Coal in Poland
Coal in Poland is partly mined and partly imported. 144 million metric tons of coal was mined in 2012, providing 55 percent of that country's primary energy consumption. Poland is the second-largest coal-mining country in Europe, after Germany, and the ninth-largest coal producer in the world. The country consumes nearly all the coal it mines, and is no longer a major coal exporter.[1]
Coal mines are concentrated mainly in Upper Silesia. The most profitable mines were Marcel Coal Mine and Zofiówka Coal Mine. In communist times (1945-1989) one of the most important and largest mines was 1 Maja Coal Mine.
In 2020, coal played a significant role in Poland's
In 2023 over 60% of Poland's electricity was generated from coal.[3] However extraction is becoming increasingly difficult and expensive, and has become uncompetitive against Russian imports, which are cheaper and of higher quality.[4] The industry now relies on government subsidies, taking nearly all of the annual €1.6 billion government energy sector support. In September 2020, the government and mining union agreed a plan to phase out coal by 2049,[5] but this has been criticised by environmentalists as too late to be compatible with the Paris Agreement to limit climate change.[6]
As of early 2022, Poland imported roughly a fifth of its coal, with 75% of these imports coming from Russia.
Coal policy
Poland's coal policy, under the Energy Policy of Poland 2040 (EPP2040), aims to reduce coal use while maintaining economic stability in impacted regions. This includes decreasing coal's share in electricity from 68.5% in 2020 to 11-56% by 2040, influenced by European Union Emissions Trading System (ETS) prices. The strategy promotes gas, renewable, and nuclear energy, and seeks to phase out coal in heating by 2030 in urban areas and by 2040 in rural areas, with an exemption for "smokeless" coal, which is processed to reduce pollution and is allowed through 2040 to support domestic coal demand while mitigating air pollution.[12][2]
The EU Just Transition Fund, with a EUR 17.5 billion budget, is expected to allocate EUR 3.5 billion to Poland to aid the transition. A 2021 agreement with coal trade unions plans the gradual closure of
CO2 and health impact
Coal mines are affecting the public health of the Polish population. Greenpeace found out that in Poland 5,400 people per year die as a consequence of the pollution through the burned coal. There is also a link between the impact of air pollution on the public health of people. Pollution of coal mines in Poland caused approximately 630 cases of chronic bronchitis, 1,310 admissions to the hospitals, in total 359,200 and 27,830 asthma attacks for children under 18 years.[13]
Between 2010 and 2020, Poland observed a reduction in energy-related
Environment
This section needs to be updated.(August 2022) |
Coal mining has dropped the water level of Lake Ostrowskie by almost two meters in the Kuyavia–Pomerania and the lakes in the Powidz Landscape Park. According to the University of Life Sciences in Poznań, the water drainage in the Kleczew brown coal mining areas has formed craters in the area.[14]
In April 2008, five thousand people demonstrated in
See also
Citations
- ^ US Energy Information Administration Poland overview, Sept 2013
- ^ a b c d "Poland 2022 - Energy Policy Review" (PDF). International Energy Agency.
- ^ Ptak, Alicja (2024-01-03). "Poland produced record 26% of electricity from renewables in 2023". Notes From Poland. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
- ^ "As Pressures Mount, Poland's Once-Mighty Coal Industry Is in Retreat". Yale E360. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
- ^ Gatten, Emma; Suszko, Agnieszka (22 October 2020). "Can Poland, the dirty man of Europe, end its love affair with coal?". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
- ^ "Remaining EU Coal Power Polluters". Ember. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
- ^ "Poland to ban Russian coal imports". POLITICO. 2022-03-29. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
- ^ "Премьер Польши назвал сроки полного отказа от угля из России". РБК (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-03-30.
- ^ "Poland moves to block coal imports from Russia". AP NEWS. 2022-03-29. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
- ^ a b Tilles, Daniel (2022-03-29). "Poland to ban Russian coal imports, saying it "can't wait any longer for EU to act"". Notes From Poland. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
- ^ "Минэнерго сочло маловероятным, что Польша быстро заменит уголь из России". РБК (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-03-30.
- ^ "Poland 2022 – Analysis". IEA. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
- ^ CAN, Heal, Sandbag, WWF (2016). policies/climate-and-energy/europe-s-darkcloud ""Europe's Dark Cloud"". Heal And Environmental Alliance. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
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value (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b "The True Cost of Coal" (PDF). Greenpeace. November 27, 2008. pp. 6, 54–57. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-12-30. Retrieved 2011-05-22.