Polish Briefing: “Poland does not want to oppose EU’s climate goals”

What goes on in Poland on the 4th of February.

Buzek: We do not want to oppose EU’s climate goals

Poland and the goal of climate neutrality up to 2050 have recently been one of the hottest topics. – We should involve new funds to protect our citizens – said the former Prime Minister and President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek at the Risk and Trends 2020 Polityka Insight conference.

– We are now living in a new era when our environmental problems should be solved. Some of them have been solved without the Greens, although we listen to them all the time. The Greens called for increased investment in renewable energy, which we did – said Jerzy Buzek.

The former prime minister raised issues related to the climate and the economy. – In the 1990s, we did not pay enough attention to environmental problems. Now climate issues are at the heart of European policy. The European Green Deal is not only about the climate, but also about the circular economy and moving away from plastic. It also applies to transport, construction and agriculture. It will be our driving force for the next decades – he noted.

– We need to change our economies step by step in accordance with the established strategy, for example, moving away from coal. We are currently importing significant amounts of coal from Russia, so decarbonisation will mean increasing our energy independence. My government decided to close more than 20 mines in Upper Silesia, which the trade unions agreed to. If we explain to citizens that such actions are necessary, we can achieve a lot – he admitted.

According to Jerzy Buzek, Poland must balance its actions so that they are compatible with EU goals. – Poland should get involved in the goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050, if this is not the case, we should not expect support from the European Union. Nobody claims that it will be easy. However, we are also talking about issues such as the impact of air quality on our health, and this is absolutely crucial. We should use new resources and forces to protect our citizens, especially in coal regions. We do not want to put them in opposition to the objectives of the European Union, because if we move too fast, we can leave them behind – he concluded.