Green certificates as an instrument to support renewable energy in Poland-strengths and weaknesses.

The problem of air pollution not only in Poland but also around the world has become an important topic of political, economic, scientific, and legal discourse. Its position is the result of international obligations and Poland's membership in the structures of the European Union. In Poland, air quality is very bad, which makes it one of the countries with the worst air quality indicators in the European Union. One of the methods to reduce this high level of air pollution is to intensify the development of renewable energy sources by introducing effective support mechanisms for investors of new user-friendly and environment-friendly energy. The aim of the article was to analyse the support system for the development of energy production from renewable sources using the so-called "green" certificates of origin mechanism, which in Poland already has a 14-year tradition. The article presents the model of the renewable energy production support system in force in Poland. It pointed to its strengths and weaknesses. The development trends of the RES support system were also presented.

Air protection programmes in Poland in the context of the low emission.

The protection of the air against pollutants from individual boiler plants is a big challenge in Poland. It results mainly from the preference for coal, the national energy carrier, the use of old low-efficiency boilers and the location of Poland in a temperate climate where the heating period lasts at least 5 months. This article presents a wide range of activities aimed at the reduction of the environmental impact of the emissions of pollutants from individual heat sources-the so-called low emission. The article presents the extent of the national legislation resulting from the European Union regulations. It discusses the assumptions of the air protection programmes (APPs) and the low emission reduction programmes (LERPs). The assumptions mentioned above are analysed as part of a life cycle assessment (LCA) analysis and a multi-criterion analysis. An important result of these analyses (in the Polish conditions) is the conclusion that a boiler fired with large pieces of wood is an optimal solution from the economic and ecological points of view. The article proposes systemic, organisational and legislative solutions whose implementation could contribute to raising the effectiveness of the protection of the atmosphere.