Poland must immediately stop extracting coal from Turów mine: CJEU

As part of interim measures, the Court of Justice of the European Union ordered Poland to immediately stop mining lignite in the Turów mine. This is the result of a case brought by the Czech authorities. The Polish side emphasizes the importance of the mine for the Polish energy mix, but experts' calculations show that extending the extraction of Turów is unprofitable.

The mine's lignite mining license expired on April 30, 2020, but the Minister of Climate, Michał Kurtyka, decided a month earlier to extend it for another six years, despite the negative statement issued by the Czech government. And on April 28, 2021, Minister Kurtyka extended the term of the current concession for the extraction of lignite and associated minerals from the "Turów" deposit until 2044.

"The Turów Brown Coal Mine has a valid, legally issued license on the basis of which it runs and will mine. The CJEU's decision is the way to a wild energy transformation. We are dealing with the first real test of the European Green Deal, which was to be based on solidarity and just transition energy, and not a program supporting unfair competition," Wojciech Dąbrowski, president of PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna, meanwhile said.

In his opinion, PGE cannot agree to the closure of the mine in Turów. This would mean an automatic shutdown of the power plant that supplies electricity to 3.7 million Poles' homes.

(EURACTIV.pl, WBJ)