Summary of LIFE Malopolska – September 2021

Main events

• On 27 September, during the XLV remote session of the Sejmik of the Małopolskie Voivodeship, local anti-smog resolutions were adopted for the communes of Niepołomice, Krzeszowice, Skawina, Rabka Zdrój, Czarny Dunajec, and the cities of Oświęcim and Nowy Targ. The local anti-smog resolutions introduce a complete ban on burning coal as of 1 January 2030, and a ban on installing new coal-fired equipment as of the beginning of 2022.
• Marshal Office of Malopolska Region summarized the activities of municipalities in the implementation of the Air Protection Program for Malopolska Region in the first half of the year 2021. Liszki, Wieliczka and Nowy Targ turned out to be the leaders in replacing the old heating co-fires.
• On 7 and 8 September in the Slovak town Banská Bystrica an international conference Effective Air Quality Management 2021 was held. Invited guests addressed the issues of air quality, including its monitoring and implementation of tools to improve it. The conference was attended by Mr. Tomasz Pietrusiak – Deputy Director of the Department of Environment.
• The Clean Air Regions Boot Camp workshop organized by Western Balkans Green Center took place from September 8 to 9. Topics included the state of air quality in Europe, reduction of pollution and public involvement in the fight for clean air. The conference was attended by Mr. Tomasz Pietrusiak – Deputy Director of the Department of Environment, who discussed the tasks of local governments to accelerate the replacement of inefficient heating sources in Małopolska.
• From 4 to 19 September, the RMF FM radio station conducted a campaign promoting educational and informational activities, which included the introduction of an anti-smog resolution and its impact on the region’s inhabitants. At the same time, information was provided on where to look for subsidies, assistance of eco-advisors and interviews were held with satisfied residents of the voivodship, who have already benefited from this assistance and contributed to the improvement of air quality and comfort of living.
• Since September 15, six local radio stations broadcast the social campaign. The event included airing radio spots on air protection issues.
• On 27 September, through the Webex platform, a training was held for representatives of municipalities, employees of social welfare centers, eco-advisors, energy advisors and substantive staff related to the topic of energy poverty.
• On September 29 a meeting concerning the Clean Air Priority Program was held. The meeting was a workshop, during which representatives of each invited municipality presented potential problems related to the interest in the Clean Air Programme and reasons for the low number of applications submitted by inhabitants.
• The 3rd edition of the international conference C4E Forum – The Central and Eastern European Energy Efficiency Forum – was held from 21 to 24 September in the city of Poiana Brasov, Romania. The theme of the conference concerned energy efficiency, but one of the aspects discussed was also the issue of air protection. Representatives of the Office of the Marshal of the Environment and the Cracow Smog Alarm took part in the panel discussion entitled “The nexus of energy efficiency, air quality and health”, during which they shared with the conference participants their experiences concerning improvement of air quality in Małopolska, as well as increasing the energy efficiency of residential buildings as one of the effects of implementing actions in the region.
• On September 30, an application was submitted for Phase IV of the LIFE Integrated Project “Implementation of the Air Protection Programme for the Małopolska Region – Malopolska in a healthy atmosphere”.
• Eco-managers distributed in total over 39 thousand information and educational materials and gave over 11 thousand pieces of advice to inhabitants of Malopolska.

C.1. Eco-managers

Advice and assistance to residents

In September, Eco-managers employed under the LIFE program provided consulting assistance to the residents of Malopolska in the amount of:

• 4,783 people admitted to the office,
• 5,191 by phone,
• 306 in writing or by email,
• 1,301 during visits,

312 inspections were carried out at residents regarding waste incineration. Violations were found in 6 cases.

Surveys from residents and grant applications

Eco-managers were involved in collecting surveys from residents and reviewing grant applications.
September 2021:

• 277 surveys were collected from residents interested in applying for funding,
• 343 applications from residents or entities for funding were processed,
• 255 agreements were signed with residents or entities for funding and 292 such agreements were settled.

Eco-managers entered or updated data on 2,005 buildings in the heating database.

C.2 Competence Centre

List of low-emission heating appliances

The list of low-emission, ecodesign-compliant solid fuel heating equipment, available at www.powietrze.malopolska.pl, includes a total of 427 boilers and space heaters.

”Eco-intervention” application

As of September, 412 applications have been accepted. The application is available at https://ekomalopolska.pl/app/ekointerwencja/index.html.

You can specify:

• 285 air pollution reports,
• 84 illegal waste disposal,
• 43 involved sewage and waste discharges,

The hotline operated by the UMWM Competency Center responded to more than 250 phone calls.

Energy poverty analysis methodology training!

On 27th September a training for representatives of municipalities, employees of social welfare centers, eco-managers, energy advisors and technical staff related to energy poverty took place via the Webex platform. The meeting was organized in cooperation with the National Energy Conservation Agency and was an opportunity to get acquainted with the guidelines for the preparation of the energy poverty analysis, to which the municipalities were obliged according to the Air Protection Programme.

