New clean transport zones in cities
Suggested by Ministry of Climate and Environment changes in Act on electromobility and alternative fuels predict that cities with a population of over 100 thousand inhabitants, where the permissible average annual level is exceeded NO2 pollutionwill be required to establish a clean transport zone. They will have six months to do so from the date of submission by the Chief Inspector of Environmental Protection of the first report containing information on exceeding the standards.
Another proposed regulation imposes an obligation to purchase only zero emission buses for public transport by communes with more than 100,000 inhabitants, the Upper Silesian-Zagłębie Metropolis and entities commissioned or entrusted with the performance of road passenger transport as part of public transport within the area of a commune with more than 100,000 inhabitants or a metropolitan association.
Public services without vehicle segregation
The project also assumes the abolition of a number of existing regulations. The obligation to perform, commission or entrust the performance of a public task while ensuring an appropriate share of electric or natural gas-powered vehicles by local governments with more than 50,000 residents is to be abolished.
The obligation to use a certain share of zero-emission or biomethane-powered buses in public transport in local governments with more than 50,000 inhabitants will also be abolished.
As stated in the justification, the obligations imposed in 2018 are not being implemented due to the high cost of purchasing and operating low- and zero-emission vehicles, which in many cases exceeds the budgetary possibilities of local government units and entities.
Conditions for payments from the National Reconstruction Plan
In the Regulatory Impact Assessment, the Ministry of Climate points out that the introduction of these regulations implements two so-called milestones – the conditions for paying out money from the National Reconstruction Plan. These are milestone E1G: “Entry into force of the act introducing the obligation to purchase only low-emission and zero-emission buses in cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants starting in 2025”, and milestone E1L for the loan part of the KPO: “Entry into force of the legal act introducing the obligation to create low-emission zones for selected most polluted cities”. As emphasized in the OSR, the deadlines for implementing both of these milestones have already passed. (PAP)
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