Joanna Gill,Ada PetriczkoPublished: October 30 Joanna Gill,Ada PetriczkoOctober 30 Poland's Bełchatów is one of the world's most polluting coal plants In the industrial city of Bełchatów the logo of Polish energy giant PGE is plastered on buildings signposts and the football kits of children dashing to after-school practice It is a nod to the driving force of the local economy: PGE's coal-fired power plant - Europe's biggest and one of the world's top 10 polluters But the plant is due to close by 2036 as Europe seeks to slash planet-heating greenhouse gas emissions a date which hangs over the city like the clouds of the smoke streaming from its cooling stacks "Everyone has a friend who works in the mine," said Michał Gawrysik "Bełchatów is the kind of place where nothing else is produced." A miner dressed in ceremonial suit stands in his kitchen in Bełchatów The coal exit is a taboo topic for many who fear job losses Some 20,000 people work in the Bełchatów plant nearby mines and in other related jobs in the region Closing the plant could spell doom for the city of 55,000 people and the surrounding area Bełchatów also generates around 20% of Poland's electricity The Bełchatów plant is one of the world's top 10 "super polluter" power plants responsible for a disproportionate impact on the climate It emitted about 27 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2022, satellite data from Climate Trace showed, equivalent to about 8.6% of Poland's entire CO2 emissions Sitting on some of the largest coal reserves in Poland at its 1980s peak Bełchatów employed tens of thousands of people But rising pressure from the European Union and a lawsuit from the legal non-profit ClientEarth against the PGE subsidiary running the plant, culminated in the company's decision to shut it down by 2036 and close the last coal mine by 2038 Cutting emissions is a condition for Poland receiving 3.85 billion euros ($4.16 billion) from the EU, the largest slice from the bloc's 17.5-billion-euro Just Transition Fund Environmentalists welcomed the decision to shut the plant but Bełchatów's future hinges on whether it can transform its economy PGE did not respond to requests for comment It said in 2021 it was "fully aware of the societal and economic effects" of the closure and the need to secure a future for employees and residents adding that it would spend nearly 1.15 billion euros on investments But workers feel they have been kept in the dark "This whole transformation is a bit like yeti," said Krzystof The transition is set to be costly and complex said researchers at the Polish Green Network "It goes without saying that we have to move in the direction of renewables," said Arkadiusz Rożniatowski local town councillors from the opposition KO party want to see young people return to the town and inject it with a new spirit But most projects are still in their early stages, and very few jobs have yet been created, with 606 people employed in the company's renewable sector across the whole of Poland in 2022 The Solidarność trade union at the Bełchatów mine said it retrained employees in welding machine operation and electrics over the past three years - in collaboration with an outside training company and with the support of EU funding Residents gather to hear about vocational training funding opportunities at the local cultural centre we've been more proactive," said Szymon Możdżeń a Solidarność representative at Bełchatów Poland is looking to nuclear power to help plug the energy gap left by coal, with a Polish government decision on a new plant expected in 2025 but Bełchatów would make an unlikely location due to the lack of local water bodies for cooling At a restaurant where plant workers celebrate their retirement Robert Sykuła tucks into a slice of cheesecake and thinks of his own last day in four years' time 73% of the current workforce will be entitled to their retirement pension "This is no longer a young city," Sykuła said The closure could also hit women hard as they are often employed in the service sector and already make up 61% of Bełchatów city's unemployed unless you have a diploma to be a doctor or a nurse you work in retail or restaurants," said Ewa Krukiewicz crafting a clay saucer - a hobby she hopes could earn her some cash as she retrains to become a nurse - at her home in Bełchatów Local authorities are trying to address this by opening up vocational training schemes helped by EU funding. Krukiewicz wants to retrain as a nurse but it wasn’t among the listed courses such as beauty parlour owner Kamila Dorozińska a future without the plant is hard to predict "Will people be able to afford a beautician or hairdresser?" when the plant closes worries about the 'domino effect' for business when the plant complex closes Locals in Bełchatów are worried that without new businesses the city could become a ghost town Councillor Rożniatowski said the town needs to establish industrial zones and boost rail connections to encourage large businesses to relocate Tourism could form part of the post-industrial face-lift, such as a new slag heap turned ski-slope, Kamieńsk Mountain where dumped mining material has created the highest artificial mountain in Poland at 395m (1295.93 ft) But all efforts to make Bełchatów more attractive for businesses will be for nought if it cannot persuade young people they have a future in the city Many young people appear to have seen the writing on the wall for Bełchatów. A 2019 survey said only a third of 16- to 19-year-olds planned to stay in the city after their studies "People are worried about the transformation and nobody took responsibility," said Izabela Warwas She believes that led many people in Bełchatów to vote for Patryk Marjan in local elections this year making him the first far-right candidate from the populist Konfederacja party to become a city mayor in Poland Marjan said the city should not be "sacrificed on the altar of the Green Deal" Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Bełchatów If the green transition fails locals joke all that will be left is "churches and kebab shops" she feels forgotten by the clean energy transition "People don't care if (the city) is green," she said Bełchatów could be left with only "churches and kebab shops" by the time the plant and mines close Context is a media platform created by the Thomson Reuters Foundation. We provide news and analysis that contextualises how critical issues and events affect ordinary people, society and the environment. Find out more. The Workforce Disclosure Initiative is an investor-backed project to improve the quantity & quality of corporate workforce data via an annual survey & engagement process Trust Conference is the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s flagship annual event taking place in the heart of London each year TrustLaw is the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s global pro bono service facilitating free legal assistance to NGOs and social enterprises around the world A capacity building workshop entitled ‘Dialogue on boosting renewables’ took place in Bełchatów on 5 November with support from JTP Groundwork a technical assistance tool under the Just Transition Platform (JTP) JTP Groundwork supports Just Transition Fund (JTF) regions to implement their Territorial Just Transition Plans (TJTPs) The second edition delivers 12 projects across 16 JTF territories One of the main objectives of the TJTP in the Łódzkie region is to promote innovative solutions for clean energy and renewable energy sources (RES) including electricity generation and energy storage facilities The JTF territory in Łódzkie Voivodeship covers 35 municipalities with varying levels of investment in RES and grid integration Despite a large number of individual micro-installations most of the region’s wind and solar potential remains untapped combined with new EU requirements for Member States to define and implement designated renewable acceleration areas and a lack of operational energy communities in the region has prompted the regional government to seek capacity building support In this context, JTP Groundwork is supporting the Marshal’s Office by analysing barriers to RES deployment and reviewing ownership models for energy communities and their benefits Knowledge-sharing and action plan development with local authorities A capacity building workshop entitled ‘Dialogue on boosting renewables’ took place in Bełchatów on 5 November Organised by the JTP Groundwork team in collaboration with the Marshal’s Office of Łódzkie Voivodeship and Forum Energii the event brought together over 75 participants including representatives from the 35 local municipalities The workshop began with expert presentations covering: participants developed ideas for establishing similar energy communities in their municipalities and identifying potential partners based on local business presence One novel insight was the potential to include communal sewage system operators in energy communities Final workshop and action plan development The final part of the event focused on defining the roles of key stakeholders and drafting an action plan for boosting renewables in the region This event was the first large-scale dialogue among municipalities and regional authorities focused on the coordinated deployment of renewables in the Łódzkie region While many ideas for projects and partnerships were collected the discussions frequently returned to the need for grid modernisation and investment and the active involvement of distribution system operators (DSOs) With over €2.3 billion allocated for grid investments in Poland the responsibility now lies with DSOs and transmission operators to plan and expand energy networks to facilitate the growth of RES encouraged by the outcomes of the workshop aims to continue the dialogue with local grid operators to address infrastructure challenges Registrations are now open for the JTP Groundwork Technical Regional Forum in Zagreb and Novska on 27 and 28 November. If you are interested in finding out how just transition funding can be used to create new opportunities in the IT sector, register here To learn more about JTP Groundwork, visit our website. If you are interested in receiving support, subscribe to our newsletter for news on the next call for expressions of interest in 2025 Looking to access paid articles across multiple policy topics Interested in policy insights for EU professional organisations Coal-dependent Poland aims to shut its last mine by the EU’s 2050 target but experts warn the move to go green comes late and faces many hurdles Belchatow power station in Poland is the European Union's "single largest greenhouse gas emitter", according to the EU [Iwona Olczyk / Pixabay] European leaders haggled through the night to clinch a deal on the bloc’s updated climate target for 2030 on Friday morning (11 December) agreeing an EU-wide goal of cutting net greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 Poland's first state-backed electric car plant is expected to begin production by 2024 in a region of the EU country that now relies heavily on coal mining for jobs the ElectroMobility Poland (EMP) carmaker said on Tuesday (15 December) Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker we launched a legal challenge against Europe’s largest power plant – Belchatow – and two of its mines a District Court judge in Poland demanded the plant operators negotiate with our lawyers to accelerate the plant’s closure and find a solution within three months The decision is a major breakthrough that signals to the people of Poland that the health of the country and the planet is more important than coal Head of ClientEarth’s Central and Eastern Europe operation Marcin Stoczkiewicz said: “This decision is a major breakthrough for the environmental movement It puts environmental experts at the table with coal companies to find a solution that genuinely works for the climate Belchatow is a giant coal plant in Central Poland the plant has emitted approximately 