Translating international goals into the domestic context : Poland's approach to addressing climate change

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Translating International Goals into the Domestic Context:

Poland’s Approach to Addressing Climate Change

Maria Magdalena Kurczewska 28 June 2019

Master Thesis

Conflict Resolution and Governance Graduate School of Social Sciences

University of Amsterdam Student number: 12163465 Supervisor: Dr David Laws Second reader: Dr Anne Loeber

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Abbreviations

COP - The Conference of the Parties (to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change)

ECC - European Economic Community

EU - European Union

GDP - Gross Domestic Product

GHG - Greenhouse Gases

IPCC - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

NFOS - Narodowy Fundusz Ochrony Srodowiska (National Fund for the Environmental Protection)

PAS - Polski Alarm Smogowy (Polish Smog Alarm)

UN - United Nations

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Chapter 1: Introduction

The effects of climate change are increasingly evident and affect all countries on every continent. The ongoing high emission of the greenhouse gases (GHG) is provoking several changes in the global climate system. Consequently, it negatively impacts states’ stability, economic development, as well as people’s security. Therefore, counteracting the phenomenon of climate change constitutes one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century (Kaniewska, 2016). No country, however, can address the global impacts of climate change on their own. Effective climate protection requires international agreements that will combine the efforts of all the countries.

The consequences of climate change can take different forms, depending on the geographical location. According to IPCC (2014), climate change will have direct effects on ecosystems and individual species, agricultural production, forest and water resources, coastal areas, as well as health and people’s well-being. Moreover, depending on the geographical location, the continents will become increasingly vulnerable to some of the most threatening consequences of climate change, such as extreme weather events, inundations, wildfires or droughts. This, consequently, will heavily influence states’ and human stability. As it is argued, the ongoing emission of GHG at the current level will cause many changes in the global climate system in the 21st_{century, which will be larger than those observed in the 20}th_{century (IPCC, 2014).}

It should be emphasised that burning of fossil fuels is considered as the main cause of climate change, therefore, low-carbon development is required in order to effectively govern this matter (Never, 2012; Pralle, 2009). The issue remains complex as, on one hand, burning fossil fuels allows for the production of certain goods through the process of energy generation; on the other hand, however, by emitting GHG it exposes this and future generations to the consequences of climate change (Kaniewska, 2016).

The impact of burning fossil fuels on climate has not always been recognised. Mankind’s energy production as the source of the release of GHG, in particular CO2, has been (and still is) a debatable concept in regard to climate change. The first attempt to recognise this connection dates back to 1896 and, since then, it has been facing criticism and doubt (Höök and Tang, 2013). Even though a century later, an increasing number of scientists have been pointing out to the link between global warming and anthropogenic GHG emissions, this

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7 discovery did not sparked any significant interest or concern of the politicians or mainstream media (Peterson et al., 2008).

Nowadays, these scientific results are being increasingly acknowledged, and they provoke a concern from a large part of the population. The scope of action concerning the connection between energy production and GHG emissions, however, remains an issue. Even though energy generation through the burning of fossil fuels is recognised as the biggest cause of climate change, there are still obstacles as to what can be done at the global, as well as local level. There is a consensus in the literature that knowledge alone does not automatically translate into concern or urgent action (Whitmarsh, 2009; Wolf and Moser, 2011). The context, willingness and coordination all play their part.

Establishment of institutions and creation of international agreements contribute to the element of coordination in addressing the global issue of climate change. The context and willingness, however, remain a more complex issue, as they constitute an individual matter for each country. The bottom-up approach of the Paris Agreement takes these elements into account by allowing each Party to regulate their contribution to this global cause, with a respect for the mitigative and adaptative goals of the Agreement. Here, the regulation of the contribution is determined by an individual circumstance and the domestic context of each Party, such as the level of development, wealth, or access to alternative sources of energy.

The mitigation goals of the Agreement directly relate to the aforementioned explanation of the complexity of the link between fossil fuels and climate change. Therefore, the translation of these goals into the signatories’ (of the Agreement) domestic context largely depends on their connection to fossil fuels. In the case of Poland, which relies on coal for almost 80% of its energy production, this connection will have a significant influence on the process of implementation of Paris goals on the national and sub-national level. The historical, cultural and social aspect of coal reliance will constitute a foundation of the potential actions within the framework of the Paris Agreement goals.

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8 1.1 Research goals and objectives

The overall goal of this research is to explore and analyse the process of translation of the Paris Agreement goals into Poland’s domestic context by evaluating Poland’s individual circumstances.

Poland’s signature under the Paris Agreement is and should be seen as the country’s commitment to the global cause of tackling climate change, as well as its support for the international goals. The interest behind this research was, therefore, to explore and investigate the activity of Polish government in the climate policy sector, after the ratification of the Paris Agreement. Knowing Poland’s historical and socio-economic ties to coal as the main source of energy production, it has sparked the interest to learn and understand more about how this unique context influences the implementation process of international goals at the national and local level.

Before the start of the official fieldwork, there has been certain expectations of the governmental activity that would constitute a confirmation of Poland’s commitment to

international goals and addressing climate change. It has been assumed1 that Poland’s signature

under the Paris Agreement would initiate a series of climate efforts to achieve international commitments. This activity, however, was not as developed as it has been expected. This surprise has led to a puzzle – how to account for a seeming lack of climate action, especially when it comes to the mitigation goals, prioritised in the Agreement?

Poland remains the biggest, after Germany, coal-dependant in the European Union (IISD, 2018). Therefore, considering the international requests to reduce the reliance on fossil fuels and eventually phase them out, this seeming lack of mitigation efforts in Poland appears puzzling. This thesis aims to explore the context of this puzzle.

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9 1.2 Research question

This research seeks to address multiple questions. The main question of this study is:

How are contextual features shaping the national implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change in Poland?

The following sensitising questions were also thought to contribute to answer the main question:

1. How do the overall goals of the Paris Agreement look in the national context versus the international context in which the agreement was negotiated?

