Czechs encouraged to heat their homes in an environmentally-friendly way

On Friday, the Ministry for the Environment announced that it was planning to implement a system of fines for households which produced a larger-than-average amount of toxic emissions. By 2014, the Environment Minister Martin Bursik, is wanting all domestic coal fireplaces to be replaced by smaller stoves, or biomass boilers. He hopes this system of fines will encourage Czechs to switch to greener heating methods. According to Saturday's Mlada Fronta Dnes newspaper, over 10 billion CZK (0.5 billion USD) worth of EU funds will be available for households wanting to make the switch.

Minister Bursik's proposal comes on the back of a report commissioned by the Ministry of the Environment, which found that air pollution in the Czech Republic was at 'alarmingly' high levels. According to the study, 62% of Czechs are breathing air which contains an excess level of harmful dust.