Poland's new government wants to speed up the coal phase-out

Poland's new government has announced its ambition to become one of Europe's leading players on environmental issues. Poland will support the target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2040 and wants to speed up the country's coal phase-out.

All this despite the fact that Poland generates around two-thirds of its electricity and household heat from coal. Euractiv reported on the new direction of Poland's executive last week. The new government wants to reverse the course of climate policy set by the previous governing party, PiS. Given that coal mining is a crucial economic activity in rural areas, PiS had advocated maintaining state support for the use of lignite.

With the arrival of a new centrist government in Warsaw, Brussels in particular expects changes to climate protection in Poland. Climate Secretary of State Urszula Zielińska said at an informal meeting of the EU Environment Council that she had come to Brussels with the message that Poland was stepping up its efforts to combat climate change.

"From now on, we will step up our efforts and work with the European Union much faster, much more smoothly and with much greater confidence," said Zielińska, who was appointed to the post about a month ago.

The secretary also said that Poland would fully support the target of cutting emissions by 90% by 2040, which the European Commission is expected to present in the coming weeks. However, one area in which Zielińska did not depart from the previous governments' approach was the financing of climate measures. Poland's long-standing policy in this area has sought to ensure that wealthier EU countries continue to support poorer countries in Eastern Europe in their green transition. The secretary said that if the 90% target is approved, Poland will continue to stress the need to help countries in the eastern part of the Union.

The country's climate plan is set for revision

At home, the new government is also reassessing the country's coal policy. The new secretary of state said her team is currently reviewing policies related to climate, transition and energy plans. Poland will also carry out a "very rapid" update of its National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP), which is reportedly to be revised and strengthened. These multi-year plans must be submitted in their final form by mid-2024, leaving the new government only a few months to overhaul the plan submitted by the previous, more conservative government.

Zielińska said new climate-friendly policies can only be planned with a set end date for the coal phase-out. Last year, Poland's state-owned energy company PGE voiced support for phasing out coal by 2040, prompting an immediate response from the nationalist government, which set a political deadline of 2049 — just one year before the EU is expected to achieve its carbon neutrality target.