Essential digital access to quality FT journalism on any device Complete digital access to quality FT journalism with expert analysis from industry leaders Complete digital access to quality analysis and expert insights complemented with our award-winning Weekend Print edition Terms & Conditions apply Discover all the plans currently available in your country See why over a million readers pay to read the Financial Times Ahead of the Katowice Climate Change Conference Greenpeace activists climb a 180 metre-high chimney at Belchatow power plant the largest climate polluter in Europe and one of the largest coal fueled power plants in the world to demand climate action and a coal phase out This was the moment during the Trump administration's side-event at #COP24 when protestors interrupted to urge the panel to #KeepItInTheGround pic.twitter.com/KusY3KkjhI — Leo Hickman (@LeoHickman) December 10, 2018 With the warning that there are just 12 years left to save the climate, COP24 is crucial in actually putting the Paris Agreement to work – the agreement ratified by all but 20 countries to limit the increase of global average temperature to 1.5°C so as to reduce the risks and effects of climate change But no matter what the outcome in Katowice, the real action is happening on the ground. In 2018, a year that has experienced worsening climate change impacts – tragic wildfires and floods – people around the world are calling for urgent climate action Here are four people who are no longer willing to wait and doing all they can I grew up in a coal mining town in the region of Silesia My family is involved in coal and has been for almost a century – my grandmother and other members of my family worked as miners; and my parents are involved in the industry coal was one of the most important centres for the local economy – even the local football clubs are sponsored by coal mines or mining companies I remember that the talk in Poland was about air pollution and the ozone layer we’ve gotten to a point where the climate has changed so much that there’s no option but to take swift action The world is not black and white and neither is Silesia We need a “just transition” but it cannot be an excuse for inaction By the end of COP24 I hope that my country learns something One of the world’s biggest climate change conferences is happening here and Poland really has an opportunity to show to the world that they can be proactive All the solutions are there – the government just needs to implement them When my friends ask me ‘Why?’ the truth is My father is in the Indonesian army and his office is less than 10 kilometres from one of the country’s largest coal power plants Little does he know that the coal fly ash can spread up to 50 kilometres which pollutes the air and can severely impact health My father is old and has some health issues but when I tell him this he doesn’t believe me my father thinks that if I want to protect the environment I should just plant a tree or put my trash in the bin The reason why I’m in Poland is because I’m here to beg – to shout – to world leaders that we need to stop the mining and Indigenous communities whose lives have all been made worse by coal – whether it’s having their land taken away by coal mining development or their source of food becoming harder to access I want to prove to my father the dangers of coal Maybe some of us don’t think or worry about climate change About 20 km away from Katowice lies Imielin, with a population of about 8,000. However, a coal mine expansion threatens the town and its residents. These people are standing up against this project that will ruin their homes and the climate I moved to Imielin about four years ago in order to live a quieter life the mining company informed us that they would not dig in this area But the mine wants to extract coal with the cheapest and most aggressive method which will cause the ground to cave in six metres and the growth of the movement gives me hope that we can stop the mining company and save this town and my home I built my house in Imielin about 18 years ago I felt confident that there would be no coal development – now they want to change the story We need to work together and I know we’re not alone – the support from other people gives me hope Standing together is how we’ll win this fight Shuk-Wah Chung is a Writer and Content Editor for the Communications Hub at Greenpeace East Asia. Follow her on Twitter here Shuk-Wah Chung is a Content Editor for Greenpeace International, based in Hong Kong. Follow her on X @shookiewah President Trump has actively dismantled and weakened environmental protection putting corporate profits and power for him and his billionaire friends ahead of people and planet and our future and the very real threat of further displacement due to rising sea levels it is women who are at the forefront of this small but sprawling Pacific Island nation While millions of people around the world are struggling to afford basic necessities the super-rich and their friends are launching joyrides into space that cost tens of millions of dollars Please select which cookies you are willing to store These cookies are required for technical reasons so that you can visit our website and use the functions we offer These cookies are used to recognise you between successive visits and thus provide you with a better experience storing your consent preferences and the last Greenpeace.org website visited We use tracking and