Poland to get World Bank loan to improve air quality
The World Bank will lend Poland EUR 250 million to help it improve its air quality and energy efficiency, according to a bank communique issued on Thursday.
The money will go to support the Clean Air Priority Programme, which is being implemented by the Polish Ministry of Climate and Environment in cooperation with the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management.
"In this new project, the World Bank will support the scale-up of the Clean Air Priority Programme," the bank said in its statement.
"The programme offers assistance and incentives to owners of single-family buildings that rely on old, polluting boilers to replace them with cleaner, more efficient installations, and get their houses insulated."
According to the World Bank, the project "is the largest air quality and energy efficiency programme in Europe."
"In partnership with the Polish institutions and the European Commission, we helped lay the foundation for a universal, nationwide initiative for air quality improvement in Poland three years ago," the World Bank wrote.
Gallina A. Vincelette, the World Bank’s director for the European Union, was quoted as saying that "now we are reinforcing our cooperation, with a combination of financial and technical support designed to strengthen the Clean Air Priority Programme."
Poland has been struggling with air quality for years. According to international estimations, much of air pollution is generated by burning poor-quality fuel in single-family buildings.
