Glocalisation of environmental challenges: The impact of the war in Ukraine on smog and heating practices in Polish local communities

Abstract

This article analyses the impact of the war in Ukraine on air quality and heating practices in Polish cities. In this case, it does not focus on the direct impact of military activities, but on various social and political decisions, as well as changes in social behaviour undertaken under the influence of the energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine. The authors defend the thesis that it is worth analysing air quality and heating practices in local communities not only in the context of local and national policies but also by referring to global and transnational factors. Based on focus group interviews with the residents of Wrocław, they prove that global events may have an impact on local air quality and apartment heating methods and be a catalyst for processes in various spheres of local and national public life: legal–political, economic, environmental–spatial, health and socio-practical. The article proposes a glocalisation perspective as an approach that can integrate local social and environmental conditions with global ecological challenges, while also highlighting the impact of global factors—economic, political, energy-related and military—on local trends, behaviours and policies in the context of environmental protection.