09.01.2025.
The Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund, in cooperation with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Green Transition, will continue to finance investments in the green transition, with one of the priorities being projects that will directly contribute to the improvement of air quality. To this end, various programmes worth more than €220 million will be implemented this year and next.Of this amount, as much as 90 million euros will be provided for the co-financing of zero-emission vehicles for beneficiaries such as taxi services or delivery vehicles doing high mileage. Half of this amount - 45 million euros - will be in the form of grants, while the other remaining 45 million euros will be offered through other financial instruments such as loans.
Also, with an additional EUR 53 million, the purchase of alternative fuel vehicles will be incentivised for legal entities, and the installation of EV charging stations will also be co-financed. With the aim of removing fluorinated greenhouse gases in distribution centres and frozen goods transport, the replacement of cold stores and the purchase of new equipment with substances that do not deplete the ozone layer will be co-financed, for which EUR 35 million has been allocated.
With the aim of improving living conditions and circumstances, about 25 million euros have been earmarked for citizens at risk of energy poverty for the energy renovation of houses, while in cities exceeding emissions limit, 10 million euros have been allocated for co-financing the replacement of home furnaces and outdated boilers. In addition to these programmes, the Fund will also provide 10 million euros for citizens for the installation of PV power plants, with the aim of producing green energy, i.e. replacing the heating system with a more environmentally friendly one.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Green Transition, in cooperation with the Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service and the Fund, will also update the legal, strategic and planning framework in the field of air protection and emission reduction, initiate additional cooperation among states, as well as improve the conditions for monitoring the implementation of air quality programmes.
Although air quality in Croatia has improved in the last 10 years owing to the reduction of emissions, the use of cleaner fuels and the implementation of the Clean Air Directive and the NEC Directive into Croatian legislation, in recent weeks the concentrations of air pollutants in some cities in Croatia have been higher than stipulated. The greatest share of air pollution with particulate matter whose concentrations exceed the limit values of PM10 and PM2.5 occurs in continental cities, as in previous winter seasons.
The main causes of pollution are emissions from small home furnaces that use solid fuels such as wood for heating, and emissions from transport. The problem is further exacerbated by a combination of cold weather and stable synoptic conditions that cause emitted particles to settle on the ground, while the lack of wind and precipitation prevents natural air purification.
Therefore, the goal of all these programmes is to improve air quality, especially in urban areas. Air quality measurements are usually carried out exclusively through authorised testing and reference laboratories in Croatia, and the data are available to the public on the website "Air Quality in the Republic of Croatia" by following the link http://iszz.azo.hr/iskzl.
