We are working to ensure better air quality for the residents of Krakow

The government has approved a draft amendment to the Act on Electromobility and Alternative Fuels for further work. The proposal, which will be sent to the Sejm, stipulates that in the case of cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants, the establishment of a Clean Transport Zone will be mandatory if the legal limit for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations is exceeded.

Upon adoption of these provisions by the Parliament, Krakow will be obliged by law to create a Clean Transport Zone, as the legal norms for annual average NO2 concentrations, set at 40 µg/m³, have been exceeded for many years.

The requirement for the Clean Transport Zone is based on recorded concentrations of NO2, as combustion vehicles are the most responsible for the presence of this substance in the air we breathe while walking on the street or simply in our homes. According to an analysis by the Supreme Audit Office, 76 percent of all nitrogen oxides breathed by Krakow residents come from cars driving through the city, with other major emitters being industry and thermal power plants, although in the latter cases the emissions are dispersed over a larger area.

The decommissioning of coal-fired boilers in Krakow has been an excellent tool to reduce the presence of particulates or benzo(a)pyrene, but it has done little to reduce the amount of nitrogen oxides in Krakow’s air. Only a reduction in car engine emissions can therefore improve the situation.