Poland, a country that relies heavily on coal for both their primary energy source and a stability factor for their, already high, unemployment rate, plans on including the coal industry in this year’s two week climate change event in Warsaw. ?Though Poland understands the need to move into more sustainable energy sources, claims that the changes won’t happen overnight, and coal will be around for a very long time.
This thought process brought them to the conclusion that the coal industry should be included when speaking about climate change action and new sustainable resources; a decision enraging climate activists across the globe. Coal is one of the worst non-renewable resources flooding our grounds with immense pollution, and our atmosphere with climate changing gases.
Though Poland is pushing the coal industry into the mix, those pushing renewable resource management and climate change warning are not planning on changing their course for this year’s climate change meeting.? U.N. Climate Chief, Christiana Figueres is scheduled to be a key note speaker at the event, and has shown no sense of waiver in her cause. E3G, a European environmental think tank, speaking on Figueres stated:
She could either completely ignore that it’s happening or go there and make a point, and I think she’s chosen the latter one.
Many believe that Poland’s invitation to the coal company is not a dismissal to climate change or the need for more sustainable resources, but more a strong political and economic statement. Poland’s coal industry is a government supported trek that provides nearly 600,000 jobs and eighty percent of their energy. This day in age it seems that the United States isn’t the only country putting economics before the environmental state of our planet. Eventually, they will have to figure out, if the planet goes, money won’t really matter anymore.
