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Poland slows EU effort to mitigate climate change

“It is a dark day for Europe’s leading role in tackling climate change”, said the British energy secretary Chris Huhne. Poland had just rejected to sign on the Commission’s “Roadmap for moving to a competitive low-carbon economy in 2050”. According to this roadmap, indicative intermediate target for 2020, 2030 and 2040 would have been set, e.g. suggesting but not mandating a 25% reduction target for 2020 below 1990 levels. However, even the indication was not bearable for Poland, risking increased friction to other EU member states just before taking over the EU presidency.

Indeed, this is not the first time that Poland applies the brakes on EU climate policy, balking at previous allocations of emission certificates. The reason is not hard to identify: Poland is dependent on brown coal, the most polluting of fossil fuels.

It is clear that the EU has to offer Poland ways out of this dependency, e.g. providing support in to build-up an alternative infrastructures and energy saving measures. And in fact, it is likely that such a deal was part of the negotiations – but to no avail.

David Vincent from the British Carbon Trust has done a more thorough analysis of the Polish situation. In brief, the Polish elite does not yet see the benefits of a low-carbon economy; the coal lobby (coal companies but also miners’ unions and allies in government) is traditionally strong while the environmental voice is rather quiet. Possibly, a Carbon Trust for Poland, supporting business in implementing low-carbon solutions, but also more activity from civil society could contribute to a mental change and subsequent policy change.

Posted by Felix Creutzig on June 22, 2011 3:26 PM | Permalink