The third edition of the industrial emissions database in Poland, like its previous versions, contains data on greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants released into the atmosphere from individual industrial sites and at the level of corporate groups.
This year, we added data for 2023 and 2024 to the database, along with new columns providing more information about Polish industrial sites.
The database and charts are found on the same page as previously:
Key facts about the database
- 58.1 million tons of CO2 – total CO₂ emissions included in the Poland’s industrial emissions database in 2024
- 1025 – number of industrial sites in the database, out of nearly 14 000 industrial sites in Poland
- 96.5% – percentage of total industrial emissions in Poland covered by the database
- 99 – number of industrial corporate groups included in the database
- 90.7% – share of industrial emissions in Poland accounted for by the corporate groups in the database
The industrial emissions database includes, as in previous years, emissions of the following greenhouse gases and pollutants:
- CO2 – carbon dioxide
- CH4 – methane
- N2O – nitrous oxide
- NOx – nitrogen oxides
- BaP – benzo(a)pyrene
- PM10 – particulate matter with a diameter below 10 micrometers
PM2.5 – particulate matter with a diameter below 2.5 micrometers
The industrial emissions database includes, as in previous years, emissions of the following greenhouse gases and pollutants:
New: Custom sector classification
In the updated version of the database, we assigned industrial facilities to 11 sectors based on our own custom sector classification, rather than relying solely on the official Polish PKD classification as in previous editions.
For each industrial facility and capital group, we also added a sectoral classification, highlighting the most emission-intensive sectors of Polish industry.
Most importantly, we attempted to separate emissions from each industrial site into process emissions and energy emissions. This distinction is important because it significantly affects the decarbonization technologies available to a given site and the decarbonization strategies for different industrial sectors.
Emissions from process and energy emissions now included
Process emissions are emissions resulting from chemical reactions occurring during a given industrial process, specific to that process, and not related to fuel combustion. Energy emissions, on the other hand, result from the production of energy (heat and electricity) for industrial processes.
The sources of process emissions vary depending on the sector. Their reduction requires deep modifications to the production technology of a given product, such as steel or cement. While these modifications differ across sectors, most involve broad electrification (including hydrogen production). Alternatively, current industrial processes can be equipped with carbon capture, transport, and storage technology (CCS).
Energy emissions in each sector, like in the energy sector, result from the combustion of fossil fuels. However, renewable energy alone may not always be sufficient to reduce these emissions. If an industrial site relies on heat rather than electricity, the decarbonization options depend on the temperature required for the process and may involve different electrification technologies or the use of biomass.
Some installations, such as cement kilns, involve both industrial processes and energy generation. In such cases, we were unable to separate process and energy emissions for each facility using our methodology. Emissions from these installations were treated as process emissions, which may lead to an overestimation of process emissions in some sectors.