Evaluation of development directions of low-carbon economy in the Nowy Targ commune

INFRASTRUKTURA I EKOLOGIA TERENÓW WIEJSKICH INFRASTRUCTURE AND ECOLOGY OF RURAL AREAS No III/1/2018, POLISH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, Cracow Branch, pp. 673-685 Commission of Technical Rural Infrastructure DOI: https://doi.org/10.14597/INFRAECO.2018.3.1.046 EVALUATION OF DEVELOPMENT DIRECTIONS OF LOW-CARBON ECONOMY IN THE NOWY TARG COMMUNE Agnieszka Petryk Cracow University of Economics Abstract The article presents an analysis of pro-ecological activities undertaken by the Commune Council of Nowy Targ in order to reduce low emission, and consequently to introduce a broadly understood low-carbon economy in this area. The commune aims at abandoning fossil fuels in favor of cleaner and safer methods of obtaining energy, which is to contribute to the reduction of PM10 and PM2.5 particulate matter emissions. In the nationwide arena, the commune was awarded in activities leading to the liquidation of low-emission as part of the competition for communes with a population up to 50,000 inhabitants and taking the second place in Poland in the „Gmina z Misją” ranking. The town of Nowy Targ was also the laureate of the fourth edition of the „#ekoLIDERZY2017 of the Małopolska Province” contest organized by the Provincial Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management in Krakow (WFOŚiGW) and won the prize of PLN 20,000 in the category of „#ekoPRZEDSIĘWZIĘCIE” in the field of air protection and investments contributing to energy savings. In the commune, interventional and preventive inspections are carried out on an ongoing basis. In January 2017, the mayor appointed an advisory team for the analysis of the degree of implementation of actions in the field of air protection in the area of Nowy Targ. Keywords: low-emission, pollution, PM10 particulate matter, SO2, air quality, low-carbon economy This is an open access article under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licences/by-nc-nd/4.0/) 673 Agnieszka Petryk INTRODUCTION Currently, the low-emission threat in Polish cities/towns is very high and concerns almost every city/town in the Małopolska region. House heating furnaces and local coal-fired boiler rooms where low-grade coal or its derivatives are burned are the main source of low emission (Sztuka 2017). The problem of air quality in our country, especially violations of the permissible concentration standards of individual toxicants, was noticed by the European Union, which is associated with the risk of serious economic consequences for non-compliance with the EU law in this area (Budnikowski 2000). So far the measures implemented to improve air quality in Poland have not produced the expected results. Immediate elimination of all low power heating devices which utilize solid fuels is out of the question. The implementation process of modern heating systems, including, inter alia, massive use of gas heating and the use of system heat is long-term, and their application to the conditions of households and industry in Poland will last at least a dozen or so years (Stelmach et al. 2017). Improving air quality is a systemic and economic problem. Individual communes in Poland, among which the Nowy Targ commune is an expressive example, have undertaken intensive actions aimed at solving the low-emission problem. These local governments develop numerous low-emission reduction programs aimed not only at environmental education and at identifying the needs and expectations of residents, but also at obtaining financial support for households in costs incurred as part of thermo-modernization or replacement of boilers (Dzikuć 2017). Considering the reasons for low-emission, it should be noted that they often result from purely economic reasons. The current financial situation of a large number of households means that they often have insufficiently insulated buildings, use low-grade coal in boiler rooms and drive cars that do not meet current ecological standards (Dzikuć 2017). Among all listed air toxicants, the highest concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 particulate matter are of the utmost peril (Sadowski et al. 2017). Particulates are pollutants coming from both anthropogenic and natural sources. Fine particulates can be transported over long distances and pollute the air in regions distant from emission sources. Emission changes do not always translate into changes in particulate matter concentrations in the air, inter alia, due to the diversity of emitters and their variable activity, mechanisms of creating secondary particulate matter and transboundary transport, as well as due to the phenomenon of recurrent floating of particulate matter that previously settled on a surface (Degórska 2016). Low-emission concerns especially urban areas with dense and low-rise housing, where most houses are heated in the autumn and winter season mainly with low-quality solid fuel in the old type of household furnaces (Sad674 Evaluation of development directions... owski et al. 2017). This problem was noticed by Gryboś and Tomaszek (1997), who pointed out that the city with its buildings, squares and dense network of asphalt streets was a powerful solar heat accumulator in the lower troposphere. Cities as complex spatial and functional systems are characterized by an extremely high degree of nature transformation and high intensity of development, which creates a specific, almost completely anthropogenic living environment of their inhabitants (Paryska and Mierzejewska 2009). Sustainable development of a country requires emphasis on a harmonious combination of economic growth with the requirements of environmental protection. This will be one of the main development tasks for Poland in the next decade. Preservation of natural resources in no worse condition and increasing their durability as well as quality cannot be treated as a barrier to development. This is a prerequisite for further improvement of the quality of life, implementation of human access rights to the environment in good condition. In the past 20 years, significant successes in environmental protection have been observed. They consist in reducing pollutants discharged into surface water and air, overcoming the problem of industrial waste management, limiting the impact of persistent organic substances, eliminating threats to the biotic and abiotic environment from the industry. The quality of air in urban areas and the consequences of the so-called low emission from households and transportation (National Development Strategy 2020) remains a key problem. MATERIAL AND METHODS The following study evaluated pro-ecological activities in the Nowy Targ commune in the area of air quality protection against the effects of low emission. In March 2016, at the initiative of the Mayor of Nowy Targ, a container measuring station was installed to constantly examine the quality of atmospheric air in the town. The measurement results were systematically recorded by the Provincial Inspectorate for Environmental (...truncated)