Coal in Poland is partly mined and partly imported. 144 million metric tons of coal was mined in 2012, providing 55 percent of that country's primary energy consumption. Poland is the second-largest coal-mining country in Europe, after Germany, and the ninth-largest coal producer in the world. The country consumes nearly all the coal it mines, and is no longer a major coal exporter.[1]
In 2020, coal played a significant role in Poland's energy mix, making up 69.5% of the nation's energy production and 68.5% of its electricity generation. It accounted for 40.2% of the Total Energy Supply (TES). The largest portion of coal consumption was in electricity and heat generation, representing 75.6% of the total demand. The industrial sector followed, utilizing 14.5%, and buildings were responsible for 9.9% of coal usage.[2]
Poland electricity generation by source
In 2023 over 60% of Poland's electricity was generated from coal.[3] However extraction is becoming increasingly difficult and expensive, and has become uncompetitive against Russian imports, which are cheaper and of higher quality.[4] The industry now relies on government subsidies, taking nearly all of the annual €1.6 billion government energy sector support. In September 2020, the government and mining union agreed a plan to phase out coal by 2049,[5] but this has been criticised by environmentalists as too late to be compatible with the Paris Agreement to limit climate change.[6]
As of early 2022, Poland imported roughly a fifth of its coal, with 75% of these imports coming from Russia.[7] In late March 2022, Poland's government announced that it would ban Russian coal imports due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, with imports from Russia to cease entirely by April or May 2022.[8][9] The effectiveness of this decision has been questioned as any trade ban would be likely to contravene European Union (EU) rules because the vast majority of Russian coal is imported by private companies.[10] The Polish government has not outlined plans on how it will replace Russian imports (which stood at 8.3 mln tons or around 66% of all coal imported to Poland in 2021[10]) or deal with reduced coal supply. Russia's Ministry of Energy expressed doubt that Poland would be able to rapidly replace Russian coal.[11]
Coal policy
Poland's coal policy, under the Energy Policy of Poland 2040 (EPP2040), aims to reduce coal use while maintaining economic stability in impacted regions. This includes decreasing coal's share in electricity from 68.5% in 2020 to 11–56% by 2040, influenced by European Union Emissions Trading System (ETS) prices. The strategy promotes gas, renewable, and nuclear energy, and seeks to phase out coal in heating by 2030 in urban areas and by 2040 in rural areas, with an exemption for "smokeless" coal, which is processed to reduce pollution and is allowed through 2040 to support domestic coal demand while mitigating air pollution.[12][2]
The EU Just Transition Fund, with a EUR 17.5 billion budget, is expected to allocate EUR 3.5 billion to Poland to aid the transition. A 2021 agreement with coal trade unions plans the gradual closure of hard coal mines by 2049.[2]
CO2 and health impact
Coal mines are affecting the public health of the Polish population. Greenpeace found out that in Poland 5,400 people per year die as a consequence of the pollution through the burned coal. There is also a link between the impact of air pollution on the public health of people. Pollution of coal mines in Poland caused approximately 630 cases of chronic bronchitis, 1,310 admissions to the hospitals, in total 359,200 and 27,830 asthma attacks for children under 18 years.[13]
Between 2010 and 2020, Poland observed a reduction in energy-related CO2 emissions, particularly from coal, which is a significant source of the country's emissions. CO2 emissions attributable to coal usage declined from 215 million tonnes (Mt) in 2010 to 157 Mt in 2020, representing 58% of Poland's total energy-related emissions by the end of the decade.[2]
Environment
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In April 2008, five thousand people demonstrated in Kruszwica to protect cultural heritage and the nature reserve at Lake Gopło, against the Tomisławiceopencast mine, which was due to open in 2009. This was the first protest of its kind in the country's history. Gopło Millennium Park (Nadgoplański Park Tysiąclecia) is protected by the European Union's Natura 2000 program and includes a major bird sanctuary.[14]
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United Kingdom and South Africa, a coal mine and its structures are a colliery, a coal mine is called a "pit", and above-ground mining structures are referred to as a "pit head". In Australia, "colliery" generally refers to an underground coal mine.
Energy in Bulgaria is among the most important sectors of the national economy and encompasses energy and electricity production, consumption and transportation in Bulgaria. The national energy policy is implemented by the National Assembly and the Government of Bulgaria, conducted by the Ministry of Energy and regulated by the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission. The completely state-owned company Bulgarian Energy Holding owns subsidiaries operating in different energy sectors, including electricity: Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant, Maritsa Iztok 2 Thermal Power Plant, NEK EAD and Elektroenergien sistemen operator (ESO); natural gas: Bulgargaz and Bulgartransgaz; coal mining: Maritsa Iztok Mines. In Bulgaria, energy prices for households are state-controlled, while commercial electricity prices are determined by the market.
The energy policy of the European Union focuses on energy security, sustainability, and integrating the energy markets of member states. An increasingly important part of it is climate policy. A key energy policy adopted in 2009 is the 20/20/20 objectives, binding for all EU Member States. The target involved increasing the share of renewable energy in its final energy use to 20%, reduce greenhouse gases by 20% and increase energy efficiency by 20%. After this target was met, new targets for 2030 were set at a 55% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 as part of the European Green Deal. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU's energy policy turned more towards energy security in their REPowerEU policy package, which boosts both renewable deployment and fossil fuel infrastructure for alternative suppliers.