2. How are costs and benefits associated with change distributed at the national and sub-national level?

3. What is the governmental capacity to implement change, when it comes to patterns of energy use in Poland?

4. In what way the perception of other problems in Poland may influence the urgency of addressing climate change?

1.3 Academic and societal relevance

This thesis aims to contribute to the existing literature on climate policy and governance and, more specifically, to the studies researching the processes of implementation of international agreements at the domestic context.

In light of the rising threat of climate change, as well as an increase of international agreements regarding this matter, the amount of literature concerning climate issues is growing. Such research, though, predominantly focuses on addressing climate change through setting global goals and targets, as well as creating institutions and agreements that would allow to achieve these targets through global governance (Buchanan and Keohane, 2006)). This strategy illustrates a top-down approach to tackling global issues and has sparked an interest among scholars (Hare et al., 2010).

The Paris Agreement, however, represents a shift in the strategy, as it offers a different way of addressing the problem. With this, the focus changes from top-down to bottom-up approach, as it is no longer about the overall activity on a global scale, but about an implementation of

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10 national policies at the domestic level. In a report by Bhandary et al. (2016) following the Paris Agreement, it is stated that more research should be done on how these policies are established. In other words, it is suggested that there is a gap in research concerning factors that determine policy implementation and the states’ motivation behind them. Considering this recommendation, this study aims to contribute to the existing research on implementation of climate policies on a domestic level by exploring and evaluating the implementation of Paris Agreement goals at the national and sub-national level in Poland.

Furthermore, the existing literature on states’ individual efforts aimed at tackling climate change focuses mostly on the activity of global biggest emitters such as the United States or China (Zhang et al., 2017; Tambo et al., 2016). In regard to European emitters, the existing studies also tend to take into account the western part of Europe. This, consequently, leaves the central and eastern block a considerably unresearched territory. Conducting such research in Poland, aims to fill this gap.

1.4 Main argument

The main argument emerging from this research is that there is no general recipe on how international agreements should be implemented in the signatories’ states. The domestic context of each state, as well as individual circumstance determining state’s capabilities, influence the process of implementation at the national and sub-national level. The research on Poland’s unique circumstance, that influenced and keeps influencing its approach to international commitments, presents a nuanced view on the complexity of the process of translation of international goals into the domestic context.

1.5 Outline of the study

The overall structure of the study consists of six chapters, including this introductory chapter. Chapter two provides more background information on the Paris Agreement and the Polish context and sets out the problem. Furthermore, it presents a review of the literature written on the implementation of international agreements at the domestic level and offers a theoretical framework that will play a role in the analysis part of this study. The third chapter is concerned with the research design for this study and presents the chosen methodology that enabled the collection of the needed data. The fourth chapter offers a summary of the policy action, which

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11 will provide some background for the following analysis. Chapter five will use the sensitising questions to help analyse the results and answer the main research question. It will do so by directly referring to the aforementioned literature and theory. The final chapter will draw upon the entire thesis, connecting main arguments and findings in order to explain the process of translation of the Paris Agreement goals into the Polish context. It will include a discussion on the implications and relevance of the findings to a future research in this area.

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Chapter 2: Implementation of international agreements on the domestic level –

literature and theory

2.1 Introduction

The introductory chapter pointed out to the growing threat of global climate change and serious consequences that come with it. It shed light on the connection between burning fossil fuels, GHG emissions, and their impact on the climate, and explained why this connection has been denied in the past. Furthermore, it demonstrated the complexity of pursuing the low-carbon development, especially in the cases where states are heavily dependent on fossil fuels for their energy production. Finally, it demonstrated the motivation as well as academic and societal relevance of this research and explained why studying implementation of international agreements on the domestic level is useful, especially in countries relying on fossil fuels. It gave a background for this following chapter by introducing the concepts of international environmental agreements and national implementation process. This chapter will provide more background information on the Paris Agreement and the context of Poland within it. It will set out the problem by discussing the current literature on the concept of domestic implementation of international agreements. Furthermore, it will provide a theoretical framework that will be used in the analysis chapter of this study.

2.2 Introduction to the Paris Agreement

The Paris Agreement, signed on 12 December 2015, is an agreement within the United Nations

Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It represents the 21st_{Conference of}

the Parties of the UNFCCC, also called COP21. The agreement was signed by 195 countries and is the first, common, legally binding climate agreement adopted on a global level (United Nations, 2019). It includes a universal plan of action which aims to mitigate the progressing threat of global warming and its effects. The Paris Agreement is characterised as a connection that links global politics with climate neutrality, which is the overall goal for this century (European Council, 2019).

The UNFCCC was signed on 5 June 1992 by 154 countries and the European Economic Community (ECC) and was ratified on 21 March 1994 (United Nations, 2019a). The

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13 Convention contains a framework of actions that aim to stabilise the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent the need of human interference in the climate system. The Conference of the Parties is the most important body to the UNFCCC and its tasks include regular reviews of the progress of implementation of the Convention’s goals in individual countries. It also supports and facilitates the exchange of information concerning the climate actions undertaken by each Party and projected their impact. This process takes into consideration the unequal starting point of each Party pursuing climate mitigation and sets different degrees of responsibility under the Convention.

There are several important elements of the Paris Agreement that, together, define its outcome. The Agreement emphasises urgency in limiting the overall increase in global temperature. It specifies holding “the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius” as the target (Paris Agreement, article 2.1a). The agreement on this point is considered the most positive outcome of the Paris negotiations, as it demonstrates Parties’ willingness to set a more ambitious goal than in the past (Clemencon, 2016). Moreover, The Paris Agreement signatories that have not yet reached their maximum emissions to reach this point as soon as possible, and then begin to immediately reduce their emissions: “parties aim to reach global peaking of greenhouse emissions as soon as possible […] to undertake rapid reductions thereafter” (Paris Agreement, article 4.1). The Paris Agreement sets, as well, the long-term objective of “achieving a balance between anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases in the second half of this century” in order to achieve climate neutrality at some point in the future (Paris Agreement, article 4.1). The agreement obliges countries to “formulate and communicate long-term low greenhouse gas emission development strategies” that must be reviewed every 5 years (Paris Agreement, article 4.17). The agreement also commits affluent countries that have reached a high level of development to provide financial support to developing countries to help them mitigate their emissions: “support shall be provided to developing country Parties” (Paris Agreement, article 4.2).

