“Whose interests are you serving by misleading Poles and exposing them to the highest energy costs in Europe?” – this is how Przemysław Czarnek, the Law and Justice (PiS) candidate for prime minister, responded on social media to journalist Jakub Wiech. An exchange of arguments took place between the MP and the commentator.
On Saturday, another program convention of Law and Justice (PiS) from the series “Thinking Poland. Alternative 2.0” was held in Święte Nowaki (Skierniewice County), this time devoted to sustainable development – the environment, climate, and energy policy.
During the event, Przemysław Czarnek, the party’s candidate for prime minister, took the floor. He argued about the ineffectiveness of European Union climate policy and the risk of deindustrialization resulting from its implementation.
He recommended using Poland’s natural resources in the energy sector – primarily coal. He also criticized ongoing investments in renewable energy sources, while proposing investments in stable energy sources such as geothermal energy, hydropower, and biogas.
“Renewables, yes – but stable ones, available all year round. They can contribute to our energy mix, the result of which will be cheap electricity, not absurd EU-subsidized solutions that make Poles pay the highest electricity prices in the EU”, he said.
Czarnek’s statement was challenged on social media by journalist Jakub Wiech, who specializes in energy and renewable energy topics.
“Professor Czarnek asks how much electricity would be generated from wind turbines today and says almost none. That is true, because today we have a very warm summer day with no wind. However, the sun is shining. And at the moment when the professor was saying these words, 57.5% of Poland’s electricity generation came from photovoltaic panels”, Wiech wrote, noting that “solar power was generating 11 GW, while coal (in total) accounted for 6.2 GW”.
Przemysław Czarnek responded to the post:
“Please tell Poles whether, at the time when your ‘super panels’ were briefly producing electricity, coal and gas power plants were shut down and workers were on unpaid leave? Or were your panels producing electricity on top of the fixed costs of stable power plants?”, the Law and Justice (PiS) MP asked.
“Whose interests are you serving by misleading Poles and exposing them to the highest energy costs in Europe?”, he added.
Wiech replied that he “would be happy to discuss these issues” with Czarnek. He stated that “contrary to what Czarnek claimed, the share of coal in winter months does not reach 80%, and over the entire year it falls to around 50%”.
“I also included gas, which you seem to have conveniently forgotten about. But fine. I would be happy to have a longer, substantive discussion. Please arrange a date with my spokesperson”, Przemysław Czarnek declared.