The action comes one day after the Polish Prime Minister said at
the opening of the UN Climate Negotiations in Poznan that nothing
would be allowed to upset the symbiotic relationship between man
and nature.
"We support our Prime Minister when he says that we should not
upset the relationship between man and nature," said Magdalena
Zowsik, climate and energy campaigner of Greenpeace Poland. "But we
want to see action. We want an action plan explaining how our Prime
Minister will help this country quit coal and implement the Polish
target for clean renewable energy."
Poland still has plans to build coal-fired power plants and open
new mines, which it is using as a reason to resist the EU climate
package(1).
The P
ątnów plant(2) runs on lignite, the most CO2 polluting fuel, from the nearby
Konin open cast mine. The Konin mine company plans to open a new
open cast mine in Tomislawice to fuel the plant, threatening both
the climate and the local environment.
"At a time when we have hopes that the US will join global
efforts to combat climate change, the self-interested positions of
both Poland and Germany are forcing the EU to weaken its climate
package. Now is the time for real leadership from the EU, from
Poland and Germany," said Zowsik.(3)
There is little time left to stop dangerous climate change -
global emissions must peak by 2015 and be reduced by 80-95 percent
by 2050. Otherwise, 3 billion people could suffer increased water
stress, and hundreds of millions face food insecurity. In Poland
impacts will include flooding of the
Żuławy region, Gdańsk old town and long summer droughts.
During the UN Climate Negotiations in Poznan governments must
agree:
- a "climate vision" that will address what the science requires:
global emissions peaking by 2015
- a draft text on the table to start negotiations in March
- a detailed work plan to get this completed by Copenhagen in
December 2009; and
- developed countries must agree greenhouse gas emission
reduction targets at the upper end of 25-40 percent, as identified
by the IPCC.
Other contacts: Jacek Winiarski - Press officer, Greenpeace Poland
+48 504 274 080
Szabina Mózes - Media Officer, Greenpeace International
+ 43 664 61 26 725
Climate talks in Poznan: Beth Herzfeld, Greenpeace International
+48 798 626809
International Photo desk: +44 7801 615 889, picture.desk.int@greenpeace.org
International Video desk: +31 646 197 322
Notes: One of the activists who climbed the chimney at the Pątnów power plant is Will Rose - who earlier this year was acquitted on charges of criminal damage for his part in a similar action in the UK. A jury found the activists to have acted with just cause.
(1) The EU is days away from sealing its own deal to tackle climate change, known as the 'climate package.' Some EU countries, including Poland, are threatening to seriously weaken this package.
(2) Zespoł Elektrowni Pątnów-Adamów-Konin SA
(3) 93 percent of Poland's electricity produced in Poland comes from coal. Today in Brussels Greenpeace is launching its European Energy [R]evolution scenario, which shows that a cleaner future is possible. Carried out by the Institute of Technical Thermodyamics at the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), the report is a blueprint for a clean energy future in the EU, including Poland. It demonstrates that the EU can slash emissions from energy use 30 percent by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050.