Europe’s third most polluted city to use heat networks to tackle smog

Polish city Kracow, the country’s second largest, has announced plans to curtail its smog problem.

The Krakow council now says it will move ahead with plans for new district heating networks, and revamped public transit networks along with the introduction of an outright ban on coal use in households, offices, government buildings and restaurants after an amended Environmental Protection Act was signed by the country’s president, Andrzej Duda.

Mayor Jacek Majchrowski said he would also urge the Małopolska regional authority to follow Krakow’s lead and adopt the ban on solid fuels in heating. “We are hoping that local authorities elsewhere will start fighting air pollution as vigorously as we do in Krakow,” he said.

The European Environmental Agency has ranked Kracow the third most polluted city in Europe and its particulate matter (PM) pollution can reach six times the safe levels.

“We will concentrate our efforts on introducing in Krakow a ban on the use of coal in individual furnaces and boiler rooms,” said Majchrowski, the city’s mayor. “It will speed up the process of removing the coal stoves and replacing them with eco-friendly heating systems.”

Source: COSPP