The aim of this article was to assess the efficiency of the utilization of public funds for climate neutrality. It was concluded that the data gathered in public statistics are not adapted to current challenges and hinder the direct measurement of climate policy objective implementation progress. Due to that, an innovative approach to public intervention efficiency analysis was proposed for the sake of decreasing CO2 emission in 27 European Union (EU) countries, based on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method and soft modeling. Statistical data are derived from the Eurostat database and pertain to the years 2005–2019. It was demonstrated that activity efficiency of the particular EU countries on climate neutrality varied and that together with the increase in public funds spent on environmental protection, the growth of effects in the field of reaching climate neutrality objectives was not observed. The greatest positive impact on achieving climate neutrality objectives was revealed for activities connected with building renewable sources of energy (RES) and there was no correlation detected for expenditures connected with transport infrastructure, which means that public funds used for their construction did not influence climate neutrality. It was established that, in the analyzed period, the decisions on allocating public funds were not taken on the basis of the expected amount of reduction in relation to the volume of outlays. In order to track the reasons for detected inefficiency, 52 projects were analyzed within the case study, which covered 3738 investments in the replacement of heating sources in one region of Poland. It was revealed that the efficiency of those investments varies; however, due to the full availability of data of the acquired results and outlays devoted to them, a synthetic index of efficiency measurement was established that presents the amount of CO2 reduction for EUR 1. When comparing the analyses carried out on macro and micro scales, it was observed that on the scale of the EU, there is a lack of uniform measurements or benchmarks of projects in the field of CO2 emissions reduction. Meanwhile, from the whole EU’s perspective, it should be reasonable to undertake projects with the highest economic efficiency, irrespective of political and geographical aspects. The results obtained should be utilized by decision-makers to elaborate reference methodologies and good practices in order to successfully implement climate objectives and especially the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). What should be established are universal, on the EU scale, measurements and rules for gathering and counting data as well as benchmarks for the particular project types.

The article examines the impact of environmental quality on shaping the development policy of Polish voivodeships. The main analytical tool used was the synthetic index of environmental quality, compiled by means of the Perkal method. It was constructed in order to organize Polish voivodeships in terms of environmental quality, which was determined in a comprehensive way on the basis of three thematic areas: advantages of the natural environment, the level of pollution (degradation) of the environment as well as active protective activities. The obtained values of synthetic measures were then compared to the level of economic growth of Polish regions. It was necessary in determining which voivodeships perceive the quality of the environment as the main factor enhancing their economic growth, and which treat it as a barrier to economic development.

Purpose – The aim of this article is to examine the impact of sustainable urban mobility on the quality of life of inhabitants of functional urban areas. A thesis has been posed about the important relationship between them. Research method – The article uses the method of soft modelling, which enables the study of the relationships between the hidden variables. Statistical data used in the empirical study concerns the Bialystok Functional Area. Results – As a result of the conducted research and analyses, key determinants of sustainable urban mobility and quality of life were determined, the most important threats related to environmental degradation were identified as well as innovative solutions for sustainable urban mobility that should be implemented in order to effectively manage resources and protect them for the future generations were found. Originality /value – Key research results can be useful in the process of developing Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans.

Abstract:The main objective of the research was to establish which skills and competencies are mostly demanded by organizations/employers in Portugal and Poland. Secondly, we wanted to determine if there are any differences in this type of skills and competencies in these two countries. In order to analyze the skills necessary in organizations, we applied the typology of soft and hard skills. In the analysis, we had to distinguish moral competencies from soft skills, due to the specificity of the formers. In the research, we use the mixed qualitative-quantitative methodology. In the survey, carried out on convenience samples composed of Portuguese and Polish working students, the respondents were eager to answer one open-ended question and describe/list the skills/competencies demanded by organizations. In order to categorize the answers, we employed a two-stage process of phenomenological reduction. For the purpose of conducting a comparative analysis of the data and due to a wide dispersion of results in the case of soft skills in the two samples, we grouped the soft skills according to the ESCO and interpreted the differences by referring to the cultural dimensions introduced by Hofstede et al. [2011].

Z a r y s t r e ś c i. Celem opracowania jest zbadanie, w jakim stopniu miasta wojewódzkie Polski Wschodniej pełnią funkcje metropolitalne, a także określenie, jak nieprzyznanie tym ośrodkom statusu metropolii wpłynie na rozwój Polski Wschodniej. S ł o w a k l u c z o w e: funkcje metropolitalne, Polska Wschodnia. K l as y f i k a c j a J E L: O18.