The government of Poland and several trade unions have signed an agreement with the coal mining sector for the phasing out of coal production by 2049.
Bełchatów Coal Mine, Poland. Source: Kamil Porembiński / Flickr
Bełchatów Coal Mine, Poland. Source: Kamil Porembiński / Flickr
The deal, which will involve severance payments for workers in the Silesia coal basin, marks the first time the country's powerful coal sector has agreed to reductions.
The state assets ministry, which negotiated with the sector on the government's behalf, described the deal as a "historic agreement".
However, the agreed subsidies for the coal miners represent a large budgetary burden for the state. It is also not clear whether the move will be in violation of EU regulations related to subsidies to industries that are being phased out.
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"It is hard to be satisfied when you are liquidating such an important industry," said Dominik Kolorz, head of the Solidarity union, to the national daily, Gazeta Wyborcza.
"We did what we needed to do, which was to assist the workers," Kolorz said, adding, "It's not like everything ends today. We have a lot of work to do to create alternative jobs."
The agreement was signed on Wednesday 28 April in Katowice, a city in the coal heartland of Silesia, in the country's south.
The action has made way for approval by the European Commission, with the final signing expected in May.
Employment in the coal sector has become a politically charged topic in Poland. The country is dependent on the fossil fuel industry for around 70% of its energy needs, though it is planning to bring that number down to 11% by 2040.
From there, the country would need to end its use completely before the EU-wide deadline of 2050.
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The 2049 deadline has been criticised by environmentalists as not being early enough.
The coal sector is experiencing a decline in most parts of the world, with the prices of renewable energy sources dropping and the public increasingly rejecting the continued use of environmentally damaging fossil fuels.
Polish coal is also becoming increasingly uncompetitive, with stockpiles being common as the country imports cheaper coal from Russia and elsewhere.
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