Law /
Why is Poland importing so much coal? [76]
Merged:
Poland and Coal
Dearest PF members,
I'm curious to collect your opinions on Poland's special relationship with coal.
From a DW article published today:
Poland uses 10 million tons of coal a year to heat households - a whopping 87% of all coal consumed in EU homes in 2019, according to the Warsaw-based independent think tank Forum Energii. About half of this is extracted domestically, while Russia used to make up about 40%, or 3.9 million tons a year.While the rest of Europe is discussing how to wean itself off Russian gas and oil, Poland surprises (as it tends to do) with its own unique set of challenges. The Świnoujście LNG terminal, and Baltic Pipe, seem to have done very little towards protecting Polish energy consumers. While Morawiecki lectures Germany and France regarding their naïveté vis-a-vis Russia, it emerges (suddenly) that Poland is itself compromised.
An elderly couple was interviewed for this article. Quote:
Barbara and Witold Walesa - a retired couple who lives in the small town of Deblin, 100 kilometers (60 miles) south of Warsaw - have recently shifted to natural gas as their main fuel source for heating. They use coal only as a top-up reserve when they need it.
"It's up to about 2,500 zlotys, about four times higher than last year," Barbara told DW. "We are probably OK, but some won't be when it gets cold."How did this state of affairs come to be? I know Pawian will say that it is the fault of PiSheads, but if one is to be objective and honest - this cannot be the whole reason.
As Poland searches the world for coal, from South Africa, Indonesia, to the United States - what are the attitudes of the local population towards this traditional, yet dirty form of energy and heat? What lessons can be extracted?