Poland energy minister: Nuclear power needed to meet obligations towards EC

Without implementing a nuclear energy programme, Poland will not be able to achieve the CO2 reduction targets negotiated with the European Commission, Minister of Energy Krzysztof Tchorzewski said on Monday. "Opinions on nuclear energy are still divided," Tchorzewski noted. "However, I would like to emphasise that this elaborate construction, our agreement with the European Commission, is formulated in such a way that, if we do not move in the direction of nuclear energy, we will have nothing," the minister argued at the 6th National Energy Summit in Gdansk, northern Poland. He added that Poland has obliged itself to reduce its average CO2 emission to 550 g/kWh after 2040. "We cannot achieve this result without nuclear energy," Tchorzewski explained, adding that he hopes to rely on Polish capital to build a nuclear plant.