Polish Government Fires Environment Minister In Middle Of Talks - Will Replace With Fracking Ally
Expectations of progress were already low for the United Nations climate conference in Poland this week, but few delegates were probably prepared for the latest stumbles. Ten days into Poland's role as host of the two-week U.N. gathering, Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Wednesday fired the conference president, Environment Minister Marcin Korolec, Polskie Radio and other national media reported.
Tusk clarified later that Korolec would continue representing Poland in the climate talks through the country's stint in the rotating presidency that runs through the end of 2014. But climate change activists warned that Korolec's loss of government backing undermines his clout in pressing delegates to commit to emissions reductions.
"At such a crucial time, this shows how little interest the Polish government has in reaching a deal at the climate talks," Friends of the Earth campaigner Urszula Stefanowicz told Bloomberg after Tusk's Cabinet shuffle. "Korolec will have no real political power."
Worse, said Greenpeace Poland director Maciej Muskat, Tusk said he was replacing Korolec to speed up development of Poland's shale gas industry. "This is nuts," Muskat said of the government shake-up in the middle of the huge U.N. meeting. "Furthermore, justifying the change of minister by the need to push the exploitation of another fossil fuel in Poland is beyond words."
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http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-poland-un-climate-minister-sacked-20131120,0,4627573.story