The European Union's Emissions Trading System (ETS) has been a subject of intense political and public debate in Poland, with the right-wing opposition party, Law and Justice (PiS), calling for the country to withdraw from the system. The PiS argues that the ETS is a "Brussels scam" that makes "Poles a cash machine for absurd leftist climate policies." However, the government warns that leaving the ETS would either result in enormous ongoing fines or require Poland to leave the EU entirely. The reality behind this political rhetoric is more complex. The ETS is not new, having been agreed upon by EU member states before Poland joined the bloc in 2004. It is built around the "polluter pays principle," meaning companies must pay for the carbon they emit to the atmosphere. The system has been successful in reducing emissions, with the European Commission reporting that emissions from power energy and industry covered by the EU ETS were down approximately 47% by 2023 compared to 2005 levels. However, the price of emission allowances has been on the rise, jumping to almost €25 in 2018 and peaking at €105.73 per tonne in February 2023. This has had a significant impact on Polish households, with estimates suggesting that the ETS costs account for around 15-16% of a typical electricity bill. The right-wing opposition attributes this to Poland's disadvantaged starting point, but successive Polish governments have delayed decarbonisation to placate politically influential mining unions. The criticism of the ETS from the right has escalated since PiS named Przemysław Czarnek, a hard-line conservative figure, as its prime ministerial candidate for the 2027 parliamentary elections. Czarnek's claim that the system makes Poles "a cash machine" for Brussels is misleading, as Poland has earned 138.6 billion zloty from selling emission allowances between 2013 and 2025, with only 1.3% of that money actually spent on reducing emissions. The government in Warsaw has welcomed proposals to reform the ETS, but it remains to be seen whether these changes will be enough to mitigate the impact of the system on Polish consumers and industry. In the meantime, the ETS will likely remain a political tool for the opposition to attack the government, often with little heed for how the system actually works or what effects it has.
