A conference took place on Wednesday at the European Parliament in Brussels, focused on the darker side of the European Green Deal. The event was organized by PiS MEP Grzegorz Tobiszowski and was attended by notable figures including Tomasz Rogala, chair of the Polish Mining Group and the European Association of Hard Coal and Brown Coal Euracoal, as well as Prof. Adam Smolinski, the Scientific Secretary of the Central Mining Institute (GIG).
Tobiszowski reminded attendees that initiatives like the Green Deal, Fit for 55, and REPowerEU are designed to implement EU policies aimed at achieving climate neutrality by 2050. He emphasized that these efforts require rapid development of renewable sources, electrification of transport, and other measures. Such transformations demand vast quantities of raw materials whose extraction and refining can cause environmental degradation, large emissions, and substantial water use. This is why much of the supply chain is outside the European Union, even though the EU relies on imports.
World coal consumption continues to rise. While the European Commission highlights emissions reductions within the Community, global emissions remain on the rise, partly driven by the needs of the EU’s own transformation.
– the MEP stated, stressing that climate effects are shared globally and that relocating emissions outside the EU does not solve the problem; it simply shifts the burden elsewhere.
EU dependence on China?
Tobiszowski pointed out that the European Union is heavily dependent on imports for rare earth metals, noting that about 90 percent of these elements come from China. The EU also increasingly relies on imports for lithium and magnesium, with similar high dependency in cobalt and bauxite. He warned that the growing demand for these raw materials pushes up prices, making the transition more expensive. Since 2021, lithium prices have surged about fifteenfold, and the costs of rare earths have risen sharply in recent years, with terbium up around 630 percent and neodymium about 330 percent.
Experts agree that these price increases are closely tied to broader plans tied to the European Green Deal. The European Commission projects that by 2050 demand for elements such as praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium could skyrocket by around 2200 percent. With such a surge in demand and price, estimates suggest that an electric car could reach roughly 65,000 euros by 2035, compared with about 26,000 euros in 2020, a figure often cited in discussions about market dynamics.
The MEP argued that the European Union should rethink its climate policy and slow the pace of transformation to avoid inflating demand and prices artificially. He advocated rebuilding a robust European mining sector and diversifying import channels to reduce dependence on nondemocratic countries.
MEP Bogdan Rzońca also addressed the room, asserting that EU climate policy is effectively aligned with the interests of certain groups rather than solely with environmental protection. He pointed to fluctuations in voting and actions by EU authorities as evidence of this dynamic.
For instance, Parliament has moved to phase out internal combustion engines by 2035, yet Germany recalibrated its stance after calculations suggested fewer car sales in China. This shift, Rzońca noted, illustrates how policy positions can change in response to market realities.
A pragmatic approach
Former Polish prime minister Beata Szydło remarked that ambition matters because it drives change, but it must be tempered by pragmatism. She asked why Europe should pursue ambitious goals and where those goals might lead. She also recalled how long Europe depended on Russian energy, and that the war in Ukraine underscored the need to pursue alternative measures. If European leaders had accepted all of Frans Timmermans’ proposals, according to Szydło, Europe might have faced decreased competitiveness and weakened economic strength. A balanced, pragmatic discussion balancing opportunities and risks, she argued, was essential for progress.
The discussion highlighted a broader concern: ensuring a practical transition that secures energy security and economic vitality while meeting environmental objectives. The event underscored the importance of transparent, evidence-based policymaking and the need to consider global supply chains, market dynamics, and geopolitical realities in shaping a sustainable European energy future.