Climate policies – and funding to pursue them – should take account of coal-dependent Poland’s restricted development under communism, said the prime minister, speaking at the COP26 UN climate conference in Glasgow. Mateusz Morawiecki also criticised EU “blackmail” against his country.
“We are moving towards climate neutrality, but we must not forget about the developmental differences between countries and regions,” said Morawiecki, quoted by TVN24. “We do not all start from the same starting point [and] should remember [that] transformation cannot take place at the expense of people.”
“A just transition must take into account that western societies have used fossil fuels for over 200 years to get to the point where they are today,” continued the prime minister.
Premier @MorawieckiM w Glasgow: Jeśli Polska ma partycypować w ambitnych celach klimatycznych, musimy być zasilani w odpowiednie środki. WIDEO #COP26 https://t.co/D0E6D1Hmsc
— wPolityce.pl (@wPolityce_pl) November 1, 2021
Yet while those countries were able to take decisions to move away from coal, such as by investing in nuclear, Poland could not do so because it was under Soviet dominance until 1989, said Morawiecki. “In order for Poland to participate in achieving climate goals, we must be equipped with appropriate funds.”
Morawiecki also hailed the fact that “the European Union was the first economy in the world to adopt the goal of climate neutrality by 2050”. Poland is, however, the only EU member state not to have signed up to that target, with the government arguing that it first needs guarantees of financial support.
Morawiecki also told COP26 that the EU’s “climate package is good”. But he warned that “there must be no blackmail in other areas” against Poland, hinting that without EU money Poland may not be able to undergo transformation, reports Money.pl.
Premier @MorawieckiM w #Glasgow: Cieszę się, że cały pakiet klimatyczny wynegocjowany przez Polskę jest dobrym pakietem, ale jednocześnie nie może tu dochodzić do szantażu po stronie innych elementów polityki europejskiej.
— Kancelaria Premiera (@PremierRP) November 1, 2021
Poland has recently been locked in disputes with the EU over the rule of law and LGBT rights, with the European Commission blocking funds until Warsaw guarantees compliance with EU law and Polish regions withdraw anti-LGBT resolutions.
Media reports have indicated that, should the EU not unblock Polish funds, Warsaw could retaliate by vetoing key decisions, such as on the bloc’s climate package.
When asked about this by the Financial Times last month, Morawiecki said that “if the European Commission starts World War III…we will defend our rights with all weapons at our disposal”.
Poland – which hosted the previous COP conference in 2018 – relies on coal for around 70% of its electricity production, by far the highest proportion in the EU. Its government has in recent years, however, taken steps towards implementing a green transition.
This includes a target of reducing coal to 60% of the energy mix by 2030 and potentially as low as 11% by 2040. The government has overseen a boom in solar energy as well as a recent expansion of wind power (after initially stifling the sector with new regulations).
As part of efforts to reduce emissions, Poland is also seeking to create its first nuclear power plants. The government is planning to construct six reactors by 2043, while private and state-owned businesses are pursuing their own nuclear projects.
Main image credit: Krystian Maj/KPRM (under CC-ND-ND 2.0)
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
