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The OECD Environmental Performance Review Programme provides independent assessments of countries’ progress in achieving their domestic and international environmental policy commitments, together with policy relevant recommendations. They are conducted to promote peer learning, to enhance governments’ accountability to each other and to the public, and to improve countries’ environmental performance, individually and collectively. The reviews are supported by a broad range of economic and environmental data. Each cycle of the Environmental Performance Reviews covers all OECD member countries and selected partner countries. The most recent reviews include: Iceland (2014), Sweden (2014), Colombia (2014).
This report is the third OECD review of Poland’s environmental performance. It evaluates progress towards sustainable development and green growth, with a focus on forestry and biodiversity, as well as waste and materials management.
This third OECD Environmental Performance Review of Poland assesses progress achieved since the last review carried out in 2003, the year before Poland joined the European Union. It shows that EU membership not only stimulated the economy, but it also supported improved environmental management and enhanced the quality of life of Poland’s citizens. Environmental policies and institutions were strengthened. Increased investment extended access to water, sanitation and other environmental services and helped to reduce pollution.
Poland has recently undertaken major reforms of its waste management policies. This chapter examines trends in materials use and waste generation, as well as related policy and institutional frameworks. It discusses the reform of municipal waste management and investment in treatment facilities. It also analyses the performance of extended producer responsibility programmes and reviews progress in managing industrial, hazardous and construction waste. Opportunities for strengthening policy instruments, including economic instruments, are identified and progress in remediating contaminated sites is examined.
This chapter provides a snapshot of key environmental trends in Poland over the period since 2000, and describes progress towards green growth. It shows the positive impact that Poland’s accession to the EU has had on living standards and environmental performance. The chapter describes Poland’s progress in reducing the carbon, energy and material intensities of its economy; in managing its natural asset base; and in improving its people’s environmental quality of life.
Since its accession to the European Union in 2004, Poland has experienced impressive economic growth. This has allowed living standards and environmental performance to improve. Supported by EU funds, increased investment in infrastructure has extended access to water services. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, waste generation, water withdrawal and emissions of several air pollutants have been decoupled from economic growth. More than half of Polish citizens consider the state of the environment in their neighbourhood to be good. However, Poland’s GDP per capita still ranks among the bottom five OECD countries, and economic and environmental disparities remain within and among regions. The Polish economy is among the most resource- and carbon-intensive in the OECD due to heavy reliance on coal. In 2012, average air concentrations of health-damaging fine particulate matter were the highest in Europe.
Poland’s new strategic framework provides opportunities and risks for promoting more coherence between environmental and other policies. This chapter analyses the Polish environmental governance system, including mechanisms for horizontal and vertical co‐ordination. It reviews the regulatory framework for environmental management, including for environmental impact assessment and permitting, as well as enforcement and compliance assurance activities. The promotion of environmental democracy through access to information and public participation in decision making is also discussed.
This chapter examines the use of taxes and other pricing instruments to pursue environmental objectives, and progress in removing fiscal incentives that can encourage environmentally harmful activities. It reviews the role of Poland’s environmental funds and EU support in environmentally related investment. It also examines incentives and barriers to stimulate investment in clean energy and sustainable transport. Finally, Poland’s initiatives to promote eco-innovation and environmental goods and services are reviewed.
Forests in Poland are an important source of income and valuable repositories of biodiversity. This chapter examines Poland’s institutional and policy framework for integrating forestry and biodiversity policies and the key role played by State Forests in managing public forests. It analyses the instruments adopted, progress achieved and further efforts needed for the conservation and sustainable use of forests and forest biodiversity. It also examines how biodiversity and forestry objectives have been mainstreamed into other key policy areas, such as agriculture and land-use planning, and provides recommendations for a more co-ordinated and coherent policy framework.