Particulate matter, smog, benzo(a)pyrene, black-smoke-belching stoves – until recently these concepts were commonly known only to the inhabitants of Silesia or Krakow. Today, everyone is aware of the negative impact of air pollution on our health and economy.

Nevertheless, awareness is not enough. Despite numerous reforms and regulations, the quality of air in Poland still falls short of European standards.

Are current support programmes sufficient to definitively eliminate the smog within a decade? What can be done to effectively combat energy poverty?

Is it possible that the fight against smog will be the flywheel of the Polish economy? Is “Clean Air” (the government’s largest ever programme of thermal modernisation and heat source replacement) an opportunity for a new opening for the prosumer energy market?

Military conflicts dramatically affect the fossil fuel market. However, the demand for energy continues to grow, as does the need to build energy independence and shift the economy onto a low-carbon trajectory. We are confronting EU pressure to decarbonise and working out our own path to climate neutrality.

Today, this vision is no longer just a political slogan, but rather a driving force for the entire community. There is a lot of money and economic mechanisms behind it that can support or sink our industry.

So in what direction should our economy follow? Is the nuclear energy the solution that will reconcile opponents of further fossil fuel combustion, supporters of a stable energy source, and sceptics of the vision of 100% of energy from renewable sources?

Or should gas replace coal in the coming decades of transition?

What energy mix will be appropriate for the Polish economy in the long run and at what cost?

We are living at a particular moment in history – the Anthropocene epoch. This is a period in which human activity has become one of the most significant forces shaping the planet.

Humans have changed the Earth beyond recognition. Just 250 years of the rapid industrial revolution have been marked by many discoveries, inventions and spectacular technological advances.

On the other hand, we also have less commendable achievements. Acidified oceans, hundreds of extinct species, contaminated land. Vast quantities of chemicals have been allowed into ecosystems where their role - without human intervention - was marginal. The balance has been disturbed.

Fortunately, our strength, ingenuity and commitment are a boon, not just a curse, to our species. To what extent will we be able to harness our potential to make the Earth a better place for everyone? Or will we give in to our destructive tendencies and perish? The question remains open.