AP:
Poland’s environment minister on Tuesday underlined his country’s staunch opposition to the European Union’s ambitious climate change plan, which envisions slashing carbon emissions by 2020.
“The package in its current shape that the European Commission proposes at this time is unacceptable for Poland,” Maciej Nowicki told reporters ahead of an EU summit that opens Wednesday.
Nowicki stressed that Poland, which is heavily dependent on coal for its energy needs, “does not fear” cutting emissions by 20 percent by 2020, saying that “we could even go beyond that level of emission reductions.”
But Nowicki said a “slew of shortcomings” plagues the EU plan that could be weeded out in further negotiations.
He did not specify, but asked: “Is the commission’s proposal the only one? Is it optimal? Is it just? My answer to all three questions is no.”