The Paris Agreement differs from previous climate agreements in its character and relationship with its signatories. The first Convention from 1992 assumed that the increase of CO2 concentration in the atmosphere should be reduced (Falkner, 2016). Yet, since no responsibilities were set for individual countries, the Convention failed on a practical level to achieve its goal. In response, the Parties of the Agreement decided to negotiate a protocol for the Convention (The Kyoto protocol), which defined a specific group of the most industrialised

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14 countries and obliged them to limit their emissions (Clemencon, 2016). However, even though these countries made efforts to reduce their emissions, the Kyoto Protocol also failed to achieve the reduction target it set.

There are several reasons for this shortcoming. First, the United States, the largest issuer of GHG emissions at the time, withdrew from the Agreement. Second, during the implementation phase (1992-1997 until 2008-2012) the highly industrialised countries moved many production processes to countries that had no restrictions on GHG emissions. Countries such as China, India or Indonesia are now the largest emitters in the world, but back in the time of Kyoto protocol they had no obligations concerning the emissions (Rajamani, 2016). An effort was made to address that at the Copenhagen Summit in 2009. The signatories attempted to negotiate a climate agreement that would impose restrictions on a wider spectrum of countries. This approach did not gain acceptance, however, as the developing countries argued that they still need to emit to reach the level of development of industrialised countries (Rajamani, 2016).

The Paris Agreement was the first to take a bottom-up approach. It clearly states that the goal is to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions: “parties shall pursue domestic mitigation measures” (Paris Agreement, article 4.2). It does not specify, however, how much reduction should be done by each Party (Falkner, 2016). “Each Party shall prepare, communicate and maintain successive nationally determined contributions that it intends to achieve” (Paris Agreement, article 4.2). These obligations differ significantly from one country to the next, as each country has individual circumstances that provide the background for its climate strategy and actions. Some commitments are strong and rigid, such as the EU’s commitment to reduce the GHG by 40% by 2030 in comparison to year 1990. Other commitments are more supple, for example to reduce GHG emissions by 10%, relative to a scenario in which no mitigation actions would be taken. Moreover, none of the commitments or emission reduction targets in the Paris Agreement are legally binding. Even though each country has committed to reduce its emissions and to reach its individual goal, there will be no sanctions if this goal is not achieved (Clemencon, 2016).

As a member of the European Union, Poland has committed to reduce its national GHG by 40%, compared to year 1990 emissions (European Commission, 2019). The government has adopted several regulations that aim to enable this reduction in order to meet its commitment. The main sector affected by these regulations is the energy sector, but the regulations also place controls on transportation and urbanisation. The aims include, for example, increasing the

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15 control over the distribution of emission permits among various actors. Concerning the Article 4.1 of the Paris Agreement, Poland is one of the countries that was given a right to continue to increase its emissions until 2020. It has committed to reduce its GHG in the following period, up until 2030. In addition, Poland has no obligation to financially support the developing countries

2.3 Polish context as the ground for the further implementation of the Paris Agreement

As the previous section mentioned, the bottom-up approach in the Paris Agreement seeks to take into consideration the particular circumstances of each Party. In this way, (apart from the overall goals) it allows each Party to declare itself and commit to goals that will be adjusted to fit its domestic context. In the case of Poland, this aspect has had an especially important meaning, that referenced important and unique national and local circumstances.

Coal mining has a long tradition in Poland and has played a central role in Poland’s

development. The production of coal for industrial use started in the 18th century in Upper and

Lower Silesia. Since then, it has been the primary driver of regional development (Olkulski,

2013). The annual production of coal reached 1.5 million tonnes already in the middle of 19th

century (Solinski, 2012). The growing exploitation of coal contributed to a rapid industrialisation, which allowed for a transformation of spatial, economic, and social structure of the Silesia region. This rapid modernisation also had an impact on the development of workers’ movements, which have created a new cultural identity where hard work is considered a special quality (Swadzba, 2001). Overall, these aspects have contributed to the perception that coal mining is a foundation and a guarantor of Polish prosperity and development.

This feeling remains strong among Poles, especially in the southern regions. More than 80% of Poland’s electricity is generated by burning coal which, according to (IISD, 2018) is the highest percentage in Europe. Coal mining is engraved in Polish history, culture, and society. People have been living with it for decades and are used to its presence, even in their daily lives. It is argued, that the attachment that some Poles have to coal could be described as romantic (Claudet, 2018). The role that coal has had in Polish history and culture, as well as a source of energy independence, has produced its status as the “black gold” or a gift from God (Santos Moura, 2018). In regions like Silesia, which is completely dependent on coal, it is difficult to find a community or even a family that does not have a connection to coal mining

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16 (Claudet, 2018). Such domestic circumstance is assumed to have a significant influence on the implementation of international agreements at national sub-national level.

2.4 Literature on the implementation of international agreements

Individual commitments made by Parties during international agreements can take different forms, ranging from vague declarations explicit binding commitments (Honneland and Jorgensen, 2003). Cases across this range generally imply a plan for behavioural changes on a domestic level, which will, in some manner, accumulate to fulfil the national commitments. Implementation of agreements or accords presents a way in which the commitments, made on a policy level, re-enter the domain of practice. Before the process of implementation actually begins, it may often be unclear in what way the changes will occur or how they will meet the commitments made in policy. In the case of domestic implementation, it is a process in which a Party of an agreement takes specific steps that will translate the international commitments into national and local changes (Honneland and Jorgensen, 2003). In such cases, the implementation process is especially important, as it responds to and regulates complex circumstances. Since national circumstances differ, complying with international agreements will invariably involve more than one way of translating policy commitments into practice (Victor, et al., 1998). This sort of implementation may include changes in national legislation and administration or involve other measures for the purpose of achieving international commitments. It may also involve engaging NGO’s or lobby groups into taking actions that will contribute to the overall process of the implementation.

