West Poland subregion aims to be first in the country to hit net zero

(EurActiv, 21 Jan 2021) In 2030, the last electricity produced from coal will flow in Greater Poland, the second-largest region in the country. By 2040, the area intends to achieve climate neutrality.

“It’s not PR. We have it all carefully thought out,” Maciej Sytek, president of the board of the Regional Development Agency in Konin and co-author of the strategy, told EURACTIV.pl.

“Twenty years to achieve the goal of climate neutrality is an ambitious goal that will be difficult to achieve, but it is realistic for one generation,” he added.

The difficulty is that the region is home to seven coal mines and is the operation ground for the Pątnów-Adamów-Konin Power Plant (ZE PAK), which generates electricity from lignite, also known as brown coal. It employs several thousand people.

Giving up opencast mines – or surface mines – is also a socio-economic challenge. Thousands of people will have to find new jobs and many will have to retrain.

Trade unionists from ZE PAK announced that the abandonment of the new Ościsłowo opencast mine would mean the loss of as many as 7,000 jobs. They fear the impact of climate neutrality plans and are threatening to go on strike.

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EurActiv, 21 Jan 2021: West Poland subregion aims to be first in the country to hit net zero