D1. Monitoring the effects of the implementation of the Air Protection Programme for Małopolskie Province (MPOP)

Marshal Office of Malopolska Region summarized the activities of municipalities in the implementation of the Air Protection Program for Malopolska Region in the first half of the year 2021. Actions in the discussed period were undertaken in our region in 150 municipalities, which in this way reduced emissions from inefficient boilers and furnaces and improved the quality of life of residents. In the first half of the year 3 493 inefficient sources of heat for solid fuels were replaced in Małopolska. Most of them were eliminated in the communes of Liszki (187), Wieliczka (132) and Nowy Targ (W) (116).

E1. Regional media campaign for clean air

From 4 to 19 September, the RMF FM radio station conducted a campaign promoting educational and informational activities, which included the introduction of an anti-smog resolution and its impact on the region’s inhabitants. At the same time, information was provided on where to look for subsidies, assistance of eco-managers and interviews were held with satisfied residents of the voivodship, who have already benefited from this assistance and contributed to the improvement of air quality and comfort of living.

Since September 15, six local radio stations broadcast the social campaign. The event included airing radio spots on air protection issues.

E.2 Local information and education activities on air protection

Educational materials on air protection

Eco-managers in municipalities:

• prepared 39,728 flyers and brochures and 297 posters,
• distributed 30,646 flyers and brochures and 572 posters,
• prepared 9,674 and distributed 8,271 other educational and promotional materials (promotional materials, leaflets related to the Clean Air Program).

Meetings & Events

Eco-managers have organized meetings and events:

• 9 competitions for children/youth with 2,045 participants,
• 42 school meetings attended by 2,792 people,
• 77 meetings with residents, attended by 1,549 people,
• 67 meetings with local leaders, totaling 550 people.
• 36 other air protection events attended by 12,422 people.

Use of media

Eco-managers in the municipalities have prepared:

• 20 articles in the press,
• 173 articles and online and social media posts,
• 13 times other media were used

and participated in media releases related to the project:

• 6 radio or TV broadcasts.

E3. Networking with other projects

Effective Air Quality Management 2021 – Slovakia

On 7 and 8 September this year, an international conference Effective Air Quality Management 2021 was held in the Slovak town Banská Bystrica. Invited guests addressed the issues of air quality, including its monitoring and implementation of tools for its improvement. It was an excellent opportunity to exchange experiences and good practices in the field of air protection. The representatives of the Slovak Republic, Czech Republic, Poland and other EU countries took part in the conference. Małopolska Region was represented by Mr. Tomasz Pietrusiak – Deputy Director of Environment Department, who presented the tasks of self-governments within implementation of Air Protection Programme for Małopolska Region.

The Clean Air Regions Boot Camp – Hungary

The Clean Air Regions Boot Camp workshop organized by Western Balkans Green Center took place from September 8 to 9. Topics included the state of air quality in Europe, pollution reduction and public involvement in the fight for clean air. Also discussed were programs to improve air quality in European countries. The conference was attended by Mr. Tomasz Pietrusiak – Deputy Director of the Department of Environment, who discussed the tasks of local governments aimed at accelerating the replacement of inefficient heating sources in Małopolska.

Meeting on the Clean Air Priority Program

On September 29 a meeting concerning the Clean Air Priority Program was held. The meeting was a workshop, during which representatives of each invited municipality presented potential problems related to the interest in the Clean Air Programme and reasons for the low number of applications submitted by inhabitants.

European Mobility Week 2021

From 16th to 22nd September within the framework of the Sustainable Transport Week in the municipalities of Malopolska voivodeship a number of related events took place. The aim is to promote environmentally friendly forms of mobility, such as public transport, cycling, walking and multimodal transport, i.e. combining different modes of transport. This year’s edition was held under the motto Safe and healthy through sustainable mobility. The motto draws attention to the difficulties Europe and the world have experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic and provides an opportunity to reflect on the potential for change arising from this unprecedented health crisis. The four main themes this year are: mental and physical health, safety and response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

C4E Forum – Central and Eastern Europe Energy Effumiciency For

The 3rd edition of the international conference C4E Forum – The Central and Eastern European Energy Efficiency Forum – was held from 21 to 24 September in the city of Poiana Brasov, Romania. The theme of the conference concerned energy efficiency, but one of the aspects discussed was also the issue of air protection. Representatives of the Municipality of the Małopolska Region and the Cracow Smog Alarm took part in the panel discussion entitled “The nexus of energy efficiency, air quality and health”, during which they shared with the conference participants their experiences concerning improvement of air quality in Małopolska and also increasing the energy efficiency of residential buildings as one of the effects of implementing actions in the region.

Academy of Clean Air 2021

As part of the #AcademyCleanAir webinar series, 3 meetings were held in September:

• September 16: “Clean Air” – environment, new rules, helpful tools.
• September 23: “The Clean Air Credit – How and where to use the banking pathway”.
• September 30: Incentives for municipalities in programs: “Clean Air” and “Stop Smog”.

F1. Project management

On September 30, an application was submitted for Phase IV of the LIFE Integrated Project “Implementation of the Air Protection Programme for the Małopolska Region – Małopolska in a healthy atmosphere”.