In Katowice, Poland, Greenpeace activists staged a protest on December 4, calling on the government to be truthful about the country’s coal policy. The protest coincided with St. Barbara’s Day, a significant occasion as the patron saint of miners is celebrated.
The organization unfurled a banner on the Ministry of Industry building that read, “Coal is over. Stop lying.” Greenpeace Poland emphasized in a Facebook post that they were urging the government to “stop lying to the public and develop a realistic and fair plan that will allow Poland to move away from coal.”
The group contends that Poland’s energy policy is founded on the “lie that coal has a future.” Greenpeace cited analyses predicting the closure of all coal-fired power plants in Poland within the next decade. “The government can no longer keep its head in the sand – it must make the closure dates for the mines more realistic and at the same time help miners find other jobs,” the organization added.
The Polish government has pledged to implement a social contract for the coal industry, which includes subsidies aimed at reducing production capacity and setting future operational timelines for specific mines. Some of these mines could remain open until 2049, according to Polish broadcasters.