1 billion tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere making it the largest single greenhouse gas emitter in Europe roughly equivalent to the sum total of New Zealand’s The plant is a major climate culprit but its owner has not presented any official plan to reduce its climate impacts We’re demanding that the plant operators stop burning lignite in the plant – or take measures to eliminate its CO2 emissions – by 2035 at the latest Our Head of Central and Eastern Europe Marcin Stoczkiewicz said: “Belchatow Power Plant has provided Poland with vital power for decades but times have changed must shoulder their share of responsibility for the climate crisis The lawsuit leverages Polish civil law in a completely new way focusing on the environment as a common good This includes demanding installations and their owners cease activities which are causing harm to the environment Marcin said: “This is a first-of-its-kind lawsuit seeking to hold coal plant operators to account for the direct impact their operations have on the planet and the surrounding environment we need to see a drastic reduction in carbon emissions and we are using litigation to accelerate the process.” are fed by nearby mines because transporting the heavy So Belchatow is surrounded by huge opencast mines which would displace 3,000 people – and release tonnes of toxic heavy metals into the soil and water This would not only be environmentally devastating Head of ClientEarth Poland’s energy team Ilona Jedrasik said: “The damage this mine would cause not just for the thousands of people whose way of life would be bulldozed to make way for it but for the landmass it will destroy – and all to feed a hugely polluting coal plant it is extremely hard to see how PGE can justify this project.” ClientEarth is an environmental law charity a registered international non-profit organisation in Belgium a non-profit limited liability company in Germany Fundacja “ClientEarth Prawnicy dla Ziemi” Fundación ClientEarth Delegación en España a registered 501(c)(3) organisation in the US a registered subsidiary and company limited by guarantee in Australia All materials on this website have been prepared for general information purposes only to permit you to learn more about ClientEarth The information presented is not legal advice may not be current and is subject to change without notice Some of these cookies are essential, while others help us to improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used.For more information visit our Cookies Statement Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information New study outlines a transition plan for Europe’s largest coal-fired power plant 2022 – Europe’s largest coal-fired power plant could replace most of its lignite generation with renewables paired with batteries or lower-carbon thermal capacity research group BloombergNEF (BNEF) finds in a new report Such a transition would lower overall power system costs in the Łódź region of Poland while maintaining critical energy security The Belchatow power station today plays a vital role in the central European energy grid and is the sixth largest coal-fired power plant on Earth BNEF finds that deploying 11 gigawatts of wind and solar in the region to replace 80% of Belchatow’s “brown” coal generation is possible from a land-use perspective some 6GW of wind and solar paired with a gas biomass or waste-to-energy plant could achieve similar output Its analysis examines the feasibility of deploying lower-carbon technologies and offers a possible transition roadmap to do so The report was released today by Bloomberg Philanthropies and BNEF in partnership with Forum Energii at an event in the Polish region of Łódź where the Belchatow plant stands Local lignite resources in Belchatow are likely to run out latest by 2036 War and an energy crisis have boosted recent demand for coal but the longer-term outlook for coal and lignite power plants in Europe remains bleak Lignite generation drops by 75% over 2021-2030 in Poland even under sustained high gas prices Belchatow supplies a fifth of Poland’s power and sits at the heart of the Polish power system and energy security The successful transition of the Belchatow coal power plant could serve as an example for coal-regions around the world UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions and founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies said: “As the effects of climate change worsen Europe’s energy crisis and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine only underscore countries’ urgent need to choose clean energy and cut their reliance on fossil fuels This new report shows a promising path to replacing Europe’s biggest coal-fired power plant with alternative and resilient clean energy sources – and it can serve as an example for coal regions in Europe and globally that are looking to reap the health and economic benefits of clean energy.” low-emission sources in the Bełchatów region must be started as soon as possible in order to maintain the security of energy supply at a high level and reduce electricity prices Lignite resources in Belchatow are limited in time and will run out soon This report proposes options for replacing generation with clean capacity that will ensure Poland’s security of supply.” Plenipotentiary of the Board of the Łódź Province for the transformation of the Belchatow region said: “This is an optimistic report in the context of Belchatow’s energy future It proves that with the involvement of all stakeholders the region’s prosperity can still be built on energy generation there is a chance to maintain the symbolic status of “the capital of energy production in Poland.” The realization of such a scenario requires full mobilization around constructive scenarios but it clearly shows how the energy of both activities and generation should be directed.” energy transition analyst at BNEF and lead author of the report said: “There are significant opportunities for renewable investment in the Łódź region Belchatow could co-locate wind and solar repurposing the existing grid infrastructure BloombergNEF analyzed historic weather patterns and found that solar and wind in the region often generate at different times BNEF also finds that very little new generation capacity is currently planned for the Łódź region The 600MW solar and 100MW wind projects announced by Belchatow-owner PGE would replace only 4% of the plant’s 2021 lignite generation The current lack of transition plans for replacing lignite puts Poland’s energy security at risk and could see valuable grid infrastructure around Belchatow become stranded BNEF’s analysis presents several alternatives for replacing the decline in lignite generation at Belchatow alongside wind and solar fuel availability and price would limit the feasible size of thermal plants While Poland is expanding its import capacity for liquefied natural gas to make up for lost imports from Russia securing investments for a new gas pipeline to Belchatow could be challenging in the current market environment Nuclear is unlikely to replace lost lignite generation on time as new capacity often takes more than 10 years to plan and build Concrete plans to prepare for Belchatow’s retirement and accelerate the deployment of new low-carbon capacity could open the door for the plant to benefit from Just Transition funding from the EU Poland has the potential to receive around 3.5 billion euros to support five of its regions transition away from coal by 2030 These funds could help the Łódź region with targeted reskilling efforts and new economic development opportunities and reduce the impact of lost jobs once lignite mining and generation drops New clean energy projects could boost the local economy and enable the region to continue playing a key role in Polish power production and in the country’s economy The full Energy in Belchatow After Lignite report is publicly available via the following links in both English and Polish BloombergNEF (BNEF) is a strategic research provider covering global commodity markets and the disruptive technologies driving the transition to a low-carbon economy Our expert coverage assesses pathways for the power buildings and agriculture sectors to adapt to the energy transition finance and policy professionals navigate change and generate opportunities © 2025 Bloomberg Finance L.P. All rights reserved. Privacy | Terms | Disclaimer | | Cookie Preferences | 沪ICP备17049401 Want to learn how we help our clients put it all together? Contact us Draft paper says Bełchatów coal-fuelled plant to be phased out as part of plans to transform country’s energy Poland plans to close Europe’s most polluting power plant by the end of 2036, according to a draft document published by local authorities. The document, which is subject to public consultation, is part of the Lodz region’s application for support from the EU’s Just Transition Fund, aimed at helping regions bear the cost of shifting to a climate-neutral economy. The move comes after energy group PGE abandoned a plan to develop an open-pit lignite coalmine in Złoczew to fuel the Bełchatów plant after concluding the project would be loss-making, the document said. Bełchatów, whose operations were expected to be extended beyond the 2030s by output from the mine, will also now be phased out between 2030 and 2036, the document said. “Scheduling the dates of shutting down the power units of the Bełchatów power plant … [and] abandoning the plan to exploit the Złoczew deposit are of fundamental importance for planning the future of the Bełchatów complex, its employees and the inhabitants of this region,” said PGE’s chief executive, Wojciech Dąbrowski. because the success of this project will largely determine the success of the Polish energy transformation.” are due to be separated and moved to a state agency within months as part of Poland’s plan to free its utilities from coal Poland generates most of its electricity from coal but under rising pressure from the EU and with carbon emission costs surging it has encouraged more investment in low-emission sources Eleven gigawatts of wind and solar power could replace 80% of the electricity generated by Poland's Belchatow coal plant report think tank Forum Energii and BloombergNEF Most of the lignite-powered electricity generation at Belchatow could be made up for by the deployment of renewables paired with batteries or paired with less carbon-intensive thermal capacity such as combined heat and power according to new research by Polish think tank Forum Energii and research company BloombergNEF (BNEF) it would be possible to deploy 11 gigawatts (GW) of wind and solar power in Łódź the Polish region where Belchatow is located to replace 80% of its lignite-fired electricity generation biomass or waste-to-energy plant would achieve similar output Existing plans in the Łódź region include a 600 megawatt (MW) solar and 100MW wind project announced by Belchatow-owner PGE – which would replace just 4% of the plant’s 2021 lignite-fired power generation The Belchatow coal plant currently supplies 20% of Poland’s power BNEF and Forum Energii say a successful energy transition at the plant could serve as an example for coal regions around the world Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis “This is an optimistic report in the context of Belchatow’s energy future,” Maciej Kozakiewicz plenipotentiary of the Board of the Łódź Province for the transformation of the Belchatow region “It proves that with the involvement of all stakeholders there is a chance to maintain the symbolic status of ‘the capital of energy production in Poland.’” Give your business an edge with our leading industry insights View all newsletters from across the GlobalData Media network PGE SA’s open cast lignite mine and Belchatow coal powered power plant 2024 at 7:37 AM EDTBookmarkSaveShares in Poland’s state-run energy companies surged on Tuesday after the industry minister unexpectedly backed plans to relieve them from loss-making coal assets