Climate deal faces strong opposition
Germany, which originally pushed for the plan, has joined Poland and Italy in urging the EU to soften their plans and take into consideration countries which depend on coal as their energy source. According to Marek Pozzi, professor at the SilesianUniversity of Technology, Germany is in the same situation as Poland as its energy is also dependent on coal. "It is an important argument for the Germans and the English and the Italians that Germany, one of EU key countries, have their economy based on coal, just as Poland," he said.
Poland, which relies on coal for 94 percent of its electricity, fears that if power companies have to purchase CO2 permits at auctions, electricity prices would double. However, Poland has proposed that companies pay for emissions, but from a certain level. "Those that would pay more for emissions are those with worse technology and this would motivate further modernization initiatives," said Pozzi.
Meanwhile, leader of the "Go ahead Poland" political group Janusz Dobrosz has called PM Tusk to veto the directive. "In the name of Poland and its people, we are calling on Donald Tusk's government to veto the climate directive," he said on Friday during a press conference in the Sejm. He added that if the package is approved, this would mean 100 percent energy hikes.
Krzysztof Zmijewski, coordinator of Green Effort Group, told Dow Jones Newswire that the current package cannot be approved as it does not address the issues raised by Poland. "The compromise is possible when both parties want it, not when one side is being pushed against the wall. In my opinion, the package can't be accepted by the prime minister in its current form," he said.
The EU is pressing for a deal on the climate package before further the global talks that are scheduled to take place in Copenhagen next year. Tusk and other European leaders will meet in Gdańsk on Saturday to continue their discussions.
