Alternative Policies for the Control of Air Pollution in Poland

Like other Central European countries, Poland faces the twin challenges of improving environmental quality while also promoting economic development. This study examines the cost of achieving alternative emission standards and the savings in abatement cost that might be achieved with policies that rely on economic incentives rather than with rigid " command and control " measures. The focus is primarily on three pollutants arising from energy combustion - particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide - although carbon dioxide emissions also are tracked. A central element of the analysis is a dynamic model of least-cost energy supply in Poland that allows examination at a national level of effects of different pollution standards and policies.