According to Warsaw’s Green Vision, the capital intends to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030. This is an interim objective in the lead-up to achieving climate neutrality by 2050. A crucial role in this process will be played by the thermomodernization of buildings, aimed at reducing energy and heat consumption. Power plants and co-generation plants under central administration are currently responsible for around 70% of the city’s carbon dioxide emissions. The capital is expecting multi-billion dollar outlays, also supported by funds from the EU.
“The main element of Warsaw’s energy transformation will be buildings, of which there are over 150,000. The energy used for both electricity, heat and cooling, which we have to deliver to buildings, accounts for over 70% of all greenhouse gas emissions in Warsaw. Our greatest challenge is firstly to make these buildings consume less energy – this is a huge thermomodernization task – and secondly, to make the energy we do provide to buildings cleaner. This task lies with both the Polish state – which must maximize the use of renewable sources in the energy mix – and the city, which must ensure the maximum use of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) within the city,” – says Jacek Kisiel, Deputy Director of the Air Protection and Climate Policy Office at the City Hall of Warsaw.
According to Warsaw’s Green Vision, a strategy adopted by the city in 2023, by 2035, 36% of residential and commercial buildings should have undergone deep thermomodernization. By 2050, this percentage should reach 81%. As indicated by the expert from the Air Protection and Climate Policy Office, which has been coordinating this task since last year, its implementation has gained momentum. Among the ongoing initiatives, he mentions Warsaw’s entry into the “Stop Smog” program, within which comprehensive thermomodernization of single-family buildings for people affected by energy poverty will be carried out. Recently, the European Commission granted the city a € 3.5 million ELENA grant to prepare comprehensive technical documentation for the thermomodernization of 50 multi-family municipal buildings. As part of the grant, Warsaw is committed to carrying out thermomodernization investments to the tune of approximately PLN 140 million within three years of signing the agreement.
“We divide Warsaw’s emissions ‘pie’ into two parts. The first, smaller part – 7.5% – are emissions from the city as understood as urban infrastructure: urban buildings, urban transport, urban lighting. The second part are emissions associated with what is consumed by businesses and residents. Of course, first and foremost, as a city we must do our own ‘homework’ and make sure that municipal infrastructure, transport is zero-emission “- emphasizes Jacek Kisiel.
One of the actions under the capital’s strategy is to replace the entire bus fleet with electric or hydrogen vehicles by 2050 and expand the charging infrastructure. This task is being gradually realized – currently around 50% of buses in Warsaw are low-emission. An investment in new street lighting, which counts over 120 thousand fixtures, is also ongoing. By mid-July, about 65 thousand of them were replaced with energy-saving LEDs. The City Hall highlights that SAVA fixtures will help save even two-thirds of electricity compared to the previous technology, which gives about PLN 42 million and almost 26.7 t of CO2 savings per year. The city will also invest in an intelligent lighting control system.
“Of course, on the other hand, we have emissions for the entire city, and this involves policy over several decades, as well as cooperation with businesses and the city, to bring about these changes throughout the city,” says the expert.
Since 2023, the task of thermomodernization has been coordinated by the Air Protection and Climate Policy Office. As Jacek Kisiel explained, it will serve as a competence center supporting units implementing investments, including by creating standards, determining the scope of investments, verifying energy audits, and assisting in obtaining external funds for thermomodernization.
“Cities do not have sufficient tools to independently carry out the energy transformation. This is a shared responsibility of the government administration, city, and ultimately also of business and residents. For example, we cannot impose certain things on residents through local plans; this would have to be changes at the national level. However, we also try to take certain actions within our competences. An example is the recently introduced Warsaw Green Building Standard,” points out Jacek Kisiel.
The Warsaw Green Building Standard (WSZB) is a set of requirements for sustainable development for city investments, which the city introduced voluntarily, striving for climate neutrality. It will only apply to new investments carried out by the city, but the authorities expect that it will also have a positive impact on private sector investments. Thanks to the implementation of these guidelines, buildings are to be more environmentally friendly and also cheaper to maintain. Among the solutions proposed in the standard are the reuse of rainwater in building installations, the use of RES, and environmentally friendly internal and external lighting. The WSZB is one of the implementations of the Green Vision of Warsaw.
“We need huge funds for the energy transformation. But the problematic issue is not just funds, but also procedures to get them. For example, from the ROP, we as a country have to spend a huge amount of money by June 2026. We in Warsaw would very much like to do this, but the deadline is short. What we need most as a city, and other local governments are in the same situation, is simplification of procedures to reach these funds. Because there are funds within the ROP and other programs for energy transformation, but the problem is the procedure for reaching them and accounting for them. If it is not simplified, we will not be able to effectively and quickly reach these funds,” says the deputy director of the Air Protection and Climate Policy Office at the Warsaw City Hall.
According to the analyses presented in the Green Vision of Warsaw, the greatest impact on the reduction of CO2 emissions by 2050 will be: decarbonization of electricity from the national grid and an increase in the share of dispersed renewable energy sources (33% reduction), improvement of energy efficiency of buildings through their thermomodernization and change of heating sources (31%), decarbonization of the urban district heating network (12%), improvement of energy efficiency of buildings for services and offices (16%) and change of fuel and means of transport – increased availability of public transport (9%).
