Coronavirus slams Poland's already-troubled coal industry

  coronavirus has ripped through Poland's coal mines, where men descend deep underground in tightly packed elevators and work shoulder-to-shoulder to extract source of 75% of nation’s electrical power.

Of Poland's more than 36,000 reported COVID-19 cases, about 6,500 are miners — making m nearly a fifth of all confirmed infections in country, even though y make up only 80,000 of country's population of 38 million.

virus hot spots, centered in sourn Silesia region, have paralyzed an alrey-troubled industry, forcing many to stay home from work and triggering a three-week closure of many state-run mines that are only w reopening.

It is one more blow that pandemic has dealt to global coal sector, alrey in steep decline in much of world as renewable and or energy sources get cheaper and societies increasingly reject its damaging environmental impact.

Ecomic shutdowns from virus also have cut electricity demand. Britain completely removed coal-fired power from its grid for 67 days starting April 9 — a record set since Industrial Revolution as National Grid works toward a zero-carbon system by 2025.

“Coal is in a long-term decline,” said Bob Ward, policy director at Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and Environment at London School of Ecomics. “It’s simply cheaper to use gas or renewables, and ecomics of coal just longer make sense in many parts of world.”

“ question is wher reduction in coal use is sustainable and will last beyond impacts of pandemic,” Ward said.

U.S. coal companies, alrey in financial trouble, are more likely to default because of pandemic, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Italian utility ENEL says it will be able to close coal-fired power stations that it operates across world sooner than anticipated due to virus.

But China, world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, actually has been accelerating plans for new coal power plant capacity as it tries to revive its virus-hit ecomy.

Poland, under pressure from 27-member European Union to lower carbon emissions, is seeing pandemic complicate its coal troubles.

Poland is only EU state refusing to pledge carbon neutrality by 2050. Governments in Warsaw have argued for years that as an ex-communist country still trying to catch up with West, it cant give up cheap and plentiful domestic energy source. It also says its reliance on coal plays is important for weaning itself from Russian gas.

In reality, Poland's coal production is becoming less efficient, and it has increasingly been importing cheaper coal from Mozambique, Colombia, Australia and even Russia. As it does so, Poland's own coal piles up unused, and some mines have been closed.

“Look what's happening with coal, how many millions of tons are being imported from outside Poland, and it was supposed to be completely different,” Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski said at a campaign rally in Silesia. He faces conservative President Andrzej Duda in a presidential ruff election Sunday.

Piotr Lewandowski, president of Institute for Structural Research in Warsaw, says Poland's coal sector is being pushed to a “tipping point" by several factors: falling demand for coal because of warmer winters; wind and or renewable becoming cheaper; rising costs of carbon emissions; and a society less willing to tolerate high levels of air pollution.

“As coal mines struggle, ir stock of unsold coal is highest it has been in five years,” Lewandowski said. “ mines are between a rock and a hard place. y need to man outbreak while y are in financial tatters.”

In an open letter Friday to Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, some 40 environmentalists, scientists and or groups urged him to urgently prepare a plan for phasing out coal use in order to receive EU funds for making a transition to a greener society. y said pandemic has sped up “ ecomic, ecological and social problems" associated with coal.

Miners, however, worry government could use outbreak as a pretext to permanently shut inefficient mines. Conservative leers have tried to calm those fears, aware of political costs of job cuts to industry.

When communism fell in Poland, it still h about 390,000 coal miners. Layoffs created high unemployment and poverty in Silesia, and miners std violent protests in Warsaw.

Jacek Sasin, deputy prime minister in charge of mining, insists re is reason for miners to fear for ir long-term prospects.

“All those who tried to argue that reduction was some sly plan to liquidate mines talked nsense,” he said.

Certainly body expects any big decisions about coal before Sunday's election between Duda, incumbent, and Trzaskowski.

Coal miners alrey are frustrated by stagnant ws and a feeling government is less committed to supporting m, said Patryk Kosela, a spokesman for a miners’ tre union, Sierpien 80.

ding to ir concerns have been long waits for coronavirus test results and a state mining institute report issued at start of pandemic that said miners were t at risk.

“It was wishful thinking,” Kosela said. “In mining, you work in tight groups. You go down in a packed small lift, people are crowded. n you travel on an underground train, toger, rubbing shoulders.”

Polish miners rmally wear only goggles and helmets with lamps, but one of biggest companies said it supplied masks and disinfectant, and implemented or hygiene measures at start of outbreak. It was unclear how many workers actually wore masks.

virus spre very fast, Kosela said. good news is that very few have faced serious complications, and many have recovered..

“Some are surprised that y are infected because y feel fine,” he said.

am Henkelman, a 44-year-old miner who recovered from virus, blames government for high infection rates and or troubles in sector.

“y h lost interest in us,” said Henkelman, who works in Murcki-Staszic coal mine in Katowice. “We don't kw what tomorrow will bring.”