The Czech government has angered local people by accepting 45 million euro in compensation from the Polish government and coal company PGE, in exchange for dropping its lawsuit over their illegally operating Turów coal mine at the EU court of justice (CJEU).
An advisor to the European Court of Justice (CJEU) has said that Poland infringed EU law by extending the licence for its Turow coal mine without carrying out an environmental impact assessment. A final verdict by the CJEU is expected by the spring.
A Warsaw court has ruled that Polish authorities were wrong to implement an Environmental Impact Assessment at PGE’s Turow coal mine with immediate effect. The ruling effectively blocks the highly controversial 23-year licence extension that Polish utility PGE thought it had secured for its mine.
Poland’s Łódź region has announced that the EU’s most polluting coal plant, Bełchatów, will close by 2036 and its mines by 2038.
The European Commission has just two days left to make a needed intervention in the dispute between the Czech Republic and Poland over Turów.
Polish Climate and Environment minister Anna Moskwa has confirmed that Poland intends to phase out coal only in 2049, contradicting her government’s commitment to the COP26 Global Coal to Clean Power Transition Statement just hours after signing it.
Poland has joined a coalition of 190 countries and organisations in a new commitment to phase out coal power in line with the science of the Paris Climate Agreement, and end all support for new coal power plants. This signals a major change for Europe’s coal stronghold, but only if followed by new renewable energy targets and a 2030 coal phase out plan.
The European Court of Justice has ruled that mining at Poland’s sprawling Turów coal mine must cease while court processes Czech lawsuit.
Polish utility PGE will have operated Turów lignite mine illegally for one year this coming Saturday 1 May.