Poland awards households 630 euros to buy coal

The carbon allowance is meant to help families using coal for heating

The Polish state will be awarding a PLN 3000 (EUR 630) allowance to families who use coal and carbon derivates for heating, Climate and Environment Minister Anna Moskwa told reporters on Tuesday. The government has reportedly allocated 11.5 million zlotys for the purpose and has already purchased and received 3 million tons of coal from abroad. More coal is on its way to ensure energy demands, facing rising energy costs.

A warm and polluted winter season ahead for Poland

On July 19, 2022, the Council of Ministers of Poland adopted a bill on the carbon allowance, which will support households against the increasing costs of coal products with a one-time financial assistance. The allowance will be granted to households for which the main source of heating is solid fuel - coal, briquette or pellets, containing at least 85 % hard coal.

The financial assistance comes to replace a previous resolution from earlier this month, which put a cap on the price of a ton of coal sold to households. There are no income criteria to receive the help: to benefit from it, households will simply have to apply to their local municipality by November. The needed quantities for the upcoming season have reportedly been purchased from Colombia, Tanzania, USA, South Africa, Australia and Indonesia.

And while the EU is generally trying to steer away from the highly polluting coal in line with the European Green Deal, for countries like Poland, this is a main source for heating and industry. In fact, Poland is described as the most coal-dependent in the Bloc and declared readiness to boost its own coal production, on top of imports.