Air pollution has a negative impact on human health, the environment and the climate. It is responsible for around 440,000 premature deaths in the European Union and the estimated cost to society is between EUR 330 billion to EUR 940 billion. According to data from the European Commission, 44.000 people in Poland die prematurely every year due to air pollution.
In the Opolskie Voivodeship, air quality limits have also been exceeded for many years. The analysis of the atmospheric air quality shows that PM10, PM2.5 and the target levels of benzo-a-pyrene (BaP) were exceeded, both in the city of Opole and the Opole region. The main source of exceedances of PM10, PM2.5 and BaP is individual heating of households.
LIFE AQP project entitled “IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IN THE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS OF THE OPOLE VOIVODSHIP” LIFE_AQP_OPOLSKIE_2019.PL – LIFE19 GIE/PL/000398
The LIFE AQP project coordinated by the Opolskie Voivodeship involves a total of 43 co-beneficiaries and 8 partners. The value of the project is approximately EUR 3 million (approximately PLN 13 million), of which EU funding from the LIFE Program is approximately PLN 7 million, and co-financing from the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management is approximately PLN 5 million. The project will be implemented in the period from October 2020 to September 2022.
THE MAIN OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT is:
Increasing the capacity and improve the quality of public administration of the Opole Voivodeship at all levels in relation to remedial actions set out in the air quality plan (AQP), through:
- Organization and implementation of the unified management system, supporting the AQP implementation
- Increasing public awareness, in the field of air quality, by enhancing the involvement of local governments, society, NGOs and local entities in taking remedial activities supporting the actions in the field of AQP.
The project’s specific goals include:
- Preparation and maintenance of a platform for cooperation of partners.
- Increasing the efficiency, effectiveness and quality of service for residents by implementing the AQP management system.
- Expanding available information on air quality by integration and increasing the existing air quality monitoring system with measuring data that is collected in almost real time consistently in many places.
- Integration, development and sharing of the environmental information system in the Opolskie Voivodeship.
- Increasing the involvement of the public, non-governmental organizations and local entities in the implementation of remedial tasks resulting from the AQP through implementation of information and education activities.
- Improve monitoring of the implementation status of AQP and control of its compliance with fulfilling the tasks required by AQP.
