Poland will borrow a further EUR 250 million (1.1 billion zloty) from World Bank to finance the government’s “Clean Air” programme, aimed at to tackling poor air quality by providing subsidies for households to upgrade to cleaner heating systems and improve insulation.
“We have signed an agreement with the World Bank for EUR 250 million to finance the Clean Air Programme,” announced finance minister Andrzej Domanski after participating in the spring meeting of governors of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
Domanski revealed he had also discussed the challenges facing the global economy, including growing inequality, with World Bank President Ajay Banga.
Previously, in 2021, the World Bank lent Poland the same amount, EUR 250 million, towards the “Clean Air” scheme, which was first launched in 2018 by the former Law and Justice (PiS) government.
With a budget of budget of 103 billion zloty (EUR 22.5 billion) for the period 2018-2029, the programme is supposed to be the largest of its kind in Europe. The majority of its financing comes from a combination of the national budget and EU funds.
It was introduced in response to Poland having some of the continent’s worst air pollution, which causes tens of thousands of premature deaths annually. The burning of coal, which is far more common in Poland than in other European countries, is seen as the primary cause.
The programme allows homeowners to receive subsidies to, for example, replace old coal-fired heaters with cleaner alternatives. It has been gradually expanded over the years to offer larger grants for a wider range of products, such as heat pumps.
As of the middle of last year, the programme had received 680,000 applications for a total of 17 billion zloty (EUR 3.93 billion) of funding.
Earlier this month, the Climate Ministry, which oversaw the scheme, announced that the number of applications had since rise to 832,000, of which 690,000 had received approval. (Notes from Poland)
