Thirteen ministries, including the Ministry of Environment, presented their support programmes. The participants talked about activities concerning housing infrastructure, social infrastructure, professional activation, infrastructure and activities in the area of education and culture. During the conference, Vice-Minister Małgorzata Golińska talked about the key principles and assumptions of the Clean Air Programme.

Clean air is our priority, and we are going to allocate 103 billion PLN to this cause over the course of the next 10 years. This is a great amount of funding, thanks to which the inhabitants of rural areas will not only have the opportunity to replace their current heat sources, but also to insulate their homes and thus reduce their heating bills, said Vice-Minister Golińska.

She also presented up-to-date information concerning the implementation of the programme: The aim of the programme is to significantly improve air quality in Poland over the course of the upcoming few years. The programme will cover approximately 4 million homes. In the Lubuskie Voivodeship, the total amount requested in the submitted applications has already exceeded 10 million PLN. The money will soon reach the beneficiaries either in the form of a loan or a grant. The poorest applicants can count on a subsidy covering up to 90% of all costs, she added.

The President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Duda, also met with the participants of the conference. In his assuring speech, he said: We focus on sustainable, equitable development of the country, we want to be a modern, strong and innovative country in order to ensure the conditions for the development of its inhabitants, said President Andrzej Duda.

Thank you very much once again for organising this conference. Ladies and gentlemen, it is indeed an exceptional situation that thirteen ministries – including three ministers, as well as my colleagues – are here today, and thirteen ministries in total are involved in the programme of this conference, which presents the prospects for people living in rural areas, the President summed up.

About the conference

The series of conferences entitled Prospects for the Rural Population is a project that aims to present activities undertaken by the state to improve the quality of life of the inhabitants of rural areas in Poland. It is also an opportunity for a joint discussion with local authorities, who have the opportunity to present their proposals and requests.