The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ordered Poland to pay a $580,000 fine every day operations continue at the Turów lignite coal mine, located near the Czech Republic border. The fine comes after Poland and PGE, the state-owned utility that owns the mine, failed to comply with a May 21 order to shut down mining operations (Bloomberg). 

On September 26, the global environmental charity ClientEarth announced it will sue PGE GiEK over excessive emissions at the Bełchatów plant in Poland. The lawsuit demands that the plant operators stop burning lignite, a highly polluting form of coal, and eliminate carbon emissions by 2035. Poland derives approximately 80% of its energy from coal, and Polish President Andrzej Duda says there are no plans to stop using the country’s coal supply. The Bełchatów plant is Europe’s largest coal plant, with annual carbon dioxide emissions equal to that of New Zealand.

The European Union's executive body has approved the slaughtering of some 200,000 wild boars in Poland to protect livestock from the deadly African swine fever. A spokeswoman for the European Commission said that shooting wild boars, which spread the virus, if done properly is one way of stopping the disease. Poland is not the first country to take this approach—Germany killed over 800,000 wild boars last year as a precaution. Massive board hunts are planned for remaining weekends this month. For the full story, see https://www.apnews.com/39881db8e0374720832d0863c1f7c205.

On June 29, Poland's upper house of parliament approved an amendment to the renewable sources of energy law in hopes of removing obstacles to green energy investment and helping Warsaw meet EU renewable energy targets. The amendment removes tax disincentives and kicks off auctions under a new subsidy system in which renewable producers will be assured a stable price for their energy in any given period. According to the Polish Wind Energy Association, Poland achieved 13.9 percent of electricity consumption through renewables in 2017, which was short of their target of 14.7 percent.

Poland's new Environmental Minister stated that the country will comply with an EU court order to stop cutting trees in Bialowieza forest except where public safety has to be ensured. Environmentalists see the public safety exemption as pretextual. The World Heritage site is one of Europe’s last primeval forests and home to its largest herd of European bison as well as unique birds and insects. In 2016, the former Minister approved a tripling of the quota of wood that can be harvested to stop a beetle outbreak.

On July 28, 2017, EU's top court ordered Poland to halt large-scale logging of Bialowieza Forest, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The forest is one of Europe's last primeval forests and home to its largest herd of European bison as well as unique birds and insects. The European Court of Justice ruled that logging should stop immediately as it could cause "serious and irreversible damage" to the forest. Poland's environment ministry says the logging is needed to protect the forest from an invasion of beetles.

On July 28, 2017, EU's top court ordered Poland to halt large-scale logging of Bialowieza Forest, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The forest is one of Europe's last primeval forests and home to its largest herd of European bison as well as unique birds and insects. The European Court of Justice ruled that logging should stop immediately as it could cause "serious and irreversible damage" to the forest. Poland's environment ministry says the logging is needed to protect the forest from an invasion of beetles.

Poland adopted a law banning the construction of wind farms near homes. Under the new law, wind farms are required to be built at a distance that is at least 10 times the height of the turbine. The move could stunt Poland’s efforts in renewable energy, as the ban will result in higher costs for wind farm construction projects. Additionally, the new law will result in a hike in property taxes for owners of wind farms, which industry representatives commented could trigger bankruptcies.

The European Commission is taking Poland to the European Court of Justice for breaking European environmental law by illegally exploring for shale gas. EU environmental law requires impact assessments for drilling to a depth of more than 1,000 meters, whereas in Poland, impact assessments are only necessary for drilling deeper than 5,000 meters.

A draft Polish law that would impose a raft of exacting demands on windfarm developers is nothing less than a bid to sabotage the country’s renewable energy prospects, according to Europe’s wind industry. Under the proposal, developers would need to apply for a license to operate a wind turbine every two years. If they wanted to repair or modernize a turbine, they would first need to get permission from an inspector’s office, then pay a significant fee and reapply for another permit.