The existing literature has identified several levels of the domestic implementation process. List and Rittberger (1998), for example, distinguish between national, normative, and factual levels. While the former characterises the transformation of international agreements into national law, the latter involves implementation by state activity, and its control and supervision of the activity of the actors involved in the process. The other approach is demonstrated by Weiss and Jacobson (1998), who narrow the concept of implementation to only activities undertaken on a national legislative level. All activities that follow at different levels are viewed as either forms of compliance or of non-compliance.

The relative effectiveness of implementation on the domestic level also depends on legal aspects of the agreement (Victor et al., 1998). If an agreement is legally binding, in case of a non-compliance by a Party member, the sanctions are imposed on it accordingly. The risk of

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17 sanctions may have a positive impact on motivation to comply. However, an international agreement that implies a risk of sanctions may also make it less appealing for a Party to get involved in it in the first place. This is why, as mentioned before, more recent environmental agreements have turned to a bottom-up approach that allows each Party to determine the extent to which it is capable to contribute to the cause.

The overall success of the implementation process of an international agreement is the sum of efforts on national and local levels. In the case of the Paris Agreement, the efforts to meet the commitments that the Parties saw as necessary to address climate change at the international level depend on the implementation of the agreement at the domestic level in each of the Party’s national context. It is possible that implementation on a domestic level may provoke opposition from within the society. This is a particular risk when the translation of international commitments will involve significant national or local changes. In this situation, the nature of the problem can influence the implementation of international agreements on the domestic level (Victor, et al. 1998). The nature of the problem usually varies. It may constitute a change that does not go in line with the national interest, or directly target particular groups in the society that will lose on the process of implementation. Therefore, depending on that, it may determine whether one problem will be easier to address than other. In practical terms this means that some international agreements will be easier to implement that others. One way in which problems can vary is their complexity. This can include, for example, the individual circumstances of a Party, which will form a foundation for the future implementation of an agreement; the proportionality of costs and benefits of the implementation on the domestic level; the distribution of costs and benefits among the different parties groups in the society; and a ‘strategic’ aspect, like international economic competitiveness (Rittberger, 1990). In some cases, the process of change through implementation is marked by clear and considerable benefits for the Party member of the agreement, which can also be achieved at a relatively small cost. In other cases, however, even though the changes would still be beneficial for a Party, they come at a high cost, especially for the target groups that would be obliged to pay.

A helpful example of social opposition to changes at the domestic level triggered by international commitments is local resistance to the expansion of wind energy in the Netherlands. Like the majority of European countries, the Netherlands is trying to increase the share of renewables in the total energy supply (Agterbosch, et al., 2004). For a long time, the Netherlands was the biggest exploiter of the wind technology in the world. Yet, surprisingly, in 2014, wind turbines supplied only 5.2% of the Netherland’s electricity (The Economist,

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18 2015). Now, the national government is developing a strategy for meeting EU mandates and its own commitments, which imply generating 14% of energy from renewable sources. The plan to increase the number of wind turbines, however, has met with a significant resistance as the implementation has developed. Concerns about the location of the windmills, noise and safety have triggered local opposition that has disrupted implementation (Sekularac, 2011). Re-location of the turbines to the off-shore areas, as a solution to the problem, also appears problematic, as it is much more expensive than the on-shore wind power (The Economist, 2015). Ultimately, the problem appears to have multiple roots, but its incidence is clear.

Finally, the literature identifies another factor that can influence the implementation process of an international agreements on the domestic level. It is the unwillingness of a Party of the agreement to implement new policies and introduce changes, unless it is certain that the other Parties of the agreement will do the same (Stein, 1990). This scenario is plausible when the implementation of an international agreement will result in certain sacrifices being made on a national or local level. Therefore, it is probable that a Party would be reluctant to make this sacrifice unless some sacrifice is also being made from the other side, especially if it comes to economic competitors.

2.5 The theory of framing as a tool in the process of the implementation of international agreements on a domestic level

As described above, implementation of international agreements at the domestic level includes all the steps undertaken nationally in order to achieve an international goal (Victor, et al., 1998). This involves measures taken on a legislative, administrative and social level. So far, the emphasis has been on arguments and examples from the existing literature that addresses the process of implementation on a legislative and administrative level. Apart from these aspects, however, it is important to point out that measures taken on a social level, such as promoting social mobilisation for the international goals, also contribute to the overall process of implementation of international agreements on the domestic level. One important determinant is public concern for the general actions (Victor et al., 1998). Public concern can contribute to the implementation process, as well as the effectiveness of international agreement. In a case when a Party of an agreement is highly committed to the international cause, the goals and the commitment should be officially promoted to the society. This way, the society would have a

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19 higher awareness of the issue, as well as better understanding of international goals and their urgency.

Here, the literature makes a reference to the role that framing plays in the implementation of international agreements on a domestic level. The theory of framing suggests that the way in which something (in this case it would be a policy programme) is presented to the audience (“the frame”) will influence how people will process that information (Druckman, 2007). This approach treats frames as tools that organise and structure the meaning of a message. They are mostly used in the context of media framing of certain events or issues in order to influence the perception of the public on the news.

Much of the background information on international problems like climate change is presented to society via mass media. This opens question about how mass media creates and influences the public’s reality or, at least, what is perceived as reality (Druckman, 2007). Although the communication of news through the media touches on all areas of everyday life, it is especially interesting in the sector of political affairs. Media communication allows for the creation of politics that can be defined as a process in which information is transferred between politicians, media and the public (Hurtikova, 2013). As Perloff (2014) argues, media play a key role in the management of the contemporary politics and the introduction of political beliefs to the public. Information programmes, debates, or advertisements serve as means of communication between the politicians and their audience.

