News

Under the title of the Meeting of Supporters of Environmental Education, Training and Awareness (EVVO), teachers, coordinators and professionals from all over Slovakia, across regions, departments and institutions, met on November 27, 2025, at the Faculty of Natural Sciences of Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica, for the purpose of education in the field of air protection. The awareness-raising event, organized as part of the LIFE Populair project activities, was carried out in the spirit of air topics.

An introductory meeting on the update of the Air Quality Improvement Program (AQIP) for the Trnava Region zone was held at the Trnava Self-Governing Region Office on December 4, 2025. The event was organized by the Trnava District Office in cooperation with the Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic and the Trnava Self-Governing Region (TTSG) as part of the activities of the LIFE IP project – Air Quality Improvement (Populair). The currently valid program was issued by the Trnava District Office in 2013, therefore its update is one of the key tasks of the upcoming period.

In connection with the assessment of the impacts of strategic documents on the environment (SEA), a public discussion of the draft Air Quality Improvement Program (AQIP) and the Report on the Evaluation of the Strategic Document for the Trenčín Region Zone was held on November 20, 2025.

In recent days, from November 24 to 26, the international conference Air Protection 2025 was traditionally held in the High Tatras. The event, intended for so-called "air enthusiasts", confirmed the urgency of the problem of air quality in Slovakia and its impact on public health.

On November 11, the second meeting of the Heating and Energy Working Group took place. The basis for the discussion was a proposal for measures to improve air quality in the area of ​​household heating and energy. The meeting was also preceded by bilateral talks with members of the working group from the Ministry of Transport of the Slovak Republic and the Institute of Environmental Policy.

In early November, an international conference of the same name was held on air quality and specifically air pollution from heating, which represents a significant environmental and health challenge, especially in areas with a high share of solid fuel combustion. The conference, organized as part of the LIFE Populair project, was intended for representatives of local governments and air protection experts who are looking for effective solutions to reduce emissions and improve air quality in their regions.

The Air Quality Improvement Program (AQIP) is a strategic planning tool developed for a zone and agglomeration in which the concentration of a pollutant exceeds the limit or target value for the protection of human health and vegetation. In the Trenčín Region, the main source of air pollution is local heating with solid fuels, which results in high concentrations of BaP, PM2,5 and PM10. The subject of the program is measures to achieve good air quality in risk areas.

The Slovak Environmental Agency, as the national coordinator of the European Mobility Week (EMW), yesterday ceremoniously evaluated the ETM 2025 campaign and awarded those who, with their activities, significantly contributed to sustainable mobility in Slovakia.

At the end of September, we had the opportunity to be part of the 19th year of the largest science festival in Slovakia - the European Science Night, which brings news and information from the world of research and innovation in an inspiring and unique way. The theme of the current year was CHAOS and you could see the populair team in Banská Bystrica, Košice, Poprad, Žilina and also in Lubeník and Jelšava as part of the accompanying event Science in the Village.

On September 10, 2025, the first meeting of the Energy and Heating task force took place. It followed an initial meeting at the Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic (MoE SR), organized to facilitate inter-ministerial cooperation on air protection, initiated by the LIFE IP – Air Quality Improvement project (Populair). The task force’s task is to identify areas beyond the competencies of the environment ministry and develop solutions to improve air quality for the health of Slovak citizens and to comply with international obligations.