Just Transition of Eastern Wielkopolska Challenges from the civil society perspective – analysis and recommendations Just Transition of Eastern Wielkopolska Challenges from the civil society perspective – analysis and recommendations Warsaw 2019 Just Transition of Eastern Wielkopolska. Challenges from the civil society perspective – analysis and recommendations Written by: Emilia Ślimko, Alliance of Associations Polish Green Network, Otwarty Plan Foundation Translated by: Magdalena Klimowicz Proofreading: Jakub Kahul for the Polish version and Magdalena Szymczukiewicz for the English version Typesetting and layout: Michał Świstak Expert consultation: Izabela Zygmunt, Joanna Furmaga, Magdalena Bartecka, Alliance of Associations Polish Green Network Publishing coordination: Magdalena Klarenbach, Otwarty Plan Foundation Photo on cover: Sławomir Jankowski Publisher: Alliance of Associations Polish Green Network, ul. Raszyńska 32/44 apt. 140, 02-026 Warsaw 1st edition, Warsaw 2019 ISBN: 978-83-62403-22-6 The Alliance of Associations “Polish Green Network” is a non-profit organisation grouping more than a dozen environmental organisations operating in Poland’s largest cities. Our goal is to support social and economic de- velopment consistent with the requirements of environmental and climate protection, social justice and respect for human rights. We build civil society support for the concept of sustainable development, devise mechanisms of civil society control of public funds spending, carry out projects in the field of low-carbon transition and support environmentally friendly development of countries of the Global South. The main fields of our activity include development of community energy, energy transition and just transition of coal mining regions, the fight against energy poverty as well as improvement of energy efficiency and air quality, and protection of water resources and biodiversity. zielonasiec.pl I globalnepoludnie.pl I dlaklimatu.pl I wiecejnizenergia.pl | sprawiedliwa-transformacja.pl The publication is available under the Creative Commons Attribution – NonCommercial 3.0 Poland licence (CC BY-NC 3.0 PL) Licence content: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/pl/deed.en English version printed as part of EUKI project " Accelerating the Energy Transformation of Central and Eastern Europe and Learning from the German Experience" Contents Just Transition of Eastern Wielkopolska. Challenges from the civil society perspective – analysis and recommendations I. CHALLENGES TO EASTERN WIELKOPOLSKA’S JUST TRANSITION 6 II. CIVIL SOCIETY’S PERSPECTIVE 12 III. THE PERSPECTIVE OF LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENTS 18 IV. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 25 Just Transition of Eastern Wielkopolska Summary Lignite is the most exploited natural resource in East- ment. The region’s worsening hydrological situation ern Wielkopolska. It is mined in the Konin Coal Basin is of particular concern. Opencast mines are having which comprises the Konin and Adamów mines and a negative impact on agriculture, causing a signifi- the Zespół Elektrowni Pątnów-Adamów-Konin SA (ZE cant reduction in yields due to the loss of groundwa- PAK) power station complex. From the mid-1950s, the ter and frequently even leading farmers to abandon subregion’s socio-economic development depended their agricultural activity. They also cause the water on the mining industry and the power industry. Thanks level in lakes across the region to subside as a result of to those two sectors, Konin – the subregion’s capi- the formation of the mines’ depression cones and con- tal – became a thriving industrial centre. However, tribute to a deterioration of the region’s natural beauty. this situation began to change in the 1990s when the In addition, power stations and opencast mines are the power industry was restructured, and the city started source of air pollution, including mercury pollution, to decline after losing its status as a regional capital and major carbon dioxide emitters. city following Poland’s administrative reform. Since the end of the 1980s, the number of workers employed A group of city activists from Konin, mostly asso- in power stations and in the mining sector has declined ciated with non-governmental organisations, have significantly. The region’s lignite fields are rapidly been the first people to raise the issue of Eastern becoming depleted, and the local community is Wielkopolska’s just transition in 2017. This was when opposed to the plans to open new opencast mines the first scenario for the region’s development based such as Ościsłowo and Dęby Szlacheckie. Coal min- on renewable energy sources and energy sector inno- ing is currently expected to end in 2030. The Ościsłowo vations was put forward. The civil society has also opencast mine, even it is opened, will not protect the been the first to become involved in the work of the region from the urgent need to phase out coal. EU Platform for Coal Regions in Transition, which the region’s authorities officially joined in 2019. This led to The main challenges faced by the region include: the appointment of the Regional Government’s Pleni- potentiary for Eastern Wielkopolska’s Restructuring at ` low profitability of continued lignite mining and of the Regional Development Agency (ARR) in Konin. One retrofitting the coal-fired power stations, of the Agency’s main achievements so far involved ` large unemployment rate compared with the rest the signing, on 3 April 2019, of the “Agreement on of the region, Eastern Wielkopolska’s just energy transition”. The ` excessive dependence of the local job market on Agreement was signed by more than 40 entities from the mines and power stations controlled by ZE PAK, the region representing the local and regional govern- ` outflow of young people from the region and an ment, the private sector and non-governmental organ- ageing population, isations. ZE PAK, the owner of the power stations and ` environmental degradation and losses suffered by the opencast mines, is also a signatory. local communities as a result of increased drainage caused by the mines’ expanding depression cones, All the stakeholders involved in the processes named ` social and legal conflicts over the plans to expand above recognise the region’s potential for continued the existing opencast mines and to open new ones, development in the field of green energy, which was resulting from the absence of dialogue between first comprehensively articulated in the “Konin Energy the mines’ management bodies and local commu- Valley” concept devised by the regional government nities, among other factors. which hopes to build the region’s future on hydrogen technologies and other renewable energy sources. Despite a major decline in the region’s economic However, individual groups of stakeholders have diver- importance and the serious consequences of this gent interests and expectations as regards the tran- decline for the region’s population, no comprehensive sition process. From the point of view of the regional plan of a transition that would make the local econ- government, one important challenge involves the omy less dependent on coal has been devised so far. vagueness of the term ‘just transition’ and its many The consequences of this negligence are affecting the interpretations, which make understanding increas- local population which urgently needs to find alterna- ingly difficult, as well as the long-term nature of this tive solutions in various fields of economic develop- process and the absence of guarantees of central gov- 4 Challenges from the civil society perspective – analysis and recommendations ernment’s support on issues such as old age pensions In addition, civil society groups argue that funds ear- for miners. The civil society would like to make sure marked for just transition should be available to vari- that a sufficiently broad public participation in deci- ous groups including the farmers affected by mining, sion-making processes is ensured, and takes the view and that support mechanisms for the development of that these processes should involve the region’s rural new energy sources should promote the community communities alongside its urban and mining commu- energy model so that in the future the region’s energy nities. According to the civil society representatives, generation is not concentrated in the hands of a single funds earmarked for the transition processes should company. Finally, ZE PAK, which is the region’s largest be spent primarily on improving the state of the envi- enterprise, is interested in investing in green energy ronment, including an improvement of the water situ- sources and has applied for funds to finance such ation in the region and reclamation of degraded land, investments, but at the same time it still seeks to open and on human capital investments involving the cre- a new opencast mine in Ościsłowo, which, according ation of new jobs, retraining opportunities for mining to the civil society, will considerably aggravate the sector employees and social protection programmes. region’s already serious environmental problems. Recommendations → The most urgent challenge that Eastern Wielkopolska is facing is to devise a transition plan that would take the needs and interests of all sides into account. The plan should contain a schedule, including in particular the deadline for ending coal mining and burning, and should lay down specific goals and methods of achieving them. → The transition plan should include a long-term strategy for the region