The 4,440MW power plant is located near Bełchatów in in Poland Zamech under a license from Brown Boveri & Cie The 4,440MW Bełchatów power plant is located near Bełchatów in the łódź province of Poland Operated by PGE Elektrownia Belchatow (PGE) it is the biggest lignite-fired power plant in Europe The plant was commissioned in 1988 and currently accounts for 20% of the Polish power market PGE commissioned the 13th unit with a capacity of 858MW The new unit has the highest efficiency of 41% and conforms to European standards on green house gas emissions The generator was commissioned in September 2011 Retrofit of the existing units is also underway to increase the design life of the plant by 25 years the Bełchatów plant had 12 units of 360MW each All of the units are equipped with a BB-1150 boiler an 18K360 turbine and a GTHW-360 generator Coal is supplied to the plant from a nearby coal mine through conveyor belts With a heat capacity of 750Gcal/h and performance rating of 1,150t/h the boilers have spirally wound furnace walls and are suspended on a grate carrier supported by four pillars Design of the boiler features a low load circulation system Coal is fed into the combustion chamber through a scraper and belt feeders Eight mazut burners are used to light the coal with air supplied by two air fans and exhaust fans The combustion chamber of the boiler features two circulating pumps Superheated steam generated by the boiler is sent to single shaft turbines The turbines feature four control valves and are rated at 370MW with a turnover of 3,000rpm A programme to modernise the turbines was carried out between 1997 and 2004 which increased the capacity by 10MW and reduced heat energy consumption by 210KJ/kWh A synchronous generator with a bipolar structure and cylindrical rotor generates electricity PGE launched a retrofit programme for unit 6 of the power plant to increase the unit’s output to 390MW-400MW The upgrade programme will retrofit the turbines and auxiliaries electro-hydraulic control system and instrumentation and control (I&C) equipment The boiler firing system will be upgraded to reduce emissions to 200mg/Nm³ for CO and NOx eight new pulverised coal burners and a flue gas heat exchanger will also be added to the unit another retrofit project for units 7 to 12 was launched to increase their capacity by 20MW each High pressure and intermediate pressure turbines and auxiliaries bypass systems and I&C equipment will be installed as part of the retrofit New electrostatic precipitators will also be installed to reduce emission levels to 50mg/Nm³ The contract for the retrofit programme was awarded to Alstom in March 2011 IFS implemented an ERP system at the plant which helped in quick access to operational data and enhanced document management Emerson was contracted in November 2009 to carry out the modernisation of units 5 and 6 The company had earlier won a contract to automate units 3 and 4 Emerson installed its PlantWeb digital plant architecture and Ovation expert control system to upgrade the units’ I&C Emerson will also install 110 Rosemount wireless temperature transmitters on the boilers to monitor temperatures The project will help in reducing the CO2 emissions to 200mg/m³ and the NOx emissions to 200mg/m³ Emerson won another contract worth $95m to automate units 7 to 12 The units 7 and 8 of the plant are planned to be shut down in January 2012 and June 2012 respectively for modernisation These units will be recommissioned in 2013 Rafako constructed the boilers for the plant with technology licensed from Sulzer and EVT The turbines were manufactured by Zamech under a license from Brown Boveri & Cie (now part of ABB) The generators were manufactured by Dolmel (now part of Alstom Power) Hayward Tyler supplied the circulating pumps Hempel provided its high quality protective coatings for the cool water pipelines of the plant Babcock Borsig Service was awarded a contract in 2009 to supply flue gas displacement system for units 5 and 6 SGS served as the technical consultant for the 13th unit of the plant PERI supplied a falsework combination consisting of ST 100 stacking towers and MULTIPROP aluminium slab props for the 13th unit ME Construct was also involved in the construction of the unit Alstom was awarded a €160m contract in 2009 to retrofit the unit 6 Alstom was awarded another retrofit contract worth €140m for units 7 to 12 The Bełchatów plant is considered to be one of the biggest producers of greenhouse gas emissions in the EU PGE has launched a two phase programme to build carbon capture plants (CCP) The pilot CCP will use Alstom’s Advanced Amine Process with amine solvent supplied by Dow Chemical a bigger plant will be built to capture carbon emissions from the new 858MW unit The new plant will capture 1.8mt/y of CO2 and is expected to be operational by 2015 The project will require an investment of $776m and has received a €180m grant from the European Investment Bank in May 2010 View all newsletters from across the GlobalData Media network Apr 13, 2021 | Business, Politics, Society Three Polish coal power plants were among the top ten biggest emitters of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the European Union last year Bełchatów power station in central Poland once again topped the ranking as by far the bloc’s biggest single emitter Six of the remaining nine places in the list which was compiled by climate think tank Ember based on EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) data The final spot went to an Austrian steel plant Data: Ember (*all sources are coal power stations apart from Stahl Linz which like the other Polish power stations on the list is run by a state-owned company saw its CO2 emissions drop by 8.1% year-on-year to reach 30.1 million tonnes (or megatonnes That still put it well ahead of Germany’s Nuerath plant Last year, documents published by Greenpeace Polska indicated that Bełchatów’s operator, energy group PGE, is drawing up plans to begin gradually shutting down the plant after 2030 due to shrinking lignite resources nearby Moving up to fourth on the list was the Kozienice hard coal power station the Opole plant in southern Poland entered the top 10 after a 38.1% year-on-year increase in CO2 emissions moved it into ninth Poland overtakes Germany as EU’s biggest coal generator Poland still generates nearly 73% of its electricity from coal, the highest proportion in the EU. Last year, it also overtook Germany as the EU’s biggest generator of electricity from coal in absolute terms The data also showed that Poland generates as much electricity from coal as the rest of the EU (excluding Germany) combined In November, Ember identified Poland as one of five member states – along with Belgium the Czech Republic and Romania – that are “blocking the EU electricity transition” Its analysis indicated that by 2030 Poland would have the EU’s dirtiest electricity production With EU’s dirtiest energy production, Poland threatens bloc’s climate targets, study finds Poland is the only member state not to have signed up to the EU’s target of reaching climate neutrality by 2050 Warsaw argues that it needs more generous funding to facilitate its transition away from coal Poland bets on nuclear as it seeks to reduce reliance on coal domestic hard coal production in Poland decreased by approximately 7.2 million tonnes and 54.18 zloty was lost by Polish mines on each tonne of coal sold with the total losses exceeding 2.8 billion zloty Poland has also been importing record amounts of electricity with domestic power production in 2019 falling to its lowest level in five years Unprecedented Czech legal challenge to Polish coal mine could be “catastrophic” for Poland Main image credit: Bogusz Bilewski/Greenpeace Polska (under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) Juliette Bretan is a freelance journalist covering Polish and Eastern European current affairs and culture Her work has featured on the BBC World Service Business, News, Politics Karol Nawrocki even suggested that the state security services were involved in creating the scandal History, News, Society The 1,200 square metre national symbol was unfurled on the beach in Międzyzdroje News, Politics, Society The proportion of Poles saying the US has a positive influence on the world has also fallen to its lowest recorded level Apr 30, 2025 | Defence, Hot news, News, Politics That response will include “large Polish and NATO exercises in Poland” Apr 29, 2025 | Business, Hot news, News, Society Those employed in Poland work on average the third-longest hours in the European Union Apr 28, 2025 | Business, Energy & Climate, Hot news, News, Politics Westinghouse and Bechtel were first chosen in 2022 as partners on the 192 billion zloty ($51 billion) project please consider helping us to continue and expand it [email protected] Copyright © 2025 Notes From Poland | Design jurko studio | Code by 2sides.pl Senior Research Fellow at the Global Europe Centre ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Weronika Strzyżyńska is currently studying journalism at Goldsmiths as a Scott Trust Bursary recipient She  has written on issues immigration and Brexit for New Statesman and Prospect Agnieszka Wądołowska is managing editor of Notes from Poland She has previously worked for Gazeta.pl and Tokfm.pl and contributed to Gazeta Wyborcza ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland and 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AUTHOR Associate Professor at the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Science ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR clouds of smoke over Europe’s largest lignite power plant in Belchatow Energy experts were working to restore full operations at Poland’s biggest power plant after an energy network failure switched off 10 of the plant’s 11 units the Czech Republic and Slovakia to fill in for the suddenly missing power plumes of smoke rise from Europe’s largest lignite power plant in Belchatow Energy imports from Germany and Sweden were needed to fill in for the suddenly missing power clouds of smoke over Europe’s largest lignite power plant in Betchatow Poland (AP) — Energy experts worked Tuesday to restore full operations at Poland’s biggest power plant after a network failure switched off 10 of the brown coal-fueled Belchatow plant’s 11 units a disruption felt across Europe’s power network Poland needed emergency energy imports from Germany the Czech Republic and Slovakia to fill in for the suddenly missing power supply It was a second major outage since 2015 at Belchatow which provides up to 20% of the energy in Poland The outage at the lignite-fired station was felt across Europe’s continent-wide network of power grids Operators recorded a sudden drop in mains frequency from the standard 50 Hz to about 49.85 Hz just after 14:30 GMT Monday Other power supply companies had to scramble to compensate for what was a major deviation to prevent consumers from feeling the change Officials said the outage was the units’ automatic reply to a failure at a nearby power switchboard where 10 of Belchatow’s units are connected is connected to a different switchboard and was not affected said Tuesday that eight of the units had been restored but that restarting them after a total cut was a big challenge PGE spokesperson Beata Jarosz-Dziekanowska said the nationwide energy system was working properly and no power shortages were expected and we can always use imports,” Jarosz-Dziekanowska said The outage underscored the need for a diversification of Poland’s energy sources The country of some 38 million residents gets 65% of its power from black coal and lignite Environmental groups say Poland is Europe’s laggard in phasing out polluting fossil fuels and introducing clean energy “The outage of such a big plant like Belchatow shows that coal is not a reliable source of energy,” said Monika Sadkowska of the group WWF A government energy plan calls for completely eliminating coal from the country’s energy mix no sooner than 2049 a date