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The political economy of coal in Poland

Drivers and barriers for a shift away from fossil fuels

Bibliographic Data

ID23314801
AuthorsHanna Brauers (German Institute for Economic Research, corresponding author), Pao-Yu Oei (0000-0001-6638-0147, German Institute for Economic Research)
Year2020
Volume144
Pages111621
Publication date2020-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEnergy Policy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0301-4215 • E-ISSN: 1873-6777
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.enpol.2020.111621
OpenAlexW3045820270
LanguageEN
Citations received63
References cited78

Poland is the largest hard coal and second largest lignite producer in the EU, generating around 80 percent of its electricity from coal. Resistance to a reduction in coal production and consumption comes from various actors, namely, coal corporations, unions, parts of civil society and the government – as well as their coalitions. Their opposition centres around the prospect of losing their business, past negative experiences with structural change, fears of rising energy prices and energy security concerns, as well as potential unemployment in regions almost entirely dependent on coal. This paper identifies key political and economic drivers and barriers of a reduction in coal production and consumption in Poland using the Triple Embeddedness Framework. Uneconomic coal mining, unavoidable energy infrastructure investments, rising air pollution levels and pressure from the European Union might provide new political momentum for a shift away from coal in line with international climate targets. However, results show that to achieve political feasibility, policies targeting a reduction in coal production and use need to be implemented jointly with social and structural policy measures, addressing a just transition for the affected regions in line with the vision of a ‘European Green Deal’.

Business · Coal · Economics · Economy · Fossil fuel · Natural resource economics · Paradigm shift · Political science · Politics · Waste management · Engineering · Global Energy Security and Policy · Integrated Energy Systems Optimization · Renewable energy and sustainable power systems

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Unique citing works63
Citations per year10,5
Citation span2020 - 2026 (7)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 59
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