PLEA Network

3 May 2018, Climate Home News, Fossil fuel companies should be part of UN climate process, says top Polish official. Poland’s climate envoy dismissed calls to keep polluters out of UN talks, ahead of a controversial negotiation in Bonn on Thursday about widening participation. Activists outside the venue put pressure on the EU to support a conflict of interest policy for businesses getting involved in the process. They argue that fossil fuel companies are a malign influence and weaken climate ambition to protect their profits. But Tomasz Chruszczow, who has a leading role in this December’s Katowice climate summit, told Climate Home News in an interview he did not recognise that problem. “We want everybody in this action,” he said. “Even if they are now generating electricity from fossil fuels – the majority of electricity comes from fossil fuels – still it is changing, but it is a process. “The call for exclusion of anybody from the process… I don’t think that is very useful. Let’s think how to incentivise the transition [to a low carbon economy].” NGOs argue that the World Health Organization set a precedent on conflicts of interest when it limited the access of big tobacco to decision-making in light of the evidence smoking harms health. Chruszczow argued the situations were not comparable. “Smoking is what people are made to do; utilities are usually dependent on the political decisions and overall political environment – and people need energy,” he said. Until last year, Chruszczow chaired the strand of UN climate talks responsible for setting the terms of business engagement. On Thursday, a working group will consider how to address conflict of interest concerns. Within the EU, Poland has a record of resisting ambitious climate targets, or seeking exemptions. The country gets more than 80% of its electricity from coal and the ruling Law and Justice party is supportive of its ailing mining sector. Read more here