The current literature links framing, from a theoretical point of view, to theory of agenda setting, assuming that “the news that is communicated is purposefully selected and highlights specific aspects of perceived reality” (De Vreese, 2004, p.37). The level of attention devoted to some news by the media, as well as their frequency, and the light and tone in which they are presented, determine the key discussions in the public. This shows the ways in which media can significantly influence what matters the public perceives as most important and attention worthy (Hurtikova, 2013). Such strategies directly relate to the theory of framing and also to what is called a second level agenda setting. They not only tell the audience what to think about, but also tells it how to think about it (Dearing and Rogers, 1996).

Framing theory was first introduced in 1974 by Goffman, who claimed that people interpret the world around them through their primary framework (Goffman, 1974). This framework is perceived by them as primary, as it is taken for granted by the user. Benford and Snow (1992) treat a frame as “interpretive schemata that signifies and condenses the ‘world out there’ by

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20 selectively punctuating and encoding objects, situations, events, experiences, and sequences of actions within one’s present or past environment” (p.137). In other words, frames help to distinguish “salient” events or occurrences from background, give them meaning and, consequently, provide a point of reference for action. Language, and the way it is used, is an important part of framing, as it can explain the organisational framework of the process. Framing can also be a deliberate act, intentional or even strategic, which aim is to encourage others to follow specific patterns or significations (Hajer and Laws, 2006).

The recent declaration of “climate emergency” by the Scottish, British and Irish Parliaments is example of an effort to increase the public’s awareness and mobilisation on addressing climate change by using framing. Declaring “climate emergency” pushed the government to take more serious actions concerning the local and national reductions of the greenhouse gas emissions and, in some cases, set new, higher targets than it is stated in the Paris Agreement. The Scottish Parliament’s declaration of a climate emergency was followed by setting a higher target for action, which would imply reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2045 (Brown, 2019). The British Parliament followed suit and, after declaring a climate emergency, it set a new target of reaching net zero emissions by the year 2050, whereas the existing target had been set to reduction of 80% (compared to the level of emissions from 1990) by 2050 (BBC, 2019). Finally, the latest declaration from the Irish Parliament, framed climate as a “historic” problem and urged the government to improve its response to the issue of the loss of biodiversity (Agence France-Presse, 2019).

Although the declaration of a climate emergency has no legal binding status for the government, it has nonetheless contributed to national mobilisation for tackling climate change. Declarations made by national parliaments have not only put more resources in place to help local governments address the problem but have also raised national awareness in terms that emphasises the urgency of the need to take action. This influence can be understood in relation to the process of issue framing. A public declaration made by state authorities increases the significance of the issue in the eyes of the society and helps it perceive the threat of climate change as salient. This, as already mentioned, provides the context in which the public makes sense of the government’s actions and holds it accountable (Victor et al., 1998).

Apart from the media framing of certain events or information, national implementation can also be analysed in terms of information selection, which may be created in other environments. It is believed that it is not only the media that has an influence on public’s perception of reality

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21 (Hernikova, 2013). The government itself can shape the way in which certain issues are perceived. In this case, it does not only depend on whether and how the media decides to cover certain information or events, or with what frequency and attention this information will be presented to the audience. It is down to the agents themselves to decide whether to share some information with the public or not. In the context of creation of politics, already mentioned before, the information is transferred between the politicians, media, and the public (Hurtikova, 2013). However, the information will not reach the public if it is never shared by the issuing party in this process in the first place. The information selection directly relates to the framing theory and its element of a deliberate “omission” of certain information. Therefore, if a politician deliberately omits the discussion of certain topic or decides not to share certain information, it will, consequently, not be covered by the media. This will result in an unawareness of the public of this particular aspect.

In the context of climate change, the stakeholders also have the potential to shape what information society has access to. In this case, similarly to the theory of media framing, choices are made for a specific reason. In a government, where the level of climate change denial is high, the government officials may be unwilling to discuss this topic publicly, or to share information directly related to it. On the other hand, if a government manifests a clear enthusiasm for climate action, it will be in its interest to make use of all the means that will bring it closer to its goals. For example, if the pursuit of the goals would benefit from the engagement of the public and an increase of awareness of a certain issue in the society, it would be logical for the government take this step. In this case an official and public promotion of the goals by the stakeholders, as well as the support and the commitment for these goals have a high potential for a success.

2.6 Conclusion

This chapter provided more information about the Paris agreement and explained its character in comparison to the previous international environmental agreements. It pointed out the specificity of the bottom-up approach and demonstrated its influence on the scope of the activity of each Party of the agreement. Moreover, it offered the context of Poland’s individual background that will determine the translation of the Paris Agreement on the domestic level. It introduced Poland’s historical, cultural, and socio-economic ties to coal and explained how it may affect the process of implementation. Furthermore, it provided a review of the current

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22 literature surrounding the concept of implementation of international agreements on the domestic context and pointed out different factors that can influence this process, depending on the case. Finally, it brought into discussion the theory of framing and explained how it can influence the process of national implementation. This theoretical framework will, consequently, be used in the analysis chapter of this study in order to get a better understanding of the research results.

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Chapter 3: Research design

3.1 Introduction

This study addresses the following question: How are contextual features shaping the national implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change in Poland? The goal of this study is to gain insight into the Polish government’s environmental actions in the pressing times of the Paris Agreement, given Poland’s individual domestic circumstances. This chapter presents the research design and methodological components of the study. First, it discusses the methods used, and explains their characteristics, as well as the utility for the research. Following, it clarifies the data collection process and the way in which it was analysed. Finally, it concludes with limitations of the research, and an ethics statement.

