Extended range of LIFE IP Malopolska

59 municipalities in Malopolska and one association of municipalities declared their participation as co-beneficiaries of LIFE integrated project LIFE “Implementation of the Air Quality Plan for Małopolska Region – Małopolska in a healthy atmosphere”.

Due to lack of grant from the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management, the partners were faced with the need to increase its financial participation in the project budget. In this situation, 10 municipalities and Energy Savings Company ESCO have to resign from participation in the project.

At the same time 31 new municipalities declared their willingness to join the project and participate in the key actions to improve air quality in Małopolska.

Implementation of the project will depend on the outcome of negotiations with the European Commission, which must accept changes to the project partners.

On 9 March 2016 during the meeting of the Parliamentary Commission of Environmental Protection, Natural Resources and Forestry, was a discussion on the implementation and financing of the LIFE integrated project “Implementation of the Air Quality Plan for the Małopolska Region – Małopolska in a healthy atmosphere.”

Wojciech Kozak, Deputy Marshal of the Małopolska Region stressed the need to take urgent and concrete action in the fight for clean air, especially in Małopolska, where the air quality is far from acceptable standards. He stressed that the assessment of the LIFE IP Małopolska as the best of all 39 projects submitted to the European Commission, is a success of the region, and implementation of the project is necessary to achieve the objectives of the Air Quality Plan. The need of the project implementation was supported by Witold Śmiałek – Advisor to the President of Krakow and Members of the National Parliament.

Approval for the project expressed Mariusz Gajda, Deputy State Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, who acknowledged the initiative of Małopolska Region as useful. He stressed, however, that the National Fund is not able to provide financial support to the project in the form of grants and the only form of assistance may be low interest loan.

Meeting transmission on the Polish Parliament website