Air protection programmes in Poland in the context of the low emission

The protection of the air against pollutants from individual boiler plants is a big challenge in Poland. It results mainly from the preference for coal, the national energy carrier, the use of old low-efficiency boilers and the location of Poland in a temperate climate where the heating period lasts at least 5 months. This article presents a wide range of activities aimed at the reduction of the environmental impact of the emissions of pollutants from individual heat sources—the so-called low emission. The article presents the extent of the national legislation resulting from the European Union regulations. It discusses the assumptions of the air protection programmes (APPs) and the low emission reduction programmes (LERPs). The assumptions mentioned above are analysed as part of a life cycle assessment (LCA) analysis and a multi-criterion analysis. An important result of these analyses (in the Polish conditions) is the conclusion that a boiler fired with large pieces of wood is an optimal solution from the economic and ecological points of view. The article proposes systemic, organisational and legislative solutions whose implementation could contribute to raising the effectiveness of the protection of the atmosphere.