seen as a concession to Poland’s 80,000 coal miners a new lignite-powered unit opened in Turow Authorities say the state-of-the art station is vital for ensuring energy during the transition to cleaner sources and produces low CO2 emissions The government recently extended the operating license for the Turow lignite mine and power plant until 2044 drawing protests from neighboring Germany and Czech Republic Renewable energy currently accounts for some 18% of Poland’s generated supply Recent legislation for off-shore wind power is expected to help Poland make progress toward the European Union’s 2030 goal of having at least 32% clean energy in the mix Prime Minister Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced plans - but no dates - for developing hydrogen technologies as a step toward a climate-neutral economy Defenders of CO2-generating coal-fired power plants say they are still needed to maintain reliable energy supplies as demand rises They claim that renewable power sources like wind and solar can’t do that because they are too linked to changing weather conditions and are still underdeveloped in Poland According to energy expert Bartlomiej Sawicki Poland could have problems with its power supplies after 2025 when some coal-powered units need to be closed due to their age Massive imports of liquefied natural gas from the United States Qatar and other sources are to ensure energy stability during the transition period combines Europe’s largest lignite mine and Poland’s largest power plant it supplies energy to some 11.5 million households It was previously taken off the grid in 2015 when a massive heat wave and unprecedented demand for cooling power led to a failure of operations a state-owned public power company and the largest power producing company in Poland has announced the dates it will be shutting down subsequent blocks of the coal power plant in Belchatow Europe’s biggest coal-fired power plant… The company also announced that it will end the exploitation of lignite deposits. [Shutterstock/Damian Lugowski] Poland’s Parliament this week postponed considering a draft mining law aimed at fast-tracking new coal mines putting pressure on the country’s biggest electric utility and the Polish government to prepare for the gradual closure of Bełchatów the owner-operator of the Bełchatów power plant has faced a false choice between developing a new lignite mine or else a new nuclear power plant to replace it Bełchatów supplies nearly one-fifth of Poland’s annual electricity demand but is on borrowed time as existing lignite mines run down Both a mine and nuclear power plant would be massive infrastructure projects that could secure baseload They would both tick important political boxes of generating thousands of jobs in the near-term PGE estimates a new lignite mine to feed Bełchatów would cost around PLN 12 billion (€2.8 billion The proposed Złoczew mine without a doubt would become a stranded asset we are in no doubt that the proposed mine would become a stranded asset given the associated carbon emissions that would render it obsolete 15 years after construction started in 2007 it is probably already too late to build a nuclear power plant in Poland which could start to replace Bełchatów in the early 2030s Last week, IEEFA published a report calling on PGE to abandon the proposed new lignite mine at Złoczew pointing to the poor financial performance of the utility since it began investing heavily in new coal and lignite four years ago The problem for coal and lignite in Poland is that rising wholesale power prices have failed to keep pace with rising carbon costs it is likely that wholesale power prices will as more zero marginal-cost renewables enter the grid and via interconnectors from neighbouring countries The government strategy appears to be to make way for uneconomic domestic coal and lignite It would be best to welcome the reality of lower wholesale power prices the strategy of the Polish government appears to be to delay or obstruct growth in local renewables and electricity imports to make way for uneconomic domestic coal and lignite the government placed on hold a new mining law whose purpose was to fast-track Złoczew mine authorisation by introducing “special purpose areas” that would by-pass local planning authorities on the location of new mines AND THE GOVERNMENT’S PLANS FOR ZLOCZEW MAY NOW BE DEAD given the likelihood of various legal challenges to any new lignite mine Killing the project officially would open a much-needed debate on the real alternatives Poland must urgently develop low-cost plans for the country’s energy mix in 2025 including onshore wind (where Uruguay and Texas are world leaders) battery storage (South Australia and Colorado) a critical factor will be to exploit EU funds already available to ensure a changing electricity mix does not sacrifice jobs in regions such as Bełchatów to continue to prosper with cleaner air and more sustainable and cost-effective energy Gerard Wynn ([email protected]) is an IEEFA energy finance consultant IEEFA update: Poland’s PGE should ditch plans for new lignite mine IEEFA update: Poland’s PGE utility delays energy transition IEEFA Europe: PGE’s pro-coal strategy in Poland under fire Former IEEFA Energy Finance Consultant Gerard Wynn is a U.K.-based 10-year veteran of energy and economics reporting at the Thomson Reuters News Agency and has authored numerous papers on energy issues ranging from solar power in Great Brit PGE SA seeks to be climate neutral at the end of the next decade or 10 years earlier than previously expected The Warsaw-listed group kept its plan to build 2.5 gigawatts of offshore wind farms by 2030 and a 2.8 gigawatts nuclear power plant by 2040 The investments will cost more than 125 billion zloty ($30 billion) by 2030 When Michal Gogol was confirmed as the head coach of the nine-time Polish champions Skra Belchatow for the 2019-2020 season he was described by club president Konrad Piechocki as ‘one of the most promising Polish coaches of his generation’ The 35-year-old became the youngest head coach in the PlusLiga when he joined Skra in 2019 and he led them to a third-place finish in the league in his debut season a season that finished early due to Covid-19 and a season where Skra finished on an unbeaten run of 11 matches during the play-off stages “I loved my first season but you can feel also a note of disappointment that it finished unsolved and too early for our team,” said Gogol “We had a feeling that we were really ready to play for big goals and our team was healthy and looking good… and then the season stopped Skra is a top club and people will always have high expectations about our results so you need to perform every three or five days at a really top level We had a slow start to the season after our main players came back from the national teams after the FIVB Volleyball World Cup 2019 but after that we achieved a high level of play and for 11 matches we were unbeaten but as I said before we have a feeling of unfinished business.” It is clear that the former setter has made changes at Skra since joining but he continues to work on what he wants to create with the team and how it’s working “The biggest challenge was to convince the players that we can still improve in some elements even if they feel they are already performing well We made a huge step forwards in block-defence and also in our tactical thinking It was important to understand that even with our offensive qualities like spiking and serving we can be also be a very good break-point team.” Gogol’s biggest challenge is also an example of the culture and the environment that he is trying to create at Skra trying to develop a way of working that enhances the team’s approach to each game “I like a culture of hard work and becoming better every day My motto is ‘every day be a better version of yourself’ The guys were surprised that they could be better at so many things when they discovered how to develop their skills.” a team that includes world champions Karol Klos, Mateusz Bieniek and Grzegorz Lomacz alongside the talents of American Taylor Sander Iranian Milad Ebadipour and Serbians Dusan Petkovic and Mihajlo Mitic The coach doesn’t think Skra are far away from conquering Poland once more but the Polish league will also be tougher than ever “We have everything to fight for the title but the Polish Championship has changed a lot over the last few years and the competition is really demanding The level of the league went up because of the new and well organised teams who are creating their history right now this is our second season together and I think it will give us an advantage We are hungry and we want to bring back the gold to Belchatow.” One big change to the team when the new season resumes will be that 2014 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship MVP and club legend Mariusz Wlazly will no longer be at the club after 17 years with Skra Wlazly won every single one of Skra’s 9 championships and his achievements in the game are endless The opposite leaves a gap on the court but also within the club Also read:Polish legend Wlazly moves on from PGE Skra Belchatow “I think it’s still tough for everyone and it will be an absolutely new thing when you see Mariusz wearing a different shirt,” said Gogol. “Time will show how things will go People in the city and in the club for sure will always respect him and remember him in a good way He was directly involved in the biggest wins for the club He’s 37 and still playing great as an opposite You can’t find many players his age playing at his level but we have an amazing group of players and I’m sure the guys will stick together for the good and bad moments.” Gogol will only remind himself of the ‘good he has done wish him all the best and hope he will still enjoy volleyball in the seasons ahead’ showing the level of respect the 2014 Polish sportsman of the year enjoys with his former coach.  Polish national team dutiesGogol should have spent his summer trying to obtain an Olympic gold medal for Poland working as an assistant to Poland men’s team head coach Vital Heynen Gogol was also an assistant coach when Poland won the World Championships for the second successive time in 2018 Volleyball brings immense pride to the people of Poland and Gogol gives us some valuable insight into working with Heynen and the culture within the team and how special it is “Our national team is something special for all of us I’m happy and proud to be part of it not only on the court but he has also helped us to understand each other and understand our mentality We feel that we can trust anyone inside the team We feel like we belong to one big family and can count on everyone This gives us the power to work and to enjoy our work Gogol continues to discuss what he’s learnt in his role as an assistant coach when he ‘follows and tries to help as much as he can’ but also ‘shares thoughts’ with the Belgian who is also the head coach of Sir Safety Perugia he’s a great coach and he’s also a very interesting person I’ve learnt not only about volleyball but also about life He’s unique and he’s doing things his own way From the outside you might think things are chaotic and crazy you realise that things are finding their best natural way.” Poland have a history of employing coaches from other nations to lead their club and national teams The influence of established coaches is something that Gogol and others are learning from “We are gathering the fruits of many coaches’ amazing work in Poland and Polish coaches now have their own different ideas and philosophies of work but the truth is we owe a lot to foreign coaches I don’t feel like I’m leading any group of coaches but for sure it’s a big chance for me and I hope my way will help to prove Polish coaches can do a great job too.” Poland haven’t been led by a Polish head coach since Stanislaw Gosciniak in 2004 and although it’s something that Gogol dreams of it’s a job that comes with great responsibility and one that he wants to be ‘ready for’ one day “It’s a dream for every Polish coach but you must understand it’s not a normal I think it is important to be really ready to do it You can’t be the national team’s coach by using only the argument that you are Polish You need to be the the best choice among others I hope one day I can say I’m ready for it.” like Poland are in very safe hands with Michal Gogol and that his development will be an interesting watch over the next seasons The FIVB is the governing body responsible for all forms of Volleyball on a global level Working closely with national federations and private enterprises to develop Volleyball as a popular media and entertainment sport FIVB Fédération Internationale de Volleyball Château Les Tourelles Edouard-Sandoz 2-4 1006 Lausanne Switzerland Phone: +41 213 453 535 Fax: +41 213 453 545 Learn how to describe the purpose of the image (opens in a new tab) Leave empty if the image is purely decorative ← → Global subsidies for fossil fuels reached $7 trillion in 2022 according to the International Monetary Fund giving money back to consumers when prices exceeded those limits The other 82 percent of fossil fuel subsidies were implicit but also the unpaid cost of climate change and air pollution as a result of burning fossil fuels Consumers do not pay directly for the damage caused by their use of fossil fuels undercharging for these damages amounted to 60 percent of subsidies Analysts called for phasing out both explicit and implicit subsidies That would mean eliminating price caps and tax breaks and also imposing a tax on the consumption of fossil fuels to account for the damage inflicted by their use If the price of fossil fuels reflected their actual cost carbon emissions would drop by 43 percent by 2030 and 1.6 million people yearly would be spared an early death from air pollution Deep in the Heart of Texas, an Uphill Fight 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facts from the world’s leading source analyse the trends and explain how our planet is changing We meet the experts on the front line of climate change who explore new strategies to mitigate and adapt Polish authorities are prepared to close Europe’s most polluting power plant by the end of 2036 according to a draft document published by local authorities on Tuesday The Lodz region has launched a public consultation its bid for support from the EU's multibillion-euro Just Transition Fund which helps coal-dependent regions shift to a climate-neutral economy The plans include a proposal to wind up Europe’s biggest coal complex which since 1982 has poured more than 1 billion tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere Under the draft 'Territorial Just Transition Plan' lignite-burning at Bełchatów would be reduced by 80 per cent by 2030 – the equivalent of cancelling a year’s worth of emissions from Croatia - and stopped outright by 2036 Poland's state-run energy group PGE has duly scrapped plans to develop an open-pit coal mine in Zloczew to support Bełchatów based on the conclusion that it would be loss-making PGE chief executive Wojciech Dąbrowski conceded that dropping the plan to exploit the Zloczew lignite deposit and scheduling a shutdown of the power plant "because the success of this project will largely determine the success of the Polish energy transformation.” the company warned that Bełchatów is the biggest employer in the transition area and careful thought would be needed to minimise the socio-economic impact of phasing out coal no decision had been made on what type of energy coal-fired units would be replaced with But it said either nuclear power or green hydrogen might be considered after 2030 Environmentalists who have been following developments in one of Europe's most coal-dependant countries welcomed the proposals on Friday PGE has stopped pulling the wool over people’s eyes that it will build the Zloczew mine,” said Joanna Flisowska from Greenpeace fossil fuel infrastructure lead at ClientEarth’s Warsaw office said: “The wind is changing – when you see Europe’s biggest coal operation heading into retirement “Coal has long been stalling and profitability is collapsing The most important thing now is to secure a realistic future for those who have been employed by the coal industry up until now The Polish government owes this to Polish people and to Europe.” Bełchatów is roughly five times the size of an average coal plant and burns a tonne of coal every second and the Lodz region's plan proposes that the first close by 2026 Metrics details (A) View of the Bełchatów Lignite Mine outcrop (photo from the nineties of the twentieth century The sedimentary unit with deposits with the cladoceran fossils is to the lower right of the picture (photo: G (B) Piece of mudstone with cladoceran remains (Collection KRAM-P 225 On the exposed surface leaves of trees and shrubs as well as the water plant Potamogeton (red circle) are seen (photo: A The fission track ages were 16.5 to 18.1 million years have to date a limited Mesozoic fossil record but their subfossils abound in Holocene lake sediments Alona with two head pores from Miocene mudstone from Bełchatów [(A–C) H) abdomens; (E) shell with abdomen] (photo: A Acroperus-Camptocercus from Miocene mudstone at Bełchatów [(A) complete animal with shell and first antenna; (B) abdomen; (C) shell; (D) claw; (E) shell with abdomen; (F) headshield with soft parts first and second trunk limbs with IDL setae conserved] (photo: A Bosmina from Miocene mudstone from Bełchatów [(A F) shell; (B) shell with headshield; (C) headshield with first antenna; (E) first antenna)] (photo: A that at Bełchatów no daphniid fossils have to date been discovered That we recovered no daphniid fossils may refine our insight into the nature of the Bełchatów aquatic environment: We favour the idea of a series of shallow oxbow lakes in a climate warmer than todays with at least locally an abundance of macrophytes and the genus Simocephalus among daphniids also prefers such an environment Simocephalus is quite common and widespread in modern weedy lakes but it has not been found in Bełchatów either Bosminids are truly planktonic and need open water the Bełchatów lakes were probably a patchwork of macrophyte beds and open water Tench is an omnivore and Pike is zooplanktivorous in its early stages Predation-driven exclusion of these large cladocerans may therefore well have acted in concert with the physical environment our Miocene assemblage significantly expand our insights in anomopod evolution They resemble modern faunas but at the same time show stronger signs of evolution at the species and at the genus level than expected under the morphological stasis hypothesis based on Daphnia ephippia We also find clear indications of a species diversity that resembles todays’ with morphologies that look familiar at first sight but prove divergent in the details Bosminid fossils used to be known from the Pleistocene only but in the Bełchatów fauna they are remarkably abundant and some of them show an unfamiliar morphology This is best interpreted as a case of paleo-competitive release Daphniids normally dominate the pelagic and keep bosminid abundances down But their absence gives these small crustaceans a chance to prosper and dominate the open waters Cladoceran remains were first found during palynological analysis of samples from a collection encoded KRAM-P 225 the material containing cladocerans was examined in detail Around 50 gr of mudstone was incubated with a 10% solution of sodium hexametaphosphate and was allowed to macerate overnight under gentle heating the sample was heated with 10% KOH for twenty minutes such as trunk limbs and mouth parts (the labrum) better preserved than most Holocene (sub)fossils the fossils were three-dimensional with well preserved soft parts Fission-track zircon dating of tuffitic intercalations (Tonstein) in the Brown–Coal Mine “Bełchatów” Stratigraphic position and sedimentary features of the Tertiary Uppermost Fluvial Member in the Kleszczów Graben Wyniki dotychczasowych badań paleobotanicznych trzeciorzędowych węgli brunatnych złoża “Bełchatów” (summary: Results of the hitherto palaeobotanical investigations of the Tertiary brown coal bed “Bełchatów” (Central Poland) Kovalchuk, O., Nadachowski, A., Świdnicka, E., & Stefaniak, K. Fishes from the Miocene lacustrine sequence of Bełchatów (Poland). Hist. Biol. https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2018.1561671 (2019) Miocene palynoflora from the KRAM-P 218 leaf assemblage from the Bełchatów Lignite Mine (Central Poland) Wetland vegetation from the Miocene deposits of the Bełchatów Lignite Mine (central Poland) Paleoecology of the Miocene fossil mammal fauna from Bełchatów (Poland) Introduction to the Class Branchiopoda (Backhuys The fossil record of the Cladocera (Crustacea: Branchiopoda): Evidence and hypotheses Atlas of Subfossil Cladocera from Central and Northern Europe 1–84 (Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Dolnej Wisły: Świecie A guide to the identification of subfossil chydorid Cladocera (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) from lake sediments of Central America and the Yucatan Peninsula Before the ‘Big Chill’: A preliminary overview of arthropods from the middle Miocene of Iceland (Insecta Registro de pulgas de agua [Cladocera: Daphniidae Daphnia (Ctenodaphnia)] en el Mioceno de Rubielos de Mora (Teruel Comunicaciones de la II Reunión de Tafonomía y Fosilización The Cladocera (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) as a relict group Dotychczasowe wyniki badań podstawowych serii poznańskiej w świetle geologiczno-inżynierskich problemów prowadzenia robót górniczych w KWB “Bełchatów” (summary: The hitherto existing results of the Poznań suite in the light of geological-engineering problems of carrying mining works in the “Bełchatów” brown coal open mine) The plankton community of Lake Matano: factors regulating plankton composition and relative abundance in an ancient Lake Tanganyika and Its Life (Natural HIstory Museum Publications In Handbook of Holocene Palaeoecology and Palaeohydrology (ed Download references This work was co-supported by: Institute of Nature Conservation Polish Academy of Sciences through the statutory funds wrote the manuscript with contributions from all authors The authors declare no competing interests Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations Reprints and permissions Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-69024-9 Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: a shareable link is not currently available for this article Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Anthropocene newsletter — what matters in anthropocene research the European Commission launched JTP GROUNDWORK JTP GROUNDWORK supports Just Transition Fund (JTF) regions to implement their Territorial Just Transition Plans (TJTPs) Six beneficiaries – covering nine JTF regions – are currently receiving support from the first call of JTP GROUNDWORK The Łódzkie Voivodship is home to the Bełchatów power plant – a lignite thermal power plant known as the biggest greenhouse gas emitter in the EU Lignite mining and energy production dominate Bełchatów’s economy and the number of enterprises per capita is below the average of the voivodship and the national average employment in lignite mining in Bełchatów is predicted to decrease by 40.4% As the region moves towards a climate-neutral future Łódzkie would like to invest in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to future-proof its economy Łódzkie receives €369.5 million from the Just Transition Fund to invest in skills development renewable energy deployment and energy efficiency as well as in research laboratories and business infrastructure for local SMEs Łódzkie receives technical assistance from JTP GROUNDWORK to design a support scheme for SMEs entitled “The role of SME support measures in the just transition” took place in Łódź on 8 and 9 November as part of the technical assistance The Marshal Office of the Łódzkie