WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland’s government reached an agreement with trade unions on Friday to pull out its coal mines until 2049, both sides said, confirming a Reuters report.
Poland produces the maximum amount of electricity from coal and is the only EU state to have committed to impartial carbon until 2050, and the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party says it wants more time and cash to transfer to cleaner energy sources.
Moreover, aware of the violent protests of minors in the past, the PiS has hesitated to fight with the industry’s tough unions.
However, the coronavirus crisis, along with EU policies, has led Warsaw to take more decisive action on the deficit sector.
The plan to close mines in southern Silesia puts an end to multi-day talks between trade unions, the government and leading coal manufacturer PGG on industry restructuring as protests by underground miners opposing closures.
He agreed that a lot of young Poles, mostly young Poles, took to the streets of Warsaw as part of global protests calling for more measures to combat global warming.
The shares of PGE, Poland’s electricity manufacturer and one of PGG’s shareholders and customers, rose more than 20% with the news, ending uncertainty in the sector.
Unions and the government said there would be no mandatory layoffs, as they moved to mines that would remain open until retirement.
Details of the closures have been revealed, but a list reported through Reuters shows that the Pokoj mine in Ruda Slaska, where unions had planned large protests on Friday afternoon and were cancelled as a result of the deal, will close in 2021.
The Wujek mine, which was the site of one of the bloodiest protests in the communist regime and is a symbol of the nation’s ties to coal, will be part of some other PGG mine next year.
The last mines closed in 2049 will be Chwalowice and Jankowice in the city of Rybnik, PGG’s top effectiveness.
“This is the direction of the transformation of Poland’s mining and energy sector. We are EU policies,” said Artur Sobon, an official of the Ministry of State Property.
PGG has 8 mines, some of which have up to 3 smaller units.
(Report via Agnieszka Barteczko. Edited via Jane Merriman and Mark Potter)
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