Clean transport zone in Wrocław. Obligation postponed

• According to the Electromobility Act, Wrocław would have to introduce a Clean Transport Zone in 2025 if nitrogen dioxide concentration measurements exceeded statutory standards. However, this did not happen.
• The above-mentioned act is not, however, the only legal act that the city authorities should take into account.
• According to the regional air protection programme, the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship is obliged to introduce SCT by the end of July 2026.

- For now, we do not know whether Wrocław will be obliged to introduce a clean transport zone (CCT) - admits the local city office.

The published results regarding nitrogen dioxide concentrations - although optimistic - clearly differ from those from previous years. If it turns out that this is a one-time fluctuation, related for example to weather conditions, and the norm is exceeded again in subsequent years, Wrocław will not avoid the obligation to introduce a clean transport zone. The office has formally asked the councillors whether work on introducing SCT should be continued.

The air quality assessment is published by GIOŚ every year at the end of April. If it were to indicate that the average annual concentration of nitrogen dioxide in Wrocław is exceeded, the city council would be obliged to pass a resolution to establish a Clean Transport Zone by the end of the year in which the document is published.

The Office also reminds that from 2030, a twice as stringent standard for nitrogen dioxide will be in force, and meeting it without taking action early enough may be very difficult.

There is also the aspect of scoring in competitions for EU funds for the development of public transport. For this reason, the topic of the zone is also discussed in other cities that are not obliged to establish it, such as Szczecin or Głogów. Therefore, after the last amendment to the regulations, Wrocław officials also began preparing the assumptions of the draft resolution, which were discussed in January in the structures of the city council.

As already mentioned, Wrocław is not obliged to introduce SCT this year, but only in the context of the wording of the provisions of the act on electromobility. However, we must not forget about regional regulations, and specifically about the "Air Protection Program for the Lower Silesian Voivodeship".

The program adopted by the Regional Assembly includes a number of corrective actions aimed at improving air quality in the province. One of these actions is the creation of a Clean Transport Zone in Wrocław. It is to be established by July 31, 2026, regardless of the results of air quality measurements.

According to lawyers, failure to meet the obligation resulting from the regional environmental protection program may result in a fine for Wrocław in the amount of PLN 500,000. The fine may be imposed by WIOŚ.

In the aforementioned letter to councillors, officials announced that they would ask the regional council to update the "Air Protection Programme" so that the city would not be obliged to introduce SCT.

The city began preparations for the introduction of the zone three years ago. At that time, the then government had already announced that it was seeking to impose an obligation to implement such zones in the largest cities in Poland. Such an obligation was also included in the National Reconstruction Plan. Therefore, in June 2022, at the request of the city, research was carried out to determine the structure and emissions of the fleet of vehicles traveling in the area of ​​​​Wrocław's Śródmieście.