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Environmental Change and Management

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Three Decades of Polish Socio-Economic Transformations

Part of the book series: Economic Geography ((ECOGEO))

Abstract

The disastrous state of the environment in Poland has been one of the critical factors stimulating political, economic and social changes. How to turn away from real socialism in Poland was discussed at the ‘Round Table’, and one of the negotiating groups dealt exclusively with environmental protection issues. The transformation of the economy resulted in eliminating the most burdensome industrial plants and reducing industrial pressure on the environment. The national and regional environmental protection and water management funds enabled allocating a large portion of public funding to environmental protection. The association and the accession negotiations with the European Union (EU) involved harmonising environmental protection law with EU regulations. Accession to the EU further gave impetus to profound changes. On the one hand, it stimulated in-depth amendments in the law, and on the other hand, it brought a large influx of EU funds to support the reduction of environmental pressure. The transition period was generally a time for improving the quality of the environment, but new challenges are now emerging. Climate change is one of them. Poland has achieved a considerable reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, thanks to the in-depth restructuring of its economy; however, the decarbonisation of the economy has slowed down in recent years. There is also a growing social pressure on the government to implement effective measures in terms of air protection. The transition to a circular economy requires a reduction in the material consumption of the Polish economy, as well as an improvement in waste management, which is currently proceeding relatively slowly.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Human Geography and Planning, Adam Mickiewicz University, B. Krygowskiego 10, 61-608, Poznań, Poland

    Andrzej Mizgajski & Małgorzata Stępniewska

Authors
  1. Andrzej Mizgajski
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  2. Małgorzata Stępniewska
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Correspondence to Andrzej Mizgajski .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Human Geography and Planning, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poznań, Poland

    Paweł Churski

  2. Faculty of Human Geography and Planning, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poznań, Poland

    Tomasz Kaczmarek

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Mizgajski, A., Stępniewska, M. (2022). Environmental Change and Management. In: Churski, P., Kaczmarek, T. (eds) Three Decades of Polish Socio-Economic Transformations. Economic Geography. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06108-0_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06108-0_15

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