Addressing mobile sources of air pollution in Poland: Emerging trends and policy options

In the brief transition to a market economy, Poland has experienced rapid growth in the number of private automobiles that has contributed to increasing mobile source emissions and urban congestion. Current projections indicate that the number of vehicles per capita will be comparable to many countries in Western Europe by 2010. Poland has recently adopted a number of measures to address simultaneously mobile source pollution and harmonise with the environmental directives of the European Union. Key measures adopted to date include reductions in the lead content of leaded fuels, incentives for greater use of unleaded fuel, reductions in sulphur content of fuels and requirements for catalytic converters to begin in 1995. Additional measures such as higher fuel and vehicle taxes and policies to limit vehicle access in city centres will be needed in the next decade.