Facts and figures Sosnowiec is a city in southern Poland, 65km north-east of Kraków. It has a population of around 200,000 and is part of a larger conurbation of cities around south eastern Poland. Together, they form one of the largest urban areas in Europe.
Air pollution frontline
Sosnowiec is in the top 35 most polluted cities in Europe, according to the World Health Organisation. The city is above EU targets for air pollution for around four months of the year. In winter 2016 / 17 Sosnowiec has exceeded national PM2.5 limits by several hundred percent. Nationally, air pollution costs Poland € 101 billion a year because of the sickness and fatalities it causes, which is an astonishing 13 % of Poland’ s GDP.
What‘ s up, Sosnowiec?
In each edition of the newsletter, we will introduce one of
The main source of air pollution in Poland is easily identified. 42 % of air pollution comes from peoples’ homes- much of which is caused by burning fuels for heating.
Historical Sosnowiec
Sosnowiec is celebrating its 115th year anniversary in 2017. The city
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name is thought to come from“ sosny”, the Polish word for pine trees.
Data from: Passport to Trade 2.0; Wikipedia, Silesion. pl, Sosnowiec Town Hall and Statistica.
Amsterdam welcomes ClairCity
The November 2016 ClairCity project meeting took place in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The first day of the event included presentations from local and national government, input from a local citizen campaign, project partners and members of our External Advisory Board.
To an outsider, Amsterdam is remarkable for the sheer amount of bicycle traffic. Despite this, road transport( cars, but also delivery vehicles and tourist coaches) is a major cause of air pollution in the city.
To tackle air pollution and the health problems it causes, the city has implemented a range of innovative regulations, including“ low emissions zones,” and no primary schools and residences for older people are allowed to be built within 300m of a motorway – a rule that targets the protection of the most vulnerable. Amsterdam is a city with many advantages, but it still faces many challenges. The experience Amsterdam can share is invaluable for other cities and regions around the world.
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