Voivodship and the JTP GROUNDWORK team organised a two-day conference including experience-sharing sessions and a site visit to the Łódź Special Economic Zone to provide SME support practitioners from Polish and other JTF regions with a platform for connecting The Marshal Office of the Łódzkie Voivodship also presented its upcoming SME support scheme with positive reactions from both entrepreneurs and the business community The event welcomed more than 100 participants local institutions focused on supporting businesses and representatives from regional authorities Representatives from other Polish JTF regions – including Silesia and Eastern Wielkopolska – joined the event and shared their experiences in supporting SMEs The conference also engaged experts from Denmark Estonia and Germany to bring a wide range of perspectives to the discussions The conference was the final event in a series of workshops held to shape Łódzkie’s upcoming SME support scheme A first workshop focused on gathering input from potential beneficiaries in the Bełchatów area The workshop welcomed both new entrepreneurs and existing SMEs to ensure that both their needs are accounted for in the design of the scheme The second workshop served to collect insights and ideas from local institutions focused on supporting businesses Inputs from the conference will feed into the final concept of the scheme which will serve as the basis for a call for proposals to be launched by the region in February 2024 The appropriately titled Elektrownia Belchatow – a massive coal-fired power station – belched out 30,862,792 tonnes of CO2 last year and by 2010 the whole generating facility will have grown by 20% The Polish energy giant was named as climate change enemy number one in a report by the London-based Sandbag Climate Campaign and its greenhouse gas output dwarfed the 22m tonnes of annual carbon produced by the Drax power station in North Yorkshire and a host of equally dirty German plants Sandbag said the expansion of Belchatow and the planned construction of 50 coal-fired plants across the European mainland demonstrated that policies such as the EU's European Trading Scheme (ETS) were not working said the price of pollution allowances in the ETS was too low to deter companies from choosing coal over clean energy noting that six of the 10 most polluting plants are in Germany despite generous government subsidies for solar and other clean technologies "They have to buy emission allowances yet they are still planning a massive expansion If the scheme was having the desired effect they would be pursuing cleaner options now not at some distant point in the future," she added While British ministers have taken a stand against constructing new coal stations at Kingsnorth in Kent and elsewhere without "clean" technology to capture the emissions the deluge of projects in Europe is undermining EU credibility ahead of the forthcoming UN negotiations in Copenhagen on tackling global warming "Dozens of new unabated projects across Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland and elsewhere are either under construction or could soon be approved Going ahead with these could wreck Europe's climate strategy," he said Elektrownia Belchatow is raising coal-fired capacity from 4,400 megawatts to 5,258 from next year which burns the most polluting lignite "brown" coal from its own mine next door is earmarked for a full carbon capture and storage prototype A spokesman for French engineering company Alstom said they were working on a range of initiatives to improve the wider efficiency of the plant and reduce its carbon output It is one of an estimated 11 new coal schemes planned in Poland while 28 more are on the drawing board in Germany While Poland has long been dependent on its home-mined lignite Germany is expanding its coal-fired stations to produce electricity in anticipation of a rundown in its nuclear facilities could yet be changed as the two main political parties vying for power in the September elections have opposing views on how energy security should be achieved E.ON said that coal is being pursued because it answers some of the problems posed in the energy sector "It is a cheap form of power but it also gives security of supply and flexibility The final element is obviously to find a way of not damaging the environment and we hope CCS will be the answer to that," explained a UK spokesman for the German company Protests by environmentalists over E.ON's plans to build a coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth have encouraged Ed Miliband the secretary of state for energy and climate change to rule that there should be no plants in the UK without some degree of CCS with the remainder of any plant having CCS fitted within five years of it being judged "technically and economically proven" The WWF believes the 50 coal schemes in total around Europe represent about 50 gigawatts of power That compares with the 70GW of total power produced in Britain from all existing sources nuclear and a small but growing contribution from wind New coal stations are being planned in big numbers in the US and China but the EU has been arguing that all countries should proceed only if they use CCS to turn them into "clean" coal projects The EU is committed to cutting carbon emissions by at least 20% by the year 2020 and 80% by 2050 and wants all nations to agree tough new targets at Copenhagen The concept of CCS is considered vital to the fight against global warming But question marks remain about whether the feasibility of doing it at large scale and at a cost that makes it work Plummer dreams of emulating Kiraly You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser or activate Google Chrome Frame to improve your experience BloombergNEF (BNEF) has outlined a potential transition plan for a coal-fired power plant in Belchatow It said that 5 GW of solar and 5.7 GW of wind could replace 80% of Belchatow’s lignite generation capacity by 2036 BNEF has examined the feasibility of gradually transitioning from lignite generation at Poland‘s Belchatow coal plant – which is the largest such facility in Europe and the sixth largest in the world – to a mix of renewables 1 GW of storage and 0.1 GW of thermal capacity could replace 80% of Belchatow’s generating capacity BNEF based its analysis on local weather patterns and land availability It said this combination would result in the highest economic value electricity produced by PV is reportedly about 50% cheaper than lignite “BNEF analysis finds that the cheapest electricity mix in Poland can be achieved when wind and solar account for most of overall generation and more expensive flexible technologies generate only during the few hours or days when wind and solar output is low,” said the company It also said that a solar and wind combination has the potential to create a better overall generation profile than either technology on its own “Solar and wind in the region often generate at different times complementing each other,” said Felicia Aminoff energy transition analyst at BNEF and the lead author of the report The greatest challenge for the optimal scenario in terms of solar is its significant use of land Belchatow’s land would have to be reclaimed given that the lignite fields would be flooded with water once mining ends and 1.5 GW of thermal capacity could replace 80% of the plant’s total generation BNEF said that Polish lignite generation will drop by 75% between 2021 and 2030 with the resource likely to run out by 2036 That will force the plant to shut down unless it transitions to other power sources The report also looks at technologies that could be deployed in Belchatow after 2030 low-emission sources in the Bełchatów region must be started as soon as possible in order to maintain the security of energy supply at a high level and reduce electricity prices,” said Joanna Maćkowiak-Pandera More articles from Beatriz Santos Please be mindful of our community standards and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value" This website uses cookies to anonymously count visitor numbers. View our privacy policy. × The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this Close Jun 8, 2020 | Business, Energy & Climate Polish state energy group PGE is planning to shut down parts of Bełchatów the largest coal power plant in Europe and the EU’s biggest single source of CO2 emissions according to documents reported by Greenpeace Polska The news comes as PGE and Polish energy officials consider the future of Poland’s dependence on coal with EU climate regulations requiring costly modification of plants Poland still generates around 80% of its power from coal Any decision to close parts of Bełchatów would also call into question recent plans to build a new open-pit mine at Złoczew which was intended to be used to maintain brown coal supplies to the power station Polish government backs new coal mine despite economic and environmental concerns updated documents in a permit application submitted to the governor of the Łódź province reveal that PGE is intending to gradually shut down power units of the Bełchatów power plant after 2030 The firm claims this decision was taken due to shrinking brown coal resources in the nearby Szczerców open-pit The coal sector has also faced challenges in recent times. Poland last year imported a record amount of electricity, as domestic power production fell to its lowest level in five years “This is not a comfortable situation for Polish utilities,” Robert Maj, an analyst at Ipopema Securities, told Reuters which noted that the growth of cheaper and cleaner electricity from abroad has been reducing demand for electricity from Poland’s mostly coal-fired state-run power stations Poland has also been importing growing amounts of coal from abroad the last full year for which data are available over 13 million tonnes were imported – the highest ever annual quantity and two and a half times more than in 2015 After government forbids Russian imports, Polish state firms switch to pricier domestic coal Recent comments by representatives of PGE have suggested the company is beginning to move away from coal the director of the firm’s Brussels office told S&P Global Platts that it will be withdrawing from its entire coal and lignite operations within 20 to 25 years Burny said that the “coal phase-out plan” would detail “the lifetimes of the existing assets” noting that many would be decommissioned sooner than 2045 “due to lower efficiency and technical degradation” there was perhaps a notion to prolong difficult decisions There were signs that things may change in a few years,” he explained PGE’s profits in the first quarter amounted to 1.77 billion zloty Its consolidated net profits also decreased to 432 million zloty The falls are the result of a decrease in the production of electricity generated from brown coal and an increase in the costs of CO2 emissions permits Burny added that if Poland tried to phase out coal more quickly – and in line with strict EU emissions targets – PGE’s profitability and ability to finance renewable and gas-fired generation could take a hit but as a state-owned company we also need to ensure security of supply There is the social aspect that needs to be taken into account,” he explained Government promises to fully compensate “each Polish family” for higher electricity bills Despite a shift to greener energy sources in the EU due to its heavy reliance on coal and the influence of the powerful mining lobby Last year, Poland was the only member state not to sign up to the EU’s target of reaching climate neutrality by 2050 saying it would need “significantly larger” funding from the EU budget to help with transition costs with increasing costs resulting from EU’s climate policies putting pressure on the Polish coal sector Further EU regulations coming into force in the future will make Polish coal mines and power stations even less cost-effective Some of the equipment at Bełchatów is also in imminent need of replacement Analysis