In January, it was reported that the arrears amounted to PLN 300 million and 23,000 applications were waiting to be considered. The head of the Ministry of Finance and Regional Policy, Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, in January this year. announced that PLN 200 million from the KPO will go to Clean Air, additional funds from the KPO were allocated, among others, to: in April (507 million) and May (PLN 706 million).