Assessing the Incentive Function of Environmental Fees: Case Study – the District of Silesia

Abstract

The environmental effectiveness of fees for using the environment (“environmental fees”) charged in Poland is demonstrated by their incentive function, which motivates organisations using the environment to behave in the appropriate, environmentally-friendly way. The purpose of this paper is to assess how well the fees fulfil this function. The incentive function is evaluated by analysing the quantity of pollution emitted into the air, water and soil, the quantity of waste landfilled and of water taken in within the context of changes to unit fee rates in 2005-2011. This study was conducted using data obtained from the Marshall’s Office of the Silesian District (Śląsk) of Poland, which transferred the highest environmental fees over the period of 2008-2011 [NFOŚiGW (National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management), Informacja ...]. Substances and processes for which the amount of pollution emitted or water taken in was significant, were chosen for the analysed sample. The assessment of the incentive function based on the figures from one district, (Voivodship), is illustrative in nature and one can only presume that the trends observed in this area, which uses the environment to a large extent, will also be true for data from the entire country and thus significantly impact the national average. However, for the sample to be more representative, it is necessary to carry out the same analyses for subsequent districts and to aggregate the data. The author intends to extend the research by doing so and this should be the purpose of separate publications.