Do regions with high CO2 emissions actively invest in energy transition? – examples of local investments in Poland

The aim of this paper is to assess the role of local investments supporting energy transition depending on the level, structure and dynamics of changes in CO2 emissions in regions of Poland. The temporal scope of this study covers the European Union (EU) financial framework 2014–2020. Thanks to the application of multivariate analysis of data using Ward's method it was found that there is a considerable variation between clusters of the regions in terms of the level, structure and dynamics of changes in CO2 emissions, as well as the implemented investments in low-carbon economy. Correlations between selected characteristics describing investment activity supporting energy transition and CO2 emissions were confirmed. The conducted investigations showed that two-thirds of Polish local government units acquired subsidies for energy transition. High activity was observed for urban local government units characterised by high emissions, e.g. Upper Silesia (Polish: Śląsk), which is the most industrialised and urbanised region of Poland. In that area the main sources of emissions included particularly noxious plants, i.e. point sources, which require high, concentrated investments, in contrast to the situation for diffuse and linear sources, requiring time-consuming actions, with their scope extended both in time and area. Analyses also showed that the regions with a high share of emissions from diffuse and linear sources are not so active in the acquisition of funds for investments. On this basis it may be stated that the greatest challenge for local government bodies is connected with emissions from diffuse sources such as agriculture, and linear sources such as transport. Implementation of research results to strategic actions of local government entities may aid in planning more effective actions. These investigations also show a need for more in-depth analyses of this phenomenon, since many studies focus on the national level, which may mask significant differences between regions and cause stagnation in emissions in a country. For this reason longitudinal studies are required, which follow long-term effects of investments in low-carbon economy. Such analyses should consider both economic and environmental impacts of discussed investments at the regional level. Still comparative analyses are lacking, which might indicate what strategies are most effective in individual regions of Poland.