The Czech Republic is still struggling with poor air quality. Immission limits have not been respected in parts of the country for a long time and in some regions they are significantly exceeded, which has a negative impact on the health of the population. Although the proportion of the Czech population living in areas with poor air quality is declining, there were still more than one million people living there in 2022. Between 2014 and 2022, boiler subsidies for the replacement of non-compliant boilers in households also contributed to reducing pollution. Subsidies aimed at reducing emissions from industry made only a minimal contribution to reducing the volume of harmful pollutants such as sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emitted. This was shown by an audit of the SAO, which examined CZK 16.2 billion spent between 2014 and 2022 from the state budget and the EU on projects aimed at improving air quality. According to the SAO, the Ministry of the Environment (MoE) spent up to CZK 103.5 million on air quality projects. CZK 103 million spent on dust control in industry was not used.
The Ministry of Environment supported 111,000 replacements of non-compliant boilers in households with CZK 12.7 billion. These replacements have contributed to improving air quality and reducing dependence on fossil fuels. Between 2014 and 2022, boiler subsidies contributed to an 18% reduction in the volume of dust particles emitted. Thus, the SAO assessed the funds spent on replacing substandard household heating sources with boilers with lower pollutant emissions as efficient. However, at the time the SAO audit was completed, more than 150,000 non-compliant Class 1 and 2 boilers were still in operation. A ban on the operation of these boilers has been in force since September this year.
Households are the main source of air pollution from dust particles and benzo(a)pyrene (B(a)P). When people are exposed to dust particles for long periods of time, it leads to an increase in their mortality. B(a)P is produced by incomplete combustion and has been shown to be carcinogenic.
The Ministry of the Environment spent a total of CZK 2.9 billion on reducing emissions from industry between 2014 and 2022. Although industry is a significant source of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide air pollution, the SAO found that the funds spent contributed only minimally - less than one per cent - to reducing these emissions. The SAO auditors also found that the Ministry of the Environment spent as much as EUR 103.5 million on emissions of air pollutants. The Ministry of Environment spent CZK 103 million intended for dust reduction in industry on purchases of equipment whose main purpose was not to reduce dust. These were mainly wheel loaders.
In 2015, the Czech government approved the objective: to achieve compliance with the immission limits in the Czech Republic set by Czech and EU legislation in 2020. During the audit, the SAO found that this target had not been met by the deadline. In that year and in the following years, some immission limits continued to be significantly exceeded, especially in the Moravian-Silesian, Olomouc and Zlín regions, which has a negative impact on the health of the population. Deteriorating air quality is a Europe-wide problem. According to the European Environment Agency, air pollution is the biggest environmental health risk in Europe.
In the course of the audit, the SAO carried out a survey of beneficiaries of subsidies for the replacement of heating sources in households quantitative research. It showed, among other things, that up to 47 % respondents were unlikely to purchase a new heating source if the subsidy for changing the heating source was not available. The survey confirmed that one of the main motivations for acquiring a new heating source was the possibility of drawing on the subsidy.
SAO/ gnews - RoZ
ILLUSTRATIVE PHOTO - pixabay
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