Cezary PrzybylskiCezary Przybylski, Marshal of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, spoke at a press conference about possible and necessary measures to combat smog, together with Michał Jaros, a Member of the Polish Parliament, and Maciej Zathey, director of the Institute of Territorial Development. C. Przybylski:
Smog is a threat to the entire voivodeship, which is why we will fight it. To prepare properly for this effort, we will hold public consultations throughout the voivodeship with local governments and residents of the region. […]
For these measures to be effective, supporting instruments must be available, originating, for example, from the National Fund for Environmental Protection or government grants, so that the combustion system can be effectively changed [podkreślenie – „ii”], so that the entire cost of this effort does not fall on the region's residents.
The involvement of all residents of the voivodeship is to be crucial. Following public consultations, including with local governments, the Lower Silesian regional assembly is to adopt an anti-smog resolution. The authorities of Lower Silesia expect the consultations to last about a year.
Does this mean that regional officials will ban burning coal? As Malwina GadawaMalwina Gadawa of “Gazeta Wrocławska” wrote, the authorities of Lower Silesia do not rule out such a solution:
Marshal Cezary Przybylski does not conceal that, while working on new, so-called anti-smog regulations, the voivodeship authorities will want to draw on the experience of Małopolska. There, the regional assembly of Małopolska adopted a resolution concerning Kraków. It stipulated that from 1 January 2019, it would not be permitted to burn either coal or wood in homes in Kraków.
The “Gazeta Wrocławska” website has more about the possibility that UMWD may ban burning coal and wood. What do you think? We invite you to join the discussion.
UMWD/“Gazeta Wrocławska”/ii