3.2 Structure of the research design

The methodological design for this research was constructed after an evaluation of the research question, which sheds light on what the goal of the research is. Moreover, the way in which a research question is constructed gives an idea of the methods, which can be used to achieve the goal of a particular study. As it is suggested by Yin (2008), “how” and “why” questions point out to the use of case studies, histories and experiments, as most effective research strategies. This research studied contemporary events through direct observation, analysis, and interviews with individuals involved. It also had no control over the studied behavioural events. Considering these characteristics, it was not preferred, in this case, to use experiments or histories. Instead, this research used a case study, which has been defined as:

“an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context; when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident and in which multiple sources of evidence are used” (Yin, 2008, p.23).

The chosen case study focuses on the way in which the international goals of the Paris Agreement (2015) have been implemented in Poland, through domestic actions and initiatives, in the climate, air protection and energy production sectors. Given that the process of implementation of an international agreement on a domestic level is managed by the policymakers and government officials, the research was conducted in Poland’s capital –

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24 Warsaw, where the Polish government, as well as other relevant institutions are located. The data collection for this study included some secondary research sources, such as analysing and evaluating the existing literature or media coverage of certain news and events, as well as primary sources – in this case – interviews. The interviews were conducted with the Polish government officials, who are directly or indirectly involved in the process of implementation of the Paris Agreement in Poland, as well as apolitical activists, who are engaged in the issues concerned with this process.

3.3 Research methods

The methodology in this thesis implies using a combination of semi-structured interviews and a collection of public statements. In addition, literature research was used in order to understand the context and the circumstances, as well as potential exterior influences, in which the research has been conducted. As Yin (2008) argues, the different data-gathering techniques during the execution of the research is what makes it useful and beneficial for case studies.

For this case study it was preferable to use the method of semi-structured interviews (SSI), as it combines open and closed questions and, consequently, enables the researcher to reach more than one goals within an interview. The use of SSI here was an example of a case when the objective and overall knowledge on a subject or phenomenon is sufficient, but it lacks subjective knowledge (Merton and Kendall, 1946). In other words, the general knowledge on the topic, as well as the context of the research, have already been explored by the researcher through an analysis and evaluation of the existing literature on this topic, but the specific facts, insights and opinions were still unknown. In this case, the SSI provided this knowledge. The SSI are a form of interviews that are semi-standardised and are conducted using a predetermined primary questions, followed by a variety of sub-questions. The latter ought to be open-ended and their role is to generate discussion (McIntosh and Morse, 2015). The sub-questions can be prepared in advance, or asked spontaneously, if they arise from the conversation.

Conducting SSI as a method of research has significant advantages, as it combines the features of narrative interviews and structured interviews. The use of open questions allowed the interviewee to expand on their answers and provide a large amount of information on a specific topic. On the other hand, through the use of closed questions, the interview has been able to collect data considered as crucial. Moreover, it allowed to define the structure of the interview,

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25 and the direction in which it is going. The use of closed questions was especially useful in this case, as it enabled a comparison of some of the answers among the interviewees. Despite the element of the closed questions, the SSI method also gave enough space for each of the respondent to share whatever they considered important. Interestingly, in some cases, the additional information or stories shared by the respondents influenced the direction in which the research was going and provided valuable information that, before, was not consider as relevant.

In terms of content, the interviews consisted of different parts. The first part aimed to introduce the tone of the interview and allow the interviewee to familiarise with it (McIntosh and Morse, 2015). For this purpose, first couple of questions were mostly focused on the person themselves, their usual tasks, as well as their role in a specific institution, organisation or project. After the “ice-breaking” we proceeded to relevant questions, but still potentially not difficult or problematic for the interviewee to answer. As Adams (2015) advises, after the initial rapport has been established, the first set of questions should be related to the actual core of the interview but should be unthreatening. During this part, it was important to keep the neutral tone and position in order to encourage the respondent to expand on their answers, especially ones that included a personal opinion on a specific subject. Finally, the last part of the interviews included, necessary in some cases, difficult or controversial questions. These types of questions were left for the end, as at this point of the interview the interviewee no longer considers the interviewer as a stranger and is, thus, more willing to respond (Adams, 2015). Moreover, these questions no longer an obstacle on the way of the development of the interview. Overall, a variety questions (with strong similarities in some cases) were used in each interview, due to the diversity of the respondents’ roles and difference of context in which the questions were asked.

3.4 Data collection

As the research aims to give an insight to governmental activity concerning the implementation of Paris Agreement goals in Poland, through creation, development and implementation of particular policies, a contact with highly governmental officials was required. This, initially, posed certain problems in terms of finding respondents for the semi-structured interviews. A small desk-research was required before reaching out to respondents, in order to evaluate who is engaged in the issue and would provide the needed information. In effect, the topic of this

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26 research relates to several fields such as climate, air-protection, and energy. Therefore, the data collection from each of this sector was needed to provide a full picture of the issue. Moreover, a decision-making process concerning creation, development and implementation of policies is decentralised and requires a contribution of other institutions. Consequently, certain questions concerning aspects such as execution or funding of a particular initiative had to be directed elsewhere than the decision-making source of this initiative.

This state of matter guided me to contact the officials working in the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Energy, the Department of Climate Protection in the Ministry of Environment, as well as the Institute of the Environmental Protection. Additionally, in order to fulfil the aim of getting a “full picture of the story” I contacted Polish Smog Alarm (PAS) - a civil activist association aimed at tackling the problem of smog in Poland. Apart from a possibility of the unwillingness of the respondents to participate in this research project, in the cases of targeting the government officials, there was also an issue of complexity of the cooperation between the departments in each of the Ministries. It was unclear at times, who is responsible for which aspect of the issue in a particular department. As a consequence, my calls or emails were often transferred from one department to another.

