Coal Industry Makes Historic Decision to Stop All Activities in This Country

Poland is making history since authorities and unions signed an agreement with the coal industry to completely phase out coal production by 2049, and without penalizing workers.

“We did what we needed to do, which was to assist the workers,” says Dominik Kolorz, head of a local branch of the Solidarity union. “It’s not like everything ends today. We have a lot of work to do to create alternative jobs.” For the first time, the industry accepts to reduce its presence, a “historic agreement” according to the Ministry of State Assets.

The coal industry is an important employment sector in Poland, and its liquidation will come with severance payments for workers and the creation of alternative jobs in the power industry. At the moment, Poland relies on coal for 70% of its energy needs, and the country plans on cutting them to 11% by 2040, and then completely in time for the bloc-wide deadline of 2050 set by the European Union.