Warsaw, Poland \u2014 Greenpeace Poland filed a lawsuit today against PGE GiEK, a subsidiary of state-owned utility PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna, at the Regional Court in \u0141\u00f3d\u017a. Greenpeace demands that PGE GiEK stop any further fossil fuel investments and achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions from its existing coal plants by 2030 at the latest.<\/p>\n\n
Greenpeace Poland director Pawe\u0142 Szypulski, said:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n
\u201cThree in every four Poles agree that our economy needs to quit coal in the next decade, which is exactly what scientists have said we need to do in order to limit the most negative impacts of climate change. Greenpeace Poland is suing PGE GiEK on behalf of the environment and the public. We are seeking to establish a national deadline to phase out coal and decarbonize the country by 2030. Prime Minister Morawiecki has failed to deliver on that commitment, so we are going after the single biggest source of carbon emissions in our country to get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
\u201cA coal phase out paired\nwith dynamic growth of renewable energy sources is the only way forward for PGE\nGiEK and the whole energy sector in Poland. Rapid closure of coal-fired power\nplants will put an end to the destruction of our environment while renewable\nenergy can provide solutions to the climate crisis we are facing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
PGE Polska Grupa\nEnergetyczna is the biggest utility in Poland. About 90% of the power produced\nby the PGE conglomerate comes from burning coal. By its own account, PGE GiEK\nmines and burns between 85% to 90% of lignite in the country and is its biggest\npower producer, covering as much as 36% of the country’s electricity needs\nduring some months. In 2018 alone, PGE GiEK\u2019s carbon emissions amounted to\napproximately 57 million tonnes. The company added more coal units in Opole and\nTur\u00f3w since then. On average, PGE GiEK generates about 20% of Poland\u2019s total\nannual carbon emissions.<\/p>\n\n
The lawsuit against PGE\nGiEK is just one of many steps being taken forward by Greenpeace Poland to\naddress the climate crisis in the country. Just before Katowice\u2019s COP24 in\nNovember 2018, a group of activists\nclimbed a cooling tower at Be\u0142chat\u00f3w<\/a> and called the Polish government to\nphase out coal by 2030.[1] As activists ended\ntheir peaceful protest at the power plant<\/a>, Greenpeace Poland\nannounced that it will use all means available to accelerate the\ndecarbonisation of the country. One recent example is the application<\/a> of the organisation\u2019s\nProgramme Director for the CEO position at PGE with the objective of\nimplementing a new company strategy to achieve decarbonisation by the end of\nthe decade.<\/p>\n\n Greenpeace Poland’s\nstatement of claim is not publicly available. Additional information will be\npublished once the Regional Court in \u0141\u00f3d\u017a renders its judgment.<\/p>\n\n ENDS Contacts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Katarzyna\nGuzek, Greenpeace Poland head of communications, +48 500 236 211, katarzyna.guzek@greenpeace.org<\/a> <\/p>\n\n
Notes for Editors
[1] <\/strong>PGE GiEK also owns and operates Be\u0142chat\u00f3w\u2019s power plant, the world\u2019s largest lignite coal-fired power plant that produces an estimated 38 million tonnes of carbon each year, making it the biggest single source of carbon emissions in Europe.<\/p>\n\n