Overall, it was possible to organise one interview over the phone with the Head of the Department of Air Protection and Climate in the Ministry of the Environment; and six interviews in person with: the Head of the Atmosphere Protection Centre in the Institute of the Environmental Protection (National Research Institute), the Prime Minister’s Plenipotentiary for the Governmental Priority Programme “Clean Air” (Ministry of Enterprise and Technology), the Head of Unit in the Department of Sustainable Development and International Cooperation in the Ministry of the Environment, the Deputy Director of the Department of Air Protection and Climate in the Ministry of the Environment, joint interview with the Director and the Deputy Director of the Office for the Presidency of the Conference COP24 (Department of Climate Policy in the Ministry of the Environment), and the Spokesman of the Polish Smog Alarm. The interviewees are here referred to as the names of their function, as they preferred that their names remain unrevealed.

In fact, the interview the PAS’s spokesman was particularly important, as it had a potential to give a different insight to governmental initiatives and actions, evaluated in this research. It also constituted a more critical approach to this issue, as one of PAS’s roles is to hold the government accountable for its actions. Furthermore, since the PAS’s spokesman has been

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27 deeply engaged in this association, an interview with him provided a lot of valuable information of the context of the issue that was previously unknown.

Both methods of interviewing, face-to-face and over the phone, had their advantages and disadvantages. As Shuy (2001) argues, during face-to-face interviews, as opposed to phone interviews, the presence of the interviewer allows for more control over the structure of the interview. It is also more likely to be successful at establishing a closer connection with the interviewee, which may positively influence their willingness to engage in the rest of the interview, especially in more difficult questions. Furthermore, it enables both verbal and non-verbal communication between both parties. The interviewer is able to observe the behaviour, gestures or facial expressions of the interviewee in each question, which may indicate hidden emotions behind the answers and, consequently, influence the tone of the interview (Shuy, 2001). However, it is also argued that phone interviews, apart from their high accessibility to hard-to-reach respondents, have also an advantage of creating a calmer atmosphere of the interview, as the interviewees tend to be less anxious about answering certain questions when the interviewer is not present (Bryman, 2016). Nevertheless, during this research the face-to-face method of interviewing was considered more beneficial for the data collection, as my presence at the interviews allowed for a deeper connection with the interviewee and enabled them to open up and expand on their answers.

3.5 Data analysis

The data collected in this research was used in the analysis part in chapter 5. The quotes from the interviews, as well as public statements were used within different sections, in order to demonstrate the results of this research. They were further analysed to demonstrate the argument of each section.

3.6 Limitations

The main limitation of this study is the centrality of the source from which the respondents were being gathered. The policy-making aspect of this research required data collection from the governmental officials in order to obtain information and insight into specific policies. However, another important aspect of this study, which is the role of the multi-governance in these types of policies or initiatives has not been well explored in the data collection part of

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28 this study. In other words, although several interviews have been collected from the government officials, who are responsible for the initiation, no data has been collected from the local governments, who are responsible for the execution. This is due to the unreachability of the local government officials as well as long distances between them within the country. Finally, most of the policies covered in this study are centrally initiated, therefore the choice on what local government should be contacted for a data collection would have been biased and could have presented the study with an incomplete image of the situation. Another limitation of this study is the failed attempt to conduct an interview with any official from the Ministry of Energy. In spite of numerous efforts to get in contact and schedule a meeting, my requests remained unanswered.

3.7 Ethics

With regards to ethical implications, certain things had to be taken into consideration. The respondents were, first, informed about the context and the purpose of the research, as well as their contribution to it. They were also informed that the research is being conducted for a foreign university. The conversations were only recorded after permission was granted, and the content of the interviews, as well as the respondent’s personal details, were handled with care and discretion.

The ethical implications were challenging especially in the case of interviews with the government officials, as the information they have disclosed could potentially have been biased. Considering that some questions during the interviews requested an opinion on specific activity of the government, it was difficult in some moments to obtain the information needed. The respondents were assured that the gathered data would only be used for academic purposes. Nevertheless, questions concerning the government’s efficiency in certain aspects were uneasy to talk about. It is assumed, thus, that this was the reason for their hesitation and in certain moments of the interview.

In the case of interview with the spokesman of PAS, there was more openness and directness during the conversation. The questions concerning the effectiveness of government’s actions concerning climate efforts were answered simply and truthfully, as it appears. The openness concerning PAS’s actions, as well as their opinion on political actions was ensured in the context of apolitical character of this association. PAS has also been scrutinising the former

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29 governing party, therefore PAS spokesman’s answers to my questions did not pose any problems.

3.8 Conclusion

This chapter presented the research design and methodological components of the study. It explained why semi-structured interviews were considered most suitable for this type of research. It also demonstrated what challenges and opportunities were encountered during the fieldwork. It identified the respondents of the interviews and described in what ways the data will be used in the study.

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Chapter 4: Summary of policy action

4.1 Introduction

Drawing on the data collected through interviews conduction with government officials and environmental activists in Warsaw, as well as the existing literature, this chapter will present the summary of the policy action, which will show what initiatives have been undertaken by the Polish government after the ratification of the Paris Agreement. This will constitute a part of the basis for analysing the way in which the Paris Agreement has been implemented in Poland. This summary of policy action will specifically focus on the national and the local level after the ratification of the Paris Agreement and will be analysed in Chapter 5.

4.2 Summary of policy actions at the national and sub-national level

As it has been explained in Chapter 2, the negotiation of the Paris Agreement committed the participating countries to overall goals that are to be achieved in order to minimise human influence on climate. The Agreement also specifies the need for individual activity of each signatory in order to reduce the national GHG emissions. These individual commitments are the result of the ‘bottom-up’ approach employed in the Paris Agreement, in which each Party estimates its national conditions and capabilities and declares what contribution it will make to the overall goals. The individual goal for Poland, as for other EU members, is to reduce its greenhouse emission by 40% in comparison to 1990 levels by the year 2030 (European Commission, 2019).

