WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland is to receive a 250 million euro ($282.93 million) loan from the World Bank to help households replace coal heating and get their homes insulated, the bank said on Thursday.
Smog is a major problem in Poland, with coal heating in households responsible for much of the country’s air pollution which World Bank estimates say kill 46,000 Poles every year.
“Our ambition over the next five years of our partnership is to support both the decarbonisation of the heating sector as well as the programme’s inclusion and pace,” said Gallina A. Vincelette, the World Bank’s country director for the European Union.
The World Bank has previously provided financing or advice on air quality to countries including China, India, Peru, Egypt, Chile and Mexico.
($1 = 0.8836 euros)
(Reporting by Alan Charlish and Pawel Florkiewicz; Editing by Susan Fenton)