Abandoning EU climate policy equals Polexit says Polish PM

Mateusz Morawiecki, the Polish prime minister, has said that Poland cannot give up the EU's climate policy as it would equate with leaving the bloc.

During an interview published on Wednesday on Jakub Wiech's 'Electrification podcast', Morawiecki said that the EU's climate policy is the core of the economic policy of the whole EU and "everyone who knows the EU knows that if we wanted to leave the climate policy, simply abandon the EU's climate policy, it would de facto be tantamount to leaving the European Union."

In his opinion, "radicals" who talk about abandoning EU climate policy "either consciously or not consciously want to push us into the narratives of Polexit."

"I will not let myself be pushed into the narrative of Polexit and I prefer to manoeuver between these rocks, sometimes sharp rocks protruding above the water," Morawiecki said.

According to Morawiecki, shortages of coal in Poland were a result of closing the mines.

"For many years we have been forced to close coal mines... and it was only the huge energy crisis at the end of 2021 and throughout 2022 that led to a number of coal-powered plants being launched again in Western Europe and coal energy briefly regained its profitability," he said.

The prime minister added that the "brutal" climate policy of the European Union has caused the costs of emission allowances for 1 tonne of CO2 to oscillate again around EUR 100, which will make coal-fired power generation unprofitable.