Host countries play the pivotal role of setting the tone and ensuring the efficiency of each years COP, and as many of my classmates have pointed out before me, this year’s honor—or perhaps burden—falls on Poland. Before heading across the Atlantic in a few days, I thought it would be helpful to understand the impacts climate change will have and is already having on Poland and the response the country has taken so far to hopefully make sense of the host nation’s attitude throughout COP24.
Poland is a country with a frequently fluctuating climate. While hurricanes were already common in Poland, the country has seen a large uptick in catastrophic stormsand tornadoes in the last few decades. The eastern part of the country is seeing increased occurrences of drought. Even with these very visible signs of climate change, only 19% of Polish citizens believe climate change is a very serious problem according to a 2015 PEW Research Center poll. In a 2007-2008 Gallup poll, a little over half of the Poles who participated believed climate change was caused by human activity.
As part of the 2015 Paris Agreement, Poland submitted a joint NDC with the rest of the European Union to reduce domestic greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% of 1990 levels. Poland has also committed to having 15% of its total energy profile be renewable and a 30% increase in forest cover by 2020. Other 2020 targets include having 20% of the transportation sector fueled by biofuels, 35% biodegradable municipal waste in landfills, and a reduction in water consumption. While all of these commitments are positive from both a climate and overall environmental standpoint, it cannot be ignored that 80% of Poland’s current energy is provided by burning coal.
Polish Coal Miners Band at COP24 http://www.tribtown.com/2018/12/04/ climate-miners-day/
Poland is home to 33 of the 50 dirtiest cities in Europe and is on track to still be reliant on coal for 60% of its energy needs in 2030. Furthering this commitment to coal, Poland began COP24 earlier this week by rolling out the Polish Coal Miners Band to greet delegates from all over the world as they arrived at the conference. Coal was also displayed throughout the conference center in its many “useful” forms including jewelry and cosmetics. The Polish president, President Duda, in his opening remarks commented on this display of coal throughout the COP stating “There is no plan today to fully give up on coal…Experts point out that our supplies run for another 200 years, and it would be hard not to use them.”
Furthering the Polish desire to double-down on extended coal use is the looming withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Agreement: many smaller countries, including Poland, have argued that if an actor as large as the U.S. does not intend to meet their targets, neither will they.
With all of this said, it is important to note that a host country can only effect the success of a COP to a certain extent and that I do not believe Poland has any mal-intent towards the negotiations. I undertook this topic to better understand the background of Poland and the potential biases and agendas the country may hold before arriving in Katowice. I look forward to using this post as a lens to view the actions of the Polish government throughout the last week of COP24.
