Coal news and updates

Polish efforts to extend Turów coal license dealt a setback

a Warsaw court ruled that the Polish government acted unlawfully when it speedily adopted an environmental permit to extend the life a controversial open-pit mine bordering Germany and the Czech Republic.

The decision is a win for environmental groups challenging the coal mining project, at Turów, which they say leads to dust pollution and ground-water supply problems for bordering communities.

"Instead of unlawfully speeding up the investment process in the interest of the coal lobby, the Polish government should set a 2030 coal phase out date," Joanna Flisowska, head of the climate and energy unit at Greenpeace Poland said in response to the ruling.

Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE), a state-owned energy utility, would have secured a licence extension until 2044. But the ruling puts a stop to that for the time being.

The government's decision to fast-track the environmental impact assessment had been challenged in court by the NGOs Europe Beyond Coal and Greenpeace, and by the legal firm Frank Bold.

Hubert Smolinski, the lawyer with Frank Bold, described the environmental consultation process for the extension of the mining permit as "a sham" and said in a statement that the Polish decision to immediately enforce the permit had rightly been found illegal.

But Smolinski said the Polish government would "most probably lodge" an appeal.

The Polish government may also seek to influence the Polish general director for environmental protection who is currently reviewing the environmental decision in a separate legal proceeding, Smolinski told EUobserver.