One in three Poles use coal to heat homes: poll

It is estimated that coal prices in Poland increased by 6.5 percent in the winter of 2017/2018 compared to the same period a year earlier, according to Poland’s PAP news agency.

The agency added that experts estimate prices will grow a further 11.5 percent by the end of the 2018/2019 heating season.

PAP also said some of those polled by Kantar TNS blamed the increase in coal prices on the Polish government’s Clean Air programme, which aims to tackle the problem of air pollution in Poland.

Eighty percent of Poland’s gross energy consumption comes from coal.

Poland’s Energy Ministry in November last year said the country is to reduce coal use to 30% of its energy mix by 2040.

The Clean Air programme is also aimed at co-funding expenses incurred in connecting houses to the electric heating grid, replacing coal-fired stoves with more eco-friendly boilers, insulating homes and purchasing solar panels.

According to a report by the World Health Organisation (WHO), 33 of Europe's 50 most polluted cities are in Poland. The WHO also estimates that around 50,000 Poles die every year due to illness caused by air pollution.

(tf/pk)