Coal is mined in every state of Australia. The largest black coal resources occur in Queensland and New South Wales. About 70% of coal mined in Australia is exported, mostly to eastern Asia, and of the balance most is used in electricity generation. In 2019-20 Australia exported 390 Mt of coal and was the world's largest exporter of metallurgical coal and second largest exporter of thermal coal. While only employing 50,000 mining jobs nationally coal provides a rich revenue stream for governments.
China is the largest producer and consumer of coal and coal power in the world. The share of coal in the Chinese energy mix declined to 55% in 2021 according to the US Energy Information Agency.
Energy in Germany is obtained for the vast majority from fossil sources, accounting for 77.6% of total energy consumption in 2023, followed by renewables at 19.6%, and 0.7% nuclear power. As of 2023, German primary energy consumption amounted to 10,791 Petajoule, making it the ninth largest global primary energy consumer. The total consumption has been steadily declining from its peak of 14,845 Petajoule in 2006. In 2023 Germany's gross electricity production reached 508.1 TWh, down from 569.2 TWh in 2022, and 631.4 TWh in 2013.
Energy in Finland describes energy and electricity production, consumption and import in Finland. Energy policy of Finland describes the politics of Finland related to energy. Electricity sector in Finland is the main article regarding electricity in Finland.
Coal mining has historically been an important industry in Ukraine. Coal mining in Ukraine is often associated with coal-rich Donets basin. However this is not the only coal mining region, other being Lviv-Volhynian basin and Dnieper brown coal mining basin. The Donets basin located in the eastern Ukraine is the most developed and much bigger coal mining region in the country.
Coal phase-out is an environmental policy intended to stop burning coal in coal-fired power plants and elsewhere, and is part of fossil fuel phase-out. Coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel, therefore phasing it out is critical to limiting climate change as laid out in the Paris Climate Agreement. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that coal is responsible for over 30% of the global average temperature increase above pre-industrial levels. Some countries in the Powering Past Coal Alliance have already stopped.
ClientEarth is an environmental law charity, with offices in London, Brussels, Warsaw, Berlin, Beijing, Madrid and Los Angeles. It was founded in 2008 by James Thornton and the organisation's CEO is Laura Clarke. As lawyers and environmental experts, they use the law to hold governments and other companies to account over climate change, nature loss, and pollution.
The Polish energy sector is the fifth largest in Europe. In 2023, the country consumed 167.52 TWh of electricity, a 3.44% year–on–year decrease from 2022. Out of this, 76.61 TWh came from hard coal, 34.57 TWh from lignite, 22 TWh from wind energy, and 13.65 TWh from gas, with the remainder coming from other sources, such as solar, biomass, and hydropower.
Coal is used as an energy source in Finland. Since Finland has no domestic coal production, it must import all of it from other countries, primarily from Russia. Finland is a peat-producing nation. Peat is classified as coal by the IEA. In 2016, the Finnish government announced plans to phase out coal by 2030.
Energy in Estonia has heavily depended on fossil fuels. Finland and Estonia are two of the last countries in the world still burning peat.
Energy in Hungary describes energy and electricity production, consumption and import in Hungary. Energy policy of Hungary describes the politics of Hungary related to energy.
Energy consumption per person in Turkey is similar to the world average, and over 85 per cent is from fossil fuels. From 1990 to 2017 annual primary energy supply tripled, but then remained constant to 2019. In 2019, Turkey's primary energy supply included around 30 per cent oil, 30 per cent coal, and 25 per cent gas. These fossil fuels contribute to Turkey's air pollution and its above average greenhouse gas emissions. Turkey mines its own lignite but imports three-quarters of its energy, including half the coal and almost all the oil and gas it requires, and its energy policy prioritises reducing imports.
Coal in Europe is a term describing the use of coal as an energy source in Europe, including both thermal coal used for power generation and coking coal used for steel production.
Coal supplies a quarter of Turkey's primary energy. The heavily subsidised coal industry generates over a third of the country's electricity and emits a third of Turkey's greenhouse gases.
The Afşin-Elbistan power stations are coal-fired power stations in Afşin in Kahramanmaraş Province in Turkey. The area is a sulfur dioxide air pollution hotspot: Air pollution can be trapped by the surrounding mountains, and Greenpeace say that measurements they took nearby in late 2020 show illegal levels of particulates and nitrogen oxides. The Environment Ministry has not released the flue gas measurements.
Coal in Turkey generated a third of the nation's electricity in 2023. There are 55 active coal-fired power stations with a total capacity of 21 gigawatts (GW). In 2023 coal imports for electricity generation cost 3.7 billion USD.
A global energy crisis began in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, with much of the globe facing shortages and increased prices in oil, gas and electricity markets. The crisis was caused by a variety of economic factors, including the rapid post-pandemic economic rebound that outpaced energy supply, and escalated into a widespread global energy crisis following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The price of natural gas reached record highs, and as a result, so did electricity in some markets. Oil prices hit their highest level since 2008.
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