analysis tools to ensure continuous optimisation and demand-oriented design of our website These cookies will allow us to collect statistical and anonymised data such as how visitors use our website or which pages are accessed most frequently to ultimately improve Greenpeace.org and provide you with a better experience of our website In addition to the Performance cookies mentioned above we may also place in your browser cookies from third-party services (e.g Facebook or Google) to track the effectiveness of our online marketing strategies and to deliver adverts more relevant to you and your interests These cookies may also be used to serve advertising to you after you have left our site (retargeting cookies) Dec 16, 2020 | Business, Energy & Climate, Society This article is a translation of the original, full-length version republished by kind permission of OKO.press Despite the Polish government’s recent agreement to end coal mining by 2049 Although they seem to promise jobs and short-term benefits the impact on local communities and nature could be catastrophic Environmental groups and local authorities have with courts holding up the new mines for now According to agreements signed between Poland’s government and its miners the end of coal mining will not happen for another 29 years Yet mining companies are also applying to build new mines in order to reach as yet untouched deposits before the cut-off date of 2049 Polish government backs new coal mine despite economic and environmental concerns currently applying for permission to mine the Imielin-Północ deposits in Silesia “We were formally informed of these plans in October 2017 The mayor organised a meeting in the town’s cultural centre and announced that the Piast Ziemowit coal mine was planning to get into the Imielin-Północ deposits,” says Alicja Zdziechiewicz who moved into the area not long before the announcement She says that Kompania Węglowa (now part of the PGG group) previously informed her that no mining damage would occur beneath her home the town will suffer fourth- or even fifth-category damage,” Zdziechiewicz says “The extraction is to be conducted using the cheapest most aggressive methods – ‘so that the ceilings fall down’ This involves mining for coal and leaving holes below ground This extraction would be conducted on three levels one of which is a very shallow 180 metres below ground Miners would be working beneath two drinking water reservoirs and many homes which are not sufficiently secured against such damage The gas supply would also be at risk – overall the damage could affect almost half the town area a library and new roads have been constructed in Imielin since 2000.” Protests against these proposals began in 2018 more people began attending the demonstrations and their demands gained the backing of retired miners and local authorities warning that the mine was “not taking any steps to counteract the existing effects” of its current mining projects Poland’s coal industry finally burns out Some 1,300 people have now signed an appeal to the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection (RDEP) and PGG The mine’s representatives have given scant answers “stressing only that they would minimise damage and were not breaking any laws,” according to Zdziechiewicz the RDEP issued a decision about environmental conditions relating to the coal deposits which is the first step to the start of new mining processes PGG has also applied to Poland’s environment minister issue a licence to start mining Yet things took a sudden turn in November of this year the General Directorate for Environmental Protection (GDEP) sending PGG’s efforts back to square one local residents are not yet claiming victory PGG has not yet officially withdrawn its plans for the Imielin-Północ mine We contacted the company to ask how they would be responding to the GDEP decision and what profits were to be had from beginning mining operations there saying that it was currently analysing the consequences of the decision Five hundred kilometres away on the other side of Poland the spectre of coal extraction is also daunting environmental groups the sister-firm of Australia’s Balamara company is applying for the mining concession of the Sawin deposits – a 172 km-square area in a region that contains 288 million tonnes of coal “This is only one of several mining projects which could radically alter this region,” said Krzysztof Gorczyca from the Nature and Humanity Association “The first real danger is the Bogdanka mine which is trying to secure a concession to excavate more deposits without any real trouble The second danger is posed by the proposed construction of the Jan Karski Mine And the third comes from the excavation of the Sawin deposit.” This is a return to the communist era of Edward Gierek,” Gorczyca stressed Grzegorz Grzywaczewski from the University of Life Sciences in Lublin explained that exploration licences are the first step towards securing permission to mine specific deposits He estimates that the mines could cause marshes to subside by as much as 2.5 metres damaging their delicate structures irrevocably landscapes such as Poland’s second largest peat bogs while damaged peat bogs can never be restored to their original condition” “A betrayal”: Greta Thunberg’s Polish coal mine visit sparks anger within mining community These deposits are found beneath three separate districts – Sawin Local authorities are in favour of the project going ahead