In Poland, coal is now not king — however its mark stays

Yearly for almost a century, the miners within the Polish coal metropolis of Konin have gathered to rejoice St. Barbara, the patron of their occupation, and the black mineral rock that has held their neighborhood collectively.

This 12 months, on December 4, the miners of Konin marched for what’s going to seemingly be the final time. The mine round which their neighborhood was constructed is shutting down. Within the largest pit, the sump pumps have already been turned off, permitting the darkish water to rise. Quickly there can be no extra mining over which Barbara’s grace can shine. 

Because the miners gathered for the St. Barbara’s Day occasions, a query hung over the town: Was this a funeral or a celebration of reincarnation?

The tip of mining in Konin coincides with a shift in Polish politics, as a centrist authorities led by former European Council President Donald Tusk takes over from former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki’s nationalist Regulation and Justice get together.

The political transition is more likely to speed up the decline of the nation’s mining sector. The place the final authorities agreed with unions to maintain the mines open till 2049, the incoming administration desires the share of renewable power to extend to 68 % by 2030, a proportion of the nation’s energy era roughly equal to that supplied by coal as we speak.

It’s an finish that’s been coming for years — regardless of earnest makes an attempt to withstand by unions and successive governments. Throughout Poland, a mix of poor-quality coal, which is more and more tough to entry, and Europe’s carbon pricing system have halved the variety of collieries between 1990 and 2014. A decade in the past, the ZE PAK Group, an power firm, employed 10,000 employees in Konin. Its workforce has since been slashed by greater than two-thirds.

However even because the trade fades, its mark stays — within the financial system, within the tradition and within the European Union’s local weather insurance policies. Due to its dependence on coal, Poland has been probably the most vocal opponents of the EU’s inexperienced agenda. At the same time as different international locations within the EU pushed for more durable targets, Warsaw used each alternative to advocate a slower tempo. 

The legacy of that effort lives on not solely in EU targets which are much less bold than they could in any other case have been, but in addition in an emphasis on what advocates name a “simply transition.” That is one which makes an attempt to cushion the blows on those that stand to lose out as international locations wean themselves from fossil fuels.

When Poland was given the chance to host the COP24 local weather convention in 2018, it selected to carry the gathering in Katowice, within the coronary heart of its coal nation — shining a highlight on the impression the combat in opposition to local weather change would have on tens of 1000’s of jobs.

For European local weather politics, Warsaw’s push has meant extra money for traditionally polluting economies like Poland’s. And for the miners of Konin, it received’t save the id they’ve celebrated for many years. However the hope is that it’ll imply sufficient help from Brussels and Warsaw to assist the aged finish their careers with dignity, and the youngest amongst them to construct lives that aren’t depending on a useful resource fueling the warming of the world.

Closure of the Tomislawice open pit, the final one working in Konin, has been introduced for 2024.

The mine operates on a three-shift system, with the primary shift starting at 5 a.m.

At this hour, the transporters carrying the miners to the open pit set off.

The 2024 celebrations of St. Barbara (Barbórka), the patron saint of miners, in Konin began with a mass on the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

The miners’ uniforms are stuffed with symbolism: They’ve 29 buttons, to represent the age of St. Barbara on the time of her martyrdom.

The colours of the feathers worn on the caps are additionally necessary: white is for technicians, engineers and mining executives; inexperienced is for mining common managers; black is for miners and aspirants; and purple is for members of the band.

Alicja Regina Messerszmidt, chairwoman of the Intercompany Union of Engineering and Technical Workers: “All of us wish to perform this plan to make the inexperienced transition — at first with respect for the onerous work that folks have put into this place for a few years … The EU wants to supply honest situations.”

Retired miner Stanislaw Chmielewski, pictured with hist spouse Ilona, acted because the Lis Main (“Fox Grasp”) through the St. Barbara celebrations. The position is normally taken by an skilled miner who acts as a grasp of ceremonies. “As soon as, individuals from throughout Poland got here right here to work. However now, it’s a metropolis of pensioners,” Chmielewski mentioned.

After the morning service on December 4, miners marched by way of the streets of Konin to the amphitheater for a miners’ breakfast.

Joanna Gojdzińska, a member of the PAK KWB Konin brass band.

“Nobody doubts that we have now to maneuver away from coal, however it’s essential to protect traditions. The mining custom is an integral a part of the panorama of this metropolis and area,” mentioned “Fox Main” Stanislaw Chmielewski.

There’ll be no extra mining in Konin after 2024 …

… however the legacy of coal will stay.