Kaczyński condemns EU’s “green communism” as Poland opposes emission cuts plan

Jarosław Kaczyński, the chairman of Poland’s ruling party, has condemned the EU’s climate policies as “green communism”. His remarks come as the Polish government says it will not support “Fit for 55”, the EU’s flagship programme to cut emissions.

“What the left-liberal majority in the European Parliament is doing, guided solely by ideological rationales, is green communism, a desire to impose a new lifestyle that will benefit the richest countries, the richest Europeans, and new business sectors at the expense of the poorer ones, above all from our part of Europe,” wrote Kaczyński.

“The goal is, of course, noble, because we want to pass the world on to our children and grandchildren in the best possible condition,” he added. “But the execution is, to put it mildly, extremely flawed, and the timing of accelerating the energy transition is terrible.”

“We are therefore threatened by, among other things, an uncontrolled increase in the prices of fuel and of maintaining apartments and houses, a deterioration in the quality of life of the average European, and a loss of competitiveness of the European economy,” concluded Kaczyński.

In his remarks, Kaczyński – who has previously called the EU’s green policies “madness and theories without evidence” – noted that MEPs from his party had been among the minority to vote against the latest package of measures approved by the European Parliament to implement Fit for 55.

The programme aims to reduce the bloc’s emissions at least 55% by 2030 (compared to 1990 levels) and to make the EU climate neutral by 2050.

Polish opposition MEPs voted in favour of the measures – along with large majorities in the European Parliament – leading to criticism from PiS, which accused them of supporting actions that will cost the Polish economy billions.

“The fact that the key regulations from the ‘Fit for 55’ package were voted for by MEPs from the Polish opposition shows that Polish citizens cannot count on them,” said climate minister Anna Moskwa. “We will all pay for their decisions, although unfortunately it will hit the poorest inhabitants of Poland the most.”

Moskwa said that Poland would not support any of the new measures when they are voted on by national governments at the European Council this week.

But she admitted that it would be hard to prevent their passage because the outcome of voting will be decided by a qualified majority of member states rather than through unanimity. That will stop Poland from vetoing the plans, which Moskwa notes are supported by most member states.

This morning, a senior PiS figure, Radosław Fogiel, told RMF FM that Poland “will try to build a coalition to block” Fit for 55 among member states, but like Moskwa he added that it would be unlikely to succeed.

Last month, Poland was the only member state to vote against EU plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2035, which moved ahead despite its opposition.

Opposition figures have defended their vote in favour of Fit for 55, which they argue is beneficial for Poland, Europe and the world.

The package will provide “development opportunities for Poland”, Jan Grabiec, spokesman for Civic Platform (PO), the largest opposition party, told the Polish Press Agency.  He noted that there are “tens of billions [of euros] from the EU waiting for us, specifically dedicated to a just [energy] transition”.

This can help “post-industrial areas, such as Silesia – where the closure of [coal] mines in recent years has led to economic collapse – [ensure] that the most modern factories producing devices for the production of renewable energy are built in these areas”.

Meanwhile, one of the leaders of The Left (Lewica), Włodzimierz Czarzasty, told the Rzeczpospolita daily that Fit for 55 will include the creation of a social climate fund to support people in making the green transition. He also argued that unless emissions are cut quickly, “this world will not exist” anymore.

Main image credit: Greenpeace Polska/Flickr (under CC BY-ND 2.0)

Daniel Tilles

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.