Warsaw, 20 November 2013 – Reacting to the firing of the Polish Environment Minister, Marcin Korolec in the middle of the UN climate negotiations in Warsaw, Maciej Muskat, Director of Greenpeace Poland said:
“This is nuts. Changing the Minister leading the climate negotiations after a race to the bottom by parties of the convention shows Prime Minister Tusk is not sincere about the need for an ambitious climate deal. Furthermore, justifying the change of the Minister by the need to push the exploitation of another fossil fuel in Poland is beyond words, especially in the light of the majority of Poles wanting to see increased investment in renewables – not fossil fuels.“
Replacing the Minister of the Environment during COP19 is further proof of Prime Minister Tusk’s lack of a clear intention to drive the climate negotiations towards a clear timeline to commit to meaningful climate action and phase out fossil fuels. While introducing the new Environment Minister, Prime Minister Tusk justified the change by a need to accelerate the exploitation of shale gas in Poland.
The new Minister of Environment, Maciej Grabowski highlighted in his short opening speech the development of shale gas in Poland as his priority. In relation to his background on environmental issues, he has mentioned his previous interest in the exploration of hydrocarbons. Marcin Korolec will stay on as the plenipotentiary of the Polish government to the climate negotiations.
Maciej Muskat, Director of Greenpeace Poland
Mobile: +48 500 236 210
Meri Pukarinen, Senior Energy Campaigner and COP coordinator of Greenpeace Poland
Mobile: +48 797 713 873