Polish President Karol Nawrocki will once again submit a motion to the Senate calling for a referendum on the future of the European Union’s climate policy. The move comes in response to the reform of the Emissions Trading System unveiled by the EU yesterday.
In February 2025, while still a candidate for the Polish presidency, Karol Nawrocki signed an agreement with the Solidarity trade union, in which he pledged, among other things, to submit a motion to the Senate requesting a referendum on the implementation of the European Union’s climate policy.
On 7 May 2026, President Karol Nawrocki submitted the promised motion to the Senate.
“The decisions being made today will affect our lives for many years to come. This applies particularly to European climate policy, whose negative consequences we are already experiencing. The Green Deal and the ETS mean higher energy prices, declining economic competitiveness, and the collapse of agricultural production. This is of particular importance to the Polish state,”
the president said, explaining his decision.
President Nawrocki proposed the following referendum question:
“Do you support the implementation of the European Union’s climate policy, which has led to an increase in citizens’ cost of living, energy prices, and the costs of conducting business and agricultural activity?”
Two weeks later, the Senate rejected the Polish president’s motion. Sixty-two senators voted against it, and 32 voted in favour.
President refuses to give up
“In accordance with President Karol Nawrocki’s earlier announcement, the president will once again submit a motion to the Senate next week calling for a referendum on the future of the European Union’s climate policy,”
Paweł Szefernaker, head of the Polish president’s office, said today.
He noted that the European Commission had presented its reform of the ETS yesterday, but argued that “instead of genuine changes, we are dealing merely with superficial adjustments.” He added that the governing majority had rejected the referendum initiative in May, claiming that the government would negotiate solutions in Brussels that “served Poland’s interests.”
“Europe is losing its competitiveness, yet the European Commission’s response remains cosmetic adjustments rather than a genuine change of course. This time, the Senate will not be able to hide behind the argument that the referendum question contains a ‘premise.’ We expect it to allow a fair debate and enable Poles to have their say on an issue that is fundamental to the future of the Polish economy and the country’s energy security,”
Szefernaker wrote.
Not a reform, but an adjustment
Wanda Buk, an adviser to the Polish president, said that the ETS review offered “several limited concessions while continuing to expand and tighten the system.”
She pointed, among other things, to additional sectors to be included in the ETS, such as municipal waste incineration plants, ships, and business aviation.
“Despite announcements that the burden on industry would be reduced, the scope of the ETS is not being limited. It is being expanded,”
Buk noted.
She added that the emissions-reduction targets for 2040 remained unchanged, free allowances would not be granted unconditionally, and the support offered by the European Commission remained disproportionate to the burdens imposed.
“The overall assessment is straightforward: a broader ETS covering waste, smaller ships, and business aviation; a stricter Market Stability Reserve mechanism; and an unchanged target for 2040, in exchange for limited and conditional relief. This is not a reform that addresses the competitiveness crisis facing European industry. It is merely an adjustment of selected elements, while the principal burdens are maintained and expanded,”
Wanda Buk wrote.