PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Silesia (Slaskie) is Poland's most industrialised region. Unfortunately, it is precisely the industrial character of the region and its close connection with the mining industry that is seen as the cause of its main environmental problems. However, the largest share of the total emission of pollutants is due to the domestic and municipal sectors. The Silesian Voivodeship (province) is among the regions with the worst air quality statistics in Poland and Europe. The air pollution limits with regard to particulate matter and carcinogenic benzo(a)pyrene emissions are regularly exceeded throughout Silesia, which has a total of 3.3 million residents.
OBJECTIVES
The aim of the LIFE-IP AQP-SILESIAN-SKY project is the efficient and effective implementation of the Air Quality Plan (AQP), adopted by the Silesian Regional Assembly in 2020, with the main specific objectives:
- Development and implementation of corrective measures leading to the overall improvement in the quality of air, through significant replacement of small-scale solid-fuel heating devices (below 1 MW) used in the domestic and municipal sectors (the main source of the problem in Silesia);
- Development of institutional capacity, regional advisory support system and regional information platform for improving the overall air quality (creation of a local network of well-informed ‘Eco-managers’ operating at municipal and sub-regional level);
- Development of sustainable building models (SBM) reducing the environmental impact of public utility buildings;
- Implementation of Green Infrastructure (GI) in targeted degraded areas;
- Development of know-how, tools, methods and demonstration actions that can reinforce and facilitate the implementation of the AQP and the European Green Deal both in Silesia, its neighbouring cross-border regions, as well as in other regions of Poland;
- Raising environmental awareness among different target groups with regard to the methods and technologies used in the reduction of low-stack emissions (including their cost-effectiveness and environmental impact), both in Silesia and neighbouring regions;
- Transfer of good practices to other regions of Poland and elsewhere in the EU.
Cooperation among Poland, Slovakia and Czechia partners will include study visits related to the reduction of transport emissions, transfer of good practices, analyses of possibilities to implement Sustainable Building Models (SBM) in other regions of transboundary area, information and education campaigns.
The project contributes to the implementation of the EU Ambient Air Quality Directive. The main driver of the "Air Quality Plan for the Silesian Voivodeship" (AQP) was the sentence of the EU Court of Justice dated 22 February 2018. The document was developed in reaction to numerous exceedances of air quality standards and benzo(a)pyrene emission limits in Silesia in 2018 and was legally accepted by the Silesian Regional Assembly on 22 June 2020.
Ιn addition to the IP budget itself, the project will facilitate the coordinated use of more than EUR 3.5 billion of complementary funding from: European Funds for Silesia 2021-2027 (EUR 467 million), Just Transition Fund for Silesia (EUR 322 million), national Clean Air Programme (EUR 2.25 billion) and private investments using the thermo-modernisation tax relief (EUR 490 million).
RESULTS
Expected results:
- Comprehensive, more efficient and effective implementation of the Air Quality Plan of Silesia:
- 15% greater reduction of air pollutant emissions, i.e. PM10, PM2.5, NO2, SO2 and benzo(a)pyrene, compared to non-project AQP implementation;
- 15% more boilers/furnaces replaced in Silesia during the project`s implementation (increase by 19 508 pcs);
- 3 744 educational activities related to air protection carried out by the project`s eco-managers;
- 50 drone inspection actions carried out in Silesian municipalities;
- 1 123 000 citizens of Silesia with raised awareness of the legal obligation to reduce their negative impact on air quality;
- 149 564 households in Silesia with changed behaviour to a more environmentally-friendly approach to domestic heating;
- 4 specialised documents/reports developed as part of the project for dissemination among other regional and local governments;
- Establishment of a professional network of eco-managers covering all 167 municipalities of the Silesian Voivodeship;
- Development of the Sustainable Building Models and demonstration of their implementation in 5 locations; and
- Development of the Green Infrastructure Models and demonstration of their implementation in 4 locations.
