WARSAW – Poland's climate ministry has allowed State-run energy group PGE to extend operations at its open-pit lignite coal mine in Turow by six years, a decision likely to dismay environmental campaigners.
Poland generates most of its electricity from coal and lignite, or brown coal, and is the only EU member not to have pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, arguing it needs more time to replace its coal-fuelled plants with cleaner ones.
PGE argued that extending the operations at the mine in south-west Poland would help it increase national security of electricity supplies. It said that, according to the ministry's decision, its mining area would be reduced by half.
Activists fear the mine's operations could harm the local environment, especially the availability of drinking water. PGE said its research found that the mine did not cause such water shortages.