Greens slam 'climate sceptic' Poland

photo - Wikimedia Commons/Zakysant

Poland must embark on a “revolution” which would include investing in renewable energy sources and energy efficiency “if it wants to overcome its dependence on Russian gas imports,” said EFA/Greens German MEP Rebecca Harms during a conference in the European Parliament building in Brussels, Thursday, on the UN Climate Summit (COP 19), to be held in November in Warsaw.

MEP Harms said that greens were “used to having to deal with climate sceptics who have dominated Polish governments for years” and would be using the UN conference as an opportunity “to make it clear that Poland could lose as a country if it ignores energy innovation”.

Harms criticised Poland's drive to exploit shale gas deposits, which would negatively affect agriculture and does not have the support of local people where the 'fracking' procedure occurs to extract shale gas from rock.

She added that Poland had been lucky, till now, not to have a nuclear power industry, where “the problems of radioactive waste has yet to be solved".

Poland is scheduled to have its first nuclear power reactors online by 2022.

Environmentalists criticised the decision to stage the UN Climate Summit in Poland when it was announced last November.

Carbon Market Watch's Anja Kollmuss said a host nation needed to negotiate between parties with differing views but Poland "is not capable of this as its [climate policies] have repeatedly been against the wishes of the other 26 EU member states." (pg)

source: PAP