'For and even against it' of Minister Tchórzewski
Diana Maciąga, diana@pracownia.org.pl
Diana Maciąga, diana@pracownia.org.pl
According to wnp.pl, the Minister of Energy said that the planned 1,000 MW unit at the Ostrołęka C Power Plant will be the last coal investment in the Polish power industry. Further comments suggest that Minister Tchórzewski sees the future of energy in the experimental coal gasification technology. The Minister also sees the need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The way to limit the share of coal in energy production to 50% by 2050, however, is not to develop clean renewable energy, which celebrates triumphs around the world, but the construction of a nuclear power plant. In turn, the author of the article emphasizes that the construction of Ostrołęka C is not yet decided: ‘Some energy experts unofficially say that this block will not arise’.
On the same day, an article was published on the portal wyborcza.pl, which shows that the government's love for coal has not cooled down. During the same Forum, Minister Tchórzewski said that Poland would not give up its investment in coal and would build new coal-fired power plants. During the conversation about air pollution he also stated that car communication is responsible for terrible air quality in Poland. This is evidently not true – the majority of pollutants are emitted by combustion of low-quality coal and garbage in domestic boilers, however, the Ministry of Energy actively blocks the introduction of coal quality certificates that would eliminate the worst-quality solid fuels from the market.
Completely contradictory statements by Minister Tchótrzewski indicate that the Polish government has no vision of the future of the Polish power industry or fulfillment of commitments under the Paris Agreement on climate protection, which was ratified by 160 countries in 2016, including Poland – concludes Radosław Ślusarczyk from Pracownia na rzecz Wszystkich Istot.