convinced mainly by the prospect of new jobs being created but on the other hand the mine provides employment We have never seen such opposition from residents before,” said Wiesław Pikuła Krzysztof Gorczyca emphasises that the mine is not just about extraction – there are railway connections to consider “We try to explain this to local councillors: the mine will be there for a dozen or so years leaving the region unable to support itself from farming or tourism.” He adds that “the jobs which will supposedly be created by the mines will not be for local farmers They will go to thousands of unemployed miners from Silesia – resettling them will be much more financially viable than training new workers.” Gorczyca explains that the region is under the “Bogdanka spell” as well as well-paid jobs for their resident miners “This gets in the way of long-term thinking Coal mining today works to the disadvantage of future generations No one is yet wondering who will be needing all this coal in the foreseeable future,” Gorczyca added The untouchable profession: how Poland’s miners carved out a special status for themselves it is preparing a wildlife inventory – something essential for the environmental decision to be secured but the company did not wish to make any statements about the mine which opposes mining of the Paruszowiec deposits told us: “The notion of building a mine arrived here five years ago because I had so little idea how much damage coal mining can cause.” The Bapro Energy Complex group announced that it wants to invest 8 billion zloty and create up to 3,000 new jobs near Rybnik in southern Poland the establishment of a hard coal mining plant and a coal processing plant “Although at first everything sounded encouraging it has since transpired that the damage to be done to us will be enormous The scale might not seem large – less than a thousand homes will be affected by mining damage But we live there and do not wish to see our homes sink several metres down into the ground,” Mroszczak says fearing that changes in the lay of the land could cause problems for their production lines and would only start after the necessary rights have been secured and the mine constructed The Bapro group would therefore not have time to close the mine before 2049 Holiday resorts and mining regions top ranking of richest districts in Poland The regional directorate has issued an environmental decision agreeing to coal mining from the Paruszowiec deposits this year The planned construction has also complicated local plans for managing the district which did not take the mine into account with an ongoing case between the town of Rybnik and the Silesian voivode in court “The RDEP’s decisions are not final and cannot be used to apply for concessions to mine for coal,” says Miłosz Jakubowski attorney-at-law from the Frank Bold foundation The matter will be investigated by the national environmental protectorate – which can take a very long time The Imielin case took two years to be resolved If this upholds the plans put forward by local people “The Imielin case is reason for us to be in good spirits,” he adds “Today’s efforts to secure the rights to mine coal are just a way of trying to curse and wish reality away,” says Paweł Czyżak which in Greater Poland applied for the concession to open the Ościsłowo lignite opencast mine and finally only withdrew their plans on 2 December “This is all the outcome of lack of political willpower and clear leadership where Polish energy production is concerned” “Coal mining companies think they can manage somehow by playing for time and profiting from the chaos surrounding plans to move away from coal.” According to Wojciech Kukuła from the Prawnicy dla Ziemi (ClientEarth Warsaw) Foundation new coal mines would be competing with old ones which are no longer financially sustainable Opening these would make matters worse for the mining industry “I consider plans to mine new deposits as not very realistic especially in the context of the European Union’s ever more stringent environmental controls because it is often cheaper to import coal than to extract it here,” Wojciech Kukuła adds “I believe that political pressure is responsible for this dualistic vision of Poland’s energy-producing future less progressive – the one responsible for the plans to mine new coal deposits – is for Poland’s trade unions But will these plans ever lead to actual investments Main image credit: Grzegorz Celejewski / Agencja Gazeta , , , , , Apr 30, 2025 | , , , That response will include “large Polish and NATO exercises in Poland” Apr 29, 2025 | , , , Those employed in Poland work on average the third-longest hours in the European Union Apr 28, 2025 | , , , , 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 assistant professor of history at the Pedagogical University of Krakow He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications The Independent and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Stanley Bill is the founder and editor-at-large of Notes from Poland.He is also Senior Lecturer in Polish Studies and Director of the Polish Studies Programme at the University of Cambridge Stanley has spent more than ten years living in Poland He founded Notes from Poland in 2014 as a blog dedicated to personal impressions cultural analysis and political commentary He is committed to the promotion of deeper knowledge and understanding of Poland He is the Chair of the Board of the Notes from Poland Foundation ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Professor of European Studies at Oxford University ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Professor at the Institute of History of the Jagiellonian University ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Executive Director of Taube Family Foundation ARTICLES BY THIS 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 WARSAW — Poland's powerful coal-mining sector is in deep trouble But the ground is shifting under the industry. Polish coal mines can't compete with cheaper imported coal record warm weather is blowing a hole in coal demand predictions and growing renewable power is driving down coal use All of that poses dangers to Poland's ruling nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party which has made coal and coal miners an important part of its economic and political program angry miners blocked railway tracks leading to a power plant in Łaziska Górne in Upper Silesia demanding that the government stop imports of cheaper Russian coal while a lot of domestic production ends up stored on mountain-sized coal dumps away from having to put production on hold,” said Patryk Kosela a spokesman for the Sierpień 80 trade union “The Łaziska power plant is just next to a coal mine that can’t sell its coal because the power plant is taking in Russian imports.” Those demands are going to be difficult for the government to meet The power station generates 1,155 megawatts of electricity a state-controlled company that is also listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange It's tricky for the government to demand that the utility buy more expensive Polish coal under both Polish law and World Trade Organization rules it will be difficult for Polish coal to compete Polish hard coal mines are deep and expensive to operate so the coal they dig up costs about $70 to $80 per ton while coal supplied to Western Europe or by Russia costs about $60 per ton A miner puts away his equipment after a night shift at the shaft at the Knurow mine on November 23 2018 | Janek Skarzynski/AFP via Getty Images A record 19.3 million tons of coal were imported to Poland in 2018. In the first 11 months of last year, imports came in at 14.9 million tons. That contributed to stockpiling 4.5 million tons of unsold coal at Polish mines, more than double the amount in November 2018, energy portal Wysokienapiecie.pl estimated The unsold coal "simply must have affected the company’s financial standing,” said Przemyslaw Skupin who heads the Sierpień 80 union at Polska Grupa Górnicza (PGG) are due to publish their financial statements in February Polish newspapers are reporting that PGG failed to hit its financial targets The report noted that productivity at the company had fallen by 2 percent plus strong economic growth from 2016 to 2018 "created the chance for the company to undertake a deep restructuring to prepare for the next downturn," the report said But it concluded that "the goal for which this entity was created has not been accomplished." The coal sector is also facing a public backlash as more people grow worried about pollution Temperature data showed that Poland experienced one of the warmest Decembers on record last year The amount of electricity from onshore wind installations increased 19 percent while output from solar farms more than doubled A flood of cheap natural gas is also displacing coal; electricity generated by gas-fired plants grew by 26 percent last year As a result, production of electricity from lignite dropped by 15.5 percent last year, while power from hard coal fell by 5 percent — shrinking coal’s share in Poland’s electricity mix to 74 percent in 2019, the lowest in history The coal sector is also facing a public backlash as more people grow worried about pollution, mining and climate change. In a sign of its changing fortunes, people from the town of Imielin in southwestern Poland protesting against the expansion of a local coal mine were attacked by angry miners on Friday But the government is wary of alienating miners whose votes are needed this May when PiS-backed President Andrzej Duda faces a tight reelection battle In order to continue supporting the sector, the government decided last month to create a central coal depot where it would send 1 million tons of coal currently piling up at the mines. "We will ensure normal operation of all mines and make sure production can go on,” Adam Gawęda, the deputy minister of state assets, said last month Onshore wind installations are providing a growing percentage of Poland's electricity | Janek Skarzynski/AFP via Getty Images So far 300,000 tons of coal have been shifted to the storage site located in Ostrów Wielkopolski But there are skeptics that the idea will save Poland's coal sector "The depot won’t solve a single problem," said Jerzy Markowski a coal expert who helped reform the sector in the late 1990s the government is going to end up with 1 million tons of unsaleable coal.” Want more analysis from POLITICO? POLITICO Pro is our premium intelligence service for professionals. From financial services to trade, technology, cybersecurity and more, Pro delivers real time intelligence, deep insight and breaking scoops you need to keep one step ahead. Email [email protected] to request a complimentary trial Contenders in Polish presidential election square off says operations will continue under Polish and NATO leadership European allies are increasingly worried about the U.S