Walking on hot coals

摘要

The Polish economy is growing fast, despite the global slowdown. That means it is consuming more energy. But the government has no real energy policy-so the country will end up using more coal, with all that implies for carbon emissions. As it happens, the biggest worry about energy in Poland is not carbon but the Nord Stream pipeline, which is due to pump Russian gas directly to Germany under the Baltic Sea, bypassing Poland. Polish objections are not, as in Sweden, about the environmental risks; rather, the Poles fear Russia may exploit its direct access to Germany to divide Europe.