Abstract
Considering anthropogenic climate disruption, European Union member tates have committed themselves to phase-out coal from their energy system, with the decarbonization of the electricity sector being at the front of this process. This chapter examines the case of Poland, where coal phase-out does not occur. Path-dependencies of carbon lock-in that are of technological, infrastructural, institutional, behavioural, and discursive origin barrier the promotion of a low-carbon energy transition in the country. They manifest in the country’s energy governance architecture that is based upon a highly centralized coal-centred energy system. Employing a state-led governance approach, there is an overlap between personal and organizational capacity of political and administrative actors. Dominant discourses constitute and justify the technologies, institutions, and behaviours of the status quo, with this chapter highlighting how the state government is the primary actor within the electricity sector resulting in a negative environment for a low-carbon energy transition.
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Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank all colleagues and the editors, for comments, feedback, and suggestions given throughout the writing process of this chapter. The findings presented draw upon previous research conducted that received financial support from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Reference: 03SFK4P0, Consortium ENavi, Kopernikus).
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Zoll, M. (2021). Path-Dependencies of Carbon Lock-In Shaping Coal Phase-Out in Poland’s Electricity Sector: A Herculean Task of Decarbonization?. In: Mišík, M., Oravcová, V. (eds) From Economic to Energy Transition. Energy, Climate and the Environment. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55085-1_12
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