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German site EurActiv.de here reports that Poland’s new president Andrzej Duda refuses to extend the UN Kyoto Treaty until 2020. EurActiv writes this “blocks the ratification process” just a month before the historic UN climate summit in Paris (COP21)”. Duda’s move comes just two days after the victory of his conservative Law and Justice Party in Poland’s parliamentary election.

“Andrzej Duda portret” by Michał Józefaciuk. This file has been extracted from another file: Anna Komorowska Bronisław Komorowski Andrzej Duda Agata Kornhauser-Duda Sejm 2015.JPG.. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 pl via Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Andrzej_Duda_portret.JPG#/media/File:Andrzej_Duda_portret.JPG

According to the EurActiv report, Duda is requesting a more detailed analysis of the matter on climate, writing in a statement:

Binding Poland to an international agreement that will affect Poland’s economy and the therein connected social costs should require a detailed analysis of the legal and economic impacts. These impacts have not been sufficiently explained.”

EurActiv.de explains that the 1992 Kyoto Treaty expired back in 2012 and that a number of countries have yet to ratify an extension. Duda’s party won Poland’s national parliamentary elections just two days earlier in a landmark victory, promising voters that the country’s coal industry would be protected. 90% of Poland’s electrical power is generated by coal. Analysts expect a bumpy ride ahead regarding relations with the EU. The European Union agreed last year to cut greenhouse gases by 40 percent by 2030.

Experts see little chance of preventing Duda’s move. Kamila Pacquel of the Brussels-based Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) AFP wrote the AFP that the new signals coming from Poland “does not help things”.

Greenpeace Poland called Duda’s announcemtn a “bad sign” the could stall Europe’s movement on emissions limitation by the 28 member states.

Also read more at Reuters.