from Enervis suggests that replacing power plants with renewable gas-assisted energy sources could be possible before 2030 – and would save 4 billion zloty which would otherwise have to be spent on the modernisation and maintenance of coal power blocks It could also reduce production costs and the quantity of electricity imported from abroad as well as allowing Poland to benefit from new EU funds supporting greener energy alternatives New Polish climate minister: “We cannot avoid our responsibility to the planet” The decision over Bełchatów has raised questions about controversial plans for an open-pit mine at Złoczew, which were backed by the government in February “The closing of the power blocks at the Bełchatów power plant would begin at the same time as the supposed start of lignite mining from the Złoczew open pit,” said Anna Meres from Greenpeace Polska detailed analysis of fuel types intended for future use focuses only on the raw material from the currently operating Szczerców open pit – throughout the document there is not even a word about the announced pit at Złoczew This is a clear signal that in fact the investor does not plan mining there and the investment announced for years will never arise Critics claim the mine will cause environmental damage and major losses for the state energy group PGE itself The General Directorate for Environmental Protection (GDOŚ) recently postponed issuing an environmental assessment until 31 August Other Polish coal-based projects have already become casualties of the move away from coal. Plans for Poland’s last newly built coal-fired power station, Ostrołęka C, have faced numerous obstacles the state-controlled companies overseeing the investment announced that they would shift plans to gas instead of coal The dream of “Poland’s last coal plant” is turning into a nightmare Main image credit: Greenpeace Polska/Flickr (under CC BY-ND 2.0) [email protected] TEHRAN – Iran international outside hitter Milad Ebadipour extended his contract with PGE Skra Bełchatów volleyball team for one more year In his first season in the team of PGE Skra Bełchatów Ebadipour scored 345 points in PlusLiga and 70 in the Champions League He made the best performance in the first semi-final match against Trefl Gdańsk where he scored 23 points “I extended my contract because Skra Bełchatów is the best choice for me I learned a lot of new things and found friends here and PGE Skra is one of the best clubs in the world and playing in the team is a great pleasure for me,” Ebadipour said in an interview with przegladsportowy.pl Ebadipour is the Iranian player to play in the Polish League Our weekly email is chockful of interesting and relevant insights into Jewish history Harry Haft’s real-life story is shocking and little known a concentration camp that was part of the vast Auschwitz complex The loser of each fight was murdered by Nazi guards who enjoyed watching this macabre spectacle The horror of his experiences never left him directed by Academy Award-winner Barry Levinson and starring Ben Foster Harry (Hershel) was born in 1925 into an impoverished Jewish family in the Polish town of Belchatow Belchatow’s population was half Jewish at the time and the Haft family was surrounded by Jewish neighbors and friends who helped and supported them Harry’s father Moishe was a peddler who died when Harry was just three years old Harry had his first job at the age of five delivering birds from the town’s kosher butcher to customers Antisemitism was part of the fabric of the town recalls that teachers in the local public school Harry attended openly favored the Christian pupils beating and belittling Jewish students for even the slightest mistake Jews were also attacked by their non-Jewish peers who imbibed intense antisemitism from sermons in their family churches and homes The harshness of his childhood made Harry a fighter “There were gangs who terrorized the Jewish children,” Alan Scott Haft described in his book about his father Harry Haft: Survivor of Auschwitz Challenger of Rocky Marciano (Syracuse University Press: 2006) “Harry understood early that he needed to fight and get a reputation as a fighter so that he would not be their victim.” Belchatow fell into German hands on October 5 just weeks after the outbreak of World War II Belchatow had a large population of ethnic Germans who spoke German at home and attended Lutheran churches in the town These “Folk Germans” welcomed their new overlords with open arms Based on his father’s testimony Alan Scott Haft said “Jews were systematically picked off the streets for forced labor They were allowed to walk only in the middle of the road and all Jews were made to wear the yellow Star of David on their clothing Jews were forbidden to travel and subjected to a curfew.” Both the occupying Nazis and local residents were encouraged to torture local Jews Layb Podlovsky, a survivor from the town, wrote an extensive account of what went on in Belchatow …the Jews were driven out of their homes and forced to do the most difficult and demeaning tasks Horrible scenes took place in the Jewish quarters The bonfire was already burning in New Market Square who were continually bringing Torah scrolls and holy books were forced to throw them on the first while singing and reciting prayers And anyone who wanted to (could) beat the Jews; 10-11 year old little German boys tugged at elderly Jews and beat them…” the Nazis created a Jewish ghetto in Belchatow forcing Jews from Belchatow and other nearby towns into a cramped unsanitary section comprising just a few overcrowded streets Jews were transported to nearby towns to perform forced slave labor the Belchatow Jewish ghetto offered a chance to help others Harry’s brother Aria started a local smuggling business and Harry and his brothers worked as smugglers bringing goods across the border from nearby Germany Even amidst the terror and misery of the ghetto was determined to do all she could to take care of her fellow Jews Ben Foster portrays Harry Haft in HBO’s The Survivor “During this time Hynda was now in a position to help others Relatives and friends who were hungry or needy were taken in Harry’s mother sent provisions to cousins who were unable to come in person and she returned many past favors from neighbors by giving them money.” (Quoted in Harry Haft: Survivor of Auschwitz The Nazis began killing more and more Jews in the Belchatow ghetto ten Jews were publicly hanged in the ghetto by their Nazi overlords The remaining Jews were forced into the ghetto’s synagogue Several hundred were transferred to the ghetto in the Polish city of Lodz Thousands remained in the synagogue for three days with no food nearly all the remaining residents of the Belchatow ghetto were sent to the Chelmno Death Camp where they were murdered and had worked with other Jews as a slave laborer he managed to briefly escape and go back home to see what was happening to his family and the town’s other Jews Alan Scott Haft described what happened next the Jewish quarter was practically deserted It looked as if everyone had been evacuated and only the sick remained dying in the streets of starvation…” Harry went to the home of his sister Brandel Two German trucks overloaded with people passed them on their left A third truck was being filled with people right in front of Brandel’s house The Germans were cleaning out the neighborhood right in front of Harry’s eyes… soldiers strong-armed his sister and her husband out of their house and onto the crowded truck and Brandel was crying out to someone as the truck started moving The next thing Harry saw was a soldier coming out of the house with a baby in his arms running toward the truck The soldier tossed the newborn toward Brandel’s outstretched arms Harry was sent to the Stzelin concentration camp he was transferred from there to Auschwitz Harry and other Jewish slave laborers toiled in nearby coal mines working with their bare hands in primitive and dangerous conditions a high-ranking SS officer named Dietrich Schneider noticed Harry and took steps to befriend him Schneider first helped Harry after a terrible occurrence: Harry was briefly forced to work in the Auschwitz crematoriums throwing the bodies of dead Jews into the flames One day he was forced to throw the body of a Jewish man into the fire only to realize at the last moment that the man was still alive Harry refused to work anymore; he didn’t care if the guards shot him transferring him to a different work detail Schneider followed Harry to the Jaworzno work camp and asked him to make a bizarre deal: If Schneider helped Harry to survive would Harry do all he could to help Schneider avoid justice if Germany lost the war Schneider seemed to honor his end of the bargain by providing Harry with extra food rations But one day he showed his true colors as a sadistic Nazi and I am going to make you an entertainer,” he told Harry “You are going to entertain my friends the other officers and soldiers.” Schneider explained the rules: each Sunday Harry was to fight fellow Jews in front of the officers’ quarters in back-to-back boxing matches though Harry was given a pair of plain leather gloves to wear Schneider assured Harry that the Jews he’d fight had volunteered to try their luck against him The boxing matches would end when one man gave up If Harry had any illusions that Schneider was a decent man that first fight removed any vestiges of hope that the Nazis were capable of decency The first opponent was brought into the ring He saw before him a half-dead skeleton of a man It became clear to him at that moment that there would be nothing fair about this match Harry looked across the ring and saw the fear on the face of his challenger and he knew that this man had not volunteered Harry remembered Schneider’s words about how the fight would end when one man was unable to continue (Quoted in Harry Haft: Survivor of Auschwitz Harry fought five Jews and easily won each of the matches The SS guards screamed anti-Jewish slurs throughout the fights as Schneider sat on a grand Though Schneider offered Harry whisky as a reward for fighting He realized that if he threw a match he’d be risking death As Harry later explained in an interview with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum he realized that the losers faced certain death: “As a youngster in school I was already training to be a boxer The loser wound up in the hospital and if he didn’t get well after a few days he went out on the next transport to Auschwitz.” The SS guards began calling Harry the “Jew Animal of Jaworzno” He won 75 matches over the course of several months Schneider told him how important this match was to him; he had bet a substantial amount of money on Harry When Harry arrived at the makeshift boxing ring he saw a Jewish man in his 20s who’d been the heavyweight champion of France before the war It was the toughest fight Harry had ever had he knocked out his strong French competitor After SS guards carried off the French fighter Soviet forces were closing in on Auschwitz The Nazis tried to cover up the magnitude of their crimes destroying the gas chambers and other buildings and forcing tens of thousands of Jews to leave Auschwitz and its many sub-camps leading them on death marches or transporting them by freight cars to other camps such as Bergen-Belsen Harry was forced on one of the marches: “12,000 people were marched to GrosRozen and 190 survived,” he told the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Harry wound up in the Flossenberg concentration camp American forces were closing in on the camp and the Nazi guards announced yet another death march to remove Jews from the camp Harry and a friend decided to plan an audacious escape “We are dead men if we don’t get out of here,” he told his friend tearing across the lush German countryside They managed to hide in the forest and small towns for several more weeks Harry Haft was forever scarred by the Holocaust In 1947 the US Army in Munich organized an Amateur Jewish Heavyweight Championship