In 2022, European Environment Agency released a list of 20 most polluted cities in Europe It turned out that as many as 12 of them are located in Poland. These include Nowy Sącz, Piotrków Trybunalski, Łomża, Żory, Kraków, Gliwice, Zgierz, Tarnów, Katowice, Częstochowa, Bielsko-Biała and Kalisz.

This is why an increasing number of cities in Poland are introducing Clean Transport Zones (Polish: Strefy Czystego Transportu, SCT). In this way, they want to reduce the levels of exhaust fumes in the air, which are dangerous for humans. Warsaw has now announced that it will not allow diesel cars older than 19 years in the city.

In the beginning of 2023 Warsaw announced a project to introduce Clean Transport Zones in the city. According to the plan, SCTs will come into force as early as July 2024. They would cover the city centre and parts of the central districts of the Polish capital.

This will mean that cars not meeting the Euro 4 standard (older than 19 years of age) and petrol vehicles not meeting the Euro 2 standard (older than 28 years of age) will not be allowed to enter the designated areas in Warsaw. As we read on ekologia.pl, such cars constitute about 3% of all cars on the capital's roads today, and are responsible for more than 20% of traffic air pollution.

Critics of the SCTs idea say that if the project comes into force, it will interfere with everyone's property rights. However, it is worth stressing that the SCTs are only intended to make the quality of the air we all breathe better. The WHO regularly stresses that breathing in exhaust fumes can damage the brain, cause asthma and even lead to death.

"The argument of the SCTs opponents saying that they are trying to take away their freedom [...] is unfair and very easy to refute. If I am a passer-by standing in the lanes and seeing a smelly diesel moving off at traffic lights, I don't agree with such a driver's freedom. Why does he think he has the right to pollute me and my children with exhaust fumes? It is us, passers-by, who suffer from these exhaust fumes. An argument that someone cannot afford a 15-year old car is ridiculous, because such a car can be purchased for as little as PLN 8-10 thousand (€1700-2200). These are not prohibitive costs for an average resident. Especially if we know that such a ban will enter into force nationwide in the long term," Piotr Siergiej, a spokesman for the Polish Smog Alarm, told eNewsroom.pl.