A low emission economy as the basis for the development of the region

Abstract

All the time GDP per capita is far from the level in developed countries. Much worse was with the development, which was lower than the rate of economic growth. That is why we have in Poland, among others, a high level of poverty, the problem with providing adequate housing and health conditions, relatively high tax burden on people with the lowest incomes. In the next decade, the average growth rate of GDP may be significantly reduced because we have failed to build a sustainable competitive advantage. The previous success was mainly due to low labor costs, rather than innovation. Regions that wish to obtain long-term and high rate of economic development must build an advantage based on modern technology products and services. A low emission economy creates the chance. Especially that in the current financing perspective (2014-2020) the EU has allocated considerable resources for activities related to carbon efficiency. The article focuses on the benefits that region can get after the implementation of low emission economy. They concern, inter alia, the increase in local production of goods and services, growth in employment and average wages, improvement of the quality of the natural environment and ensuring energy security. These benefits come down to sustainable economic development in the long term. Building a low emission economy will allow to systematically increase the well-being of the population and improve the quality of life of people living in the municipality.