boxing match Harry was the top winner and became a local celebrity Lucius Clay for help in immigrating to America Clay arranged for Harry to start a new life in the United States and his final fight was against future heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano in 1949 Harry blamed his defeat on the Mafia: “In my days though the Mafia controlled the boxing game and you did as you were told.” building the beautiful family life that had once seemed like an impossible dream He married Miriam Wofsoniker and they had three children together including running a fruit and vegetable store in Brooklyn and driving a cab When he was asked in 1990 what he was most proud of in life reliving his experiences during the Holocaust in vivid detail Harry Haft passed away in 2007 at the age of 82 The Survivor will help spread his remarkable story to a wider audience at long last Obviously,none can judge someone who were in the camps,but obiously to make a out of a man that caused them to be killed after he defeated them in a fight ,is problematic. In my opnion he should have refused to fight even if it cost him his life,that would obviously be a Kiddush Hashem Easy to talk about others decisions to live from your keyboard. Who are you to speak on this man's life what kind of audacity? Shut up Levin nobody cares what you think the nerve of some people is astounding. Thank you for signing up for the aish.com free newsletter. Notifications can be managed in browser preferences. Closure of the Belchatow power plant in Poland is part of shift towards greener energy I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Europe’s most polluting coal-fired power station, the Belchatow power plant in Poland The state-run Polish Energy Group said it will gradually decommission the plant, which produces 27–28 terawatt hours of electricity per year, between 2030 and 2036. The company also said it will end the exploitation of lignite deposits – also known as brown coal, which comes from a neighbouring strip mine. Lignite is one of the most polluting types of coal, due to its low density, requiring huge quantities to be burnt to generate energy. The facility, south west of Lodz, Poland’s third-largest city, produces around 20 per cent of the total power generation for the whole country. The enormous building, over three quarters of a kilometre long, has chimneys standing over 900 feet in height, making them among the tallest free-standing structures in Poland. The decision to close comes as the Lodz region applies for EU funding under the bloc’s Just Transition Fund, which aims to help communities transition to a more environmentally friendly way of living and carbon-neutral economy. Poland still generates the majority of its energy from coal, but like other countries, is coming under increased pressure to move to renewable sources. Wojciech Dąbrowski, the chief executive of PGE said: “We very much want the Łódzkie Voivodship to be able to access EU funding for just transition. “Setting the dates for shutting down the energy units at the plant in Bełchatów and ending extraction at the lignite deposits Bełchatów and Szczercow and thus also withdrawing from the plan to mine the Zloczew deposit are of fundamental significance from the viewpoint of planning the future of the Bełchatow energy complex, its employees and the region’s residents.” He added: “They are also symbolic because the success of Polish energy transition will largely depend on the outcome of this project.” Announcing the creation of the Just Transition Fund in December 2020, the EU’s commissioner for cohesion and reforms, Elisa Ferreira, said: “The Just Transition Fund is a crucial instrument for the delivery of the European Green Deal. It is also at the heart of cohesion policy’s mission to make sure that no one is left behind, while we progress towards a greener and more competitive Europe.” Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies When you type “Bełchatów” into an internet search engine the first photos that appear show a large open-pit mine with a huge industrial facility in the background It is no coincidence at all that the plant has turned into the most recognizable icon for the Polish town the mines — that feed the power station: a series of brownish patches on an otherwise green surface Such is the pollution generated by this giant that according to calculations by the European Environment Agency (EEA) available to CORRECTIV.Europe Bełchatów cost Polish society €4.8bn in terms of damage to the health of its inhabitants among other things — and this in 2017 alone The power plant leads the ranking of the most damaging industrial facilities issued by the EEA which includes over 11,600 industrial sites in Europe In 2021 alone, according to EEA emissions data, Bełchatów released over 33 million tons of CO2, more than twice Slovenia’s carbon dioxide emissions for that same year although some units will already be off the grid before that the region of Łódz confirms this: “By 2028 mining at the Bełchatów Field will be completed and one of the 380 MW units will already be reported for shutdown by 2030” Alleging that the case is still in the court of first instance ClientEarth refused to give further details about the latest developments in the lawsuit PGE did not react to repeated efforts by CORRECTIV.Europe to contact the company The Polish coal power plant has become a poster child of the fight against climate change but Bełchatów is unfortunately not alone: in total 24 of the top-30 dirtiest facilities in Europe are thermal power stations They also have a high price tag: over €45 billion paid for by citizens in nearby areas with their health they have been inhaling fine dust or sulfur oxide coming from these plants The European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR) provides public access to key environmental data from industrial facilities in EU Member States The E-PRTR is updated annually with data reported by some 35,000 industrial facilities covering 65 economic activities This data includes 91 key pollutants such as heavy metals Only 60 of them are likely to be released into the air After analyzing the topic with experts and different scientific sources, as well as reviewing the EU legislation we have decided to use the following pollutants for our investigation: Sulphur oxides (SOx) and Non methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC) Greenhouse gases (GHG): Carbon dioxide (CO2) Air pollutants have certain threshold values a facility must report its emissions to the European Union it does not have to report the emissions and they do not appear in the data But not only this: Other energy giants like Germany’s RWE or Sweden’s Vattenfall have also significantly contributed to global warming with heavy CO2 releases to the atmosphere which do not only affect the local population “Air pollution is indiscriminate and ignores regional and national borders. Emissions lead to damage, and the costs are borne by society as a whole”, writes the EEA These costs are pretty high: €265 billion in 2017 alone, more than Finland’s GDP for that year They are caused by just a bunch of large industrial contaminators in Europe: 211 facilities barely 2% of over 11,600 analyzed by the EEA are responsible for half of the damage produced by dirty air Germany or Italy are among the top polluters: Poland has the second-highest overall cost (€27 billion) after Germany (€60 billion) only after the United Kingdom (€25 billion) and Spain (€20.7 billion) These five countries accounted for almost 60% of all costs borne by European society in 2017 pay high costs for air pollution from their industry: €3.8 billion in 2017 Coal-fired power plants also play a key role here with the power station in Visonta being responsible for a fourth of the costs for Hungarian society the EU has managed to keep its industrial emissions under control in recent years and even reduce them for most substances After a slight decrease between 1990 and 1995 Although the applicable EU legislation is mainly meant for industrial activities it also affects large poultry and pig farms For a good reason: the main source of ammonia is agriculture — 94% of all releases in the EU come from this activity This gas is discharged to the atmosphere mainly from manure management and the application of fertilizer to soils and the number of livestock is one of the factors driving the emission trends In 2021, France, one of the main European agricultural producers, was also the largest ammonia emitter, followed by Germany, Spain and Italy. These four countries account for two-thirds of all European ammonia releases. The EU-27 has committed to cutting its ammonia emissions by 19% in 2030 that reduction was only 2.4% compared to a year earlier The EEA admits that reducing ammonia releases remains the biggest challenge for the next few years since only five countries are already aligned with their pledge to cut these emissions by 2030 The environmental office also recommends that Member States “include more measures applicable to the agricultural sector in their national air pollution control programmes” the picture is not complete: although there were almost 75 million cows in Europe in 2022 cattle farms do not have to report their emissions although the EU emissions register is a good tool the European Commission and the European Parliament have been in the process of revising the law to cover additional intensive farming and industrial activities since 2022 However, the way is not easy. While the Commission had proposed to include cattle in the new legislation, the EU Parliament has voted against this possibility pointing to the industry's lobbying efforts He hopes that the next steps of the political negotiations can lead to a consensus position “even if it is not as ambitious as the original proposal by the European Commission” makes it impossible for organizations like Greenpeace and experts on the topic to know how much pollution intensive cattle farms release into the air Here is a summary of the effects that each of the pollutants can have on human health or the environment (from the Industrial Emissions Portal): and considers that these particles cause the most substantial health impacts “even if all releases of PFAS would cease tomorrow they would continue to be present in the environment they do not belong to the pollutants that need to be reported Although the proposed revision of the rules does not mention PFAS or PM2.5 specifically the Commission has included an article that should make it easier to add new substances to the list The legislation is currently under negotiation in Brussels As part of its Green Deal, the European Commission committed to further improving air quality and aligning EU air quality standards more closely with the WHO recommendations This reform was adopted by the EU Parliament last September and has now to be approved by the European Council coordinator of the Socialist S&D group for environmental policy in the EU Parliament more than 300,000 Europeans still died prematurely from air pollution” There is therefore a need for an “ambitious law” to prevent damage in the future Gesa Steeger Text: Olaya Argüeso Pérez Faktencheck: Elena Kolb Datenaufbereitung & Grafiken: Max Donheiser Kajsa Rosenblad Kommunikation: Valentin Zick If you would like to securely leak information and documents to us, please visit this page Unsere Reporterinnen und Reporter senden Ihnen Recherchen was Journalismus für unsere Gesellschaft leisten kann – regelmäßig oder immer dann This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Macedonian defender Zlatko Tanevski left Lech Poznań and signed two-years contract with GKS Bełchatów Zlatko Tanevski continues in the Polish Ekstraklasa The 26-years-old defender will have difficult task to help his new club in the fight against relegation as Bełchatów lost many key players and they will be one of the candidates for relegation in next season continued in Cementarnica 55 and in 2006 moved from Vardar to Lech Poznań