Coal phaseout: Poland's exit strategy
Most of Poland's electricity comes from coal. The operator of the biggest lignite-fired power plant in Europe, however, has said it will gradually shut down the facility by 2036. What alternatives does Poland have to coal power?
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00:00 Belchatów in southern Poland. Population around 50,000.
00:07 Many of its residents moved here in the 1970s to work in the power plant in the Lignite coal mine.
00:13 These days both belong to the Polish energy group PGE.
00:18 The power plant behind me is the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases in the entire European Union.
00:25 It pumps out over 30 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.
00:30 It's a symbol of Poland's traditional dependence on coal.
00:34 30 million tonnes of harmful CO2 each year,
00:38 making Belchatów alone a bigger producer of greenhouse gases than Ireland or Slovakia.
00:44 A situation that Greenpeace wants to put an end to.
00:47 For decades it's been calling for the closure of coal-fired power stations.
00:52 We have to phase out coal by 2030 if we really intend to implement the Paris Agreement.
01:00 Look at what's happened over the last few years.
01:04 The energy transition away from fossil fuels has completely passed the government by.
01:10 Europe's biggest brown coal-fired plant produces about a fifth of Polish energy needs.
01:15 The operator PGE says it will be shut down in stages under the coal phase-out between 2030 and 2036.
01:23 There are also plans to close open-cast mining here shortly afterwards.
01:28 Up to now Poland has not adhered to EU climate policies.
01:32 Opt-outs have enabled it to continue subsidising its coal plants.
01:36 PGE refused to talk to us on camera or let us visit the power plant,
01:41 perhaps because of the environmental pollution and its impact on local residents' health.
01:46 We've noticed an invisible enemy in the area that is shortening the lives of people who live here.
01:54 The dust itself can spread over many kilometres.
02:00 It's taking years off people's lives, increasing the incidence of asthma,
02:06 as well as the number of heart attacks and strokes.
02:12 Despite the health risks, the majority of residents in Belchatów remain opposed to the shutdown of the brown coal plant.
02:20 We are very much against the mine being closed. It accounts for lots of jobs here.
02:26 The economic situation could deteriorate.
02:29 Without the mine, Belchatów would be a village with 2,000 people.
02:36 It's a bad idea. What about the people who came here for work?
02:42 I'm worried that no one has a plan for the future of the town afterwards.
02:48 One of the mine's very first employees lives here, Leon Wojnowski.
02:53 Now retired, he devoted his life to the coal industry.
02:57 The engineer's story began with the digging of the coal mine in 1974.
03:03 Back then, a group of young engineers got together from across Poland.
03:16 They were full of enthusiasm for the project.
03:23 He still has a passion for mining today, and for the community spirit and customs,
03:28 such as the annual beer festival with its specially designed beer mugs.
03:33 Working at the mine was the best time of his life.
03:40 It makes me sad to think that the customs will vanish when the mine closes.
03:52 And there are very few concrete plans for the future of Belchatów and its residents.
03:58 This much is clear. One big company will not be able to replace the mining industry.
04:03 And attracting new businesses to the area costs money,
04:06 which is why the EU has been supporting the transformation process since 2019.
04:12 The private sector, official agencies and NGOs need to work together if it's to be a success.
04:18 How is currently being discussed in a host of workshops.
04:22 We work with young people, with business people, with local officials and community organizations.
04:29 To improve transport infrastructure, environmental issues and social cohesion are all important to them.
04:38 One problem is that the jobs in the coal industry paid so well
04:42 that many families in Belchatów could afford to run several cars.
04:46 With public transport barely used, the train line was mothballed.
04:51 What will be to change if new companies are to move to Belchatów?
04:59 Major investors will only move here if there are very good transport links.
05:04 Without trains and buses, we won't attract any new staff for highly specialized sectors like IT.
05:14 While workers at the Lignite-fired power plant in Belchatów do support the coal industry,
05:19 for ideological reasons. Many have solar panels on their roofs.
05:24 The solar energy business is booming, also thanks to state subsidies.
05:28 This man sells photovoltaic systems, with revenue doubling every year.
05:34 Almost everyone around here has bought a solar power facility,
05:37 including those who work in the mine or the power plant. It just makes economic sense.
05:42 For now, Belchatów still depends on Europe's biggest and dirtiest power plant.
05:47 Brussels wants to get people here on board with the EU's climate policies.
05:51 It looks as though they can be persuaded.
05:54 (dramatic music)