Considering the significance of coal and coal mining in Poland, already introduced in Chapter 2, the translation of the Paris Agreement into Polish context will be done in a way to meet Poland’s domestic expectations. As mentioned above, Poland’s coal resources have not only largely contributed to economic development, but also provide the basis for energy sovereignty and energy security. These latter two characteristics are particularly important in the shadow of Poland’s historical relationship with Soviet Union. Poland generates more than 80% of its electricity by burning coal, which also provides the energy for much of the heating, especially in single households (IISD, 2018). Considering Poland’s geographical location, the heating in cold seasons is a necessity for all the buildings, including flats and single households.

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31 Furthermore, the coal-mining sector provides 100,000 jobs and constitutes an important identity of a large part of Polish society (Claudet, 2018). Therefore, the implementation of the Paris Agreement goals in Poland implied changes that would influence not only its energy sector, but also engage history, culture and identity.

The overall goals of the Paris Agreement can be divided into mitigation measures and adaptation measures. The former involves efforts to avoid and reduce GHG emissions, the latter involve anticipating and responding to actual effects of climate change. In the case of Poland, the mitigation involves a stricter control over the national emissions, including distributing emission permits among industrial users and monitoring compliance. Regulations passed by the Minister of Energy in 2016 aims to control the distribution of emission permits among the industrial emitters and require them to report on their activity (Rozporzadzenie Ministra

Srodowiska w sprawie szcegolowego zakresu informacji zawrtych w raorcie oraz sposobu jego wprowadzania do Krajowej bazy o emisjach gazow cieplarnianych i innych substancji).

Regarding the adaptation measures, the Polish Ministry of Energy recently organised an initiative to develop plans for adaptation in Poland’s 44 biggest cities. Each city will develop a tailored plan that will prepare for and help to manage forecasted impacts. Since each city has different circumstances, the vulnerabilities that have to be addressed vary from city to city. These plans draw on a risk assessment prepared by the National Research Institute for Environmental Protection (NFOS).

Regarding the energy sector in Poland and the challenges it faces after the ratification of the Paris Agreement, the Minister of the Energy has prepared a plan of action that aims to respond correspondingly. The plan is contained in the Energy Policy of Poland until 2040 (EPP2040) that regulates and sets the strategic directions for the energy sector for the next decades. The document describes the conditions and determinants of the Polish energy sector, sets the main objectives for energy policy and defines the actions to be pursued in order to achieve policy objectives. The main policy objective of Poland is to “provide energy security, while ensuring competitiveness of the economy, energy efficiency and reduction of environmental impact of the energy sector, and with optimum use of Poland’s domestic energy resources” (EPP2040, p.2). Strategic directions is set by eight guidelines: optimal use of domestic energy resources, development of power capacity and transmission infrastructure, diversification of natural gas and oil supply and development of infrastructure, development of energy markets, development of renewable energy sources, launch of nuclear energy, development of heating and cogeneration; and improving energy efficiency (EPP2040). The strategic implications forecast

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32 for the next two decades. Some are set on a longer timeframe due to low probability of implementation.

The activities of the central government also involve a series of initiatives and recommendations concerning the problem of smog in Poland. This issue is treated with a high significance, as the air quality in Poland is estimated as the worst in the entire European Union (Polski Alarm Smogowy, 2016). A report prepared by the European Commission shows that every year about 42,000 Polish residents die prematurely due to air pollution (Polski Alarm Smogowy, 2016). These impacts are associated with so-called “low emission”, which represents all the emissions generated by individual households and transport. Although transport contributes to the problem, it is the individual households that emit the most. As Chapter 2 mentioned, the majority of Poles live in single-family households, although the exact fraction is unknown. Most of these houses rely on a household boiler for the energy and heating and solid fuels (coal or wood) are the primary source of energy in this case. The emissions generated by burning of this sort of fuel contain carcinogens such as benzo(a)pyrene, as well as other toxins, including one of the greenhouse gases - carbon dioxide (Polski Alarm Smogowy, 2016).

The first governmental initiative undertaken to tackle air pollution was the National

Programme for the Air Protection (2015) prepared by the Minister of the Environment. It

explained what kind of legislative, technical and economic activities can be undertaken to improve the air quality. Following this, the Polish Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, was obliged to prepare a set of recommendations for the Council of Ministers in 2017. The set of 15 recommendations formed the governmental programme “Clean Air” and identified steps towards a cleaner air in Poland. Three of the fifteen have high significance: quality standards for solid fuels, emission standards for solid fuel home boilers, and financial support for insulation of the single households and the exchange of the boilers. Another point of the programme was an order for the NFOS to prioritise the air protection in its budget and spending. Since NFOS is accountable to the Minister of the Environment, it prepared a Priority Programme in 2018 called “Clean Air” that constitutes one of the executive actions in relation to the Governmental Programme. The Priority Programme focuses on the insulation and energetical modernisation of single-family households in Poland. It focuses on two main transformations that have to be done reduce air pollution. First, it provides a tax credits to subsidise the purchase of equipment that will insulate and modernise the energy supply of homes and, consequently, improve the energy efficiency of the house. Second, depending on

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33 one’s level of income, it provides subsidies for individuals to exchange home boilers for ones that meet the quality standards. This programme is in force over the years 2018-2029, and it aims to reach out to 4 million of single-family households in Poland.

In addition to centralised governmental initiatives, such as control of the quality of solid fuels that can be sold on the market, local governments have also been given a role in implementing policies. Poland is divided into sixteen regions, each with a separate government. These regional governments make decision, among other things, on matters concerning environment, including air quality. Starting in 2017, eight regions have adopted tailored anti-smog resolutions. These resolutions address matters such as the type and quality of solid fuels that can be burned in single households for the energy production.

4.3 Conclusion

This chapter provided a summary of policy action in Poland after the ratification of the Paris Agreement. The policy action includes the activity of the central and local governments in the Paris Agreement framework. It points out initiatives, projects, and policies that have been implemented mostly for the increase of control over national emissions in Poland. This summary of policy action will serve as a background for the further analysis in the following chapter.

Translating international goals into the domestic context : Poland's approach to addressing climate change