Last stand of coal: Poland's industry faces inevitable decline

In Katowice, southern Poland, the annual St. Barbara's Day celebrations in Nikiszowiec, a red-brick district, honour the patron saint of miners with parades, mass, and a fair. However, the "Barborka" festivities are increasingly seen as a farewell to an industry that once employed over 400,000 people but is now in steep decline.

Poland, the European Union’s largest producer of hard coal, has long relied on this fuel for power generation. Yet with the Czech Republic set to close its last coal mine in early 2026, Poland will be the EU's final country still mining coal. Despite this, experts predict that demand for coal may end much sooner than expected—perhaps within the next decade.

"We don’t live under a rock," Karol Kolkowski, a 44-year-old mining engineer, told Bloomberg, as he attended mass on St. Barbara’s Day. “We know what’s going on globally. We look out the window every day and we read.”

His words reflect a broader awareness in the mining community: the end of coal is no longer a question, but a certainty.

Poland’s coal dependency is significant, accounting for more than 50% of the country’s electricity generation. But as renewables and gas-fired plants grow, and coal costs rise, the writing is on the wall. By 2035, coal may be almost entirely phased out of the energy mix.

“In fact, coal is already gone in a natural way,” said Grzegorz Onichimowski, CEO of the state-owned electricity grid operator PSE SA.

Hard coal output in Poland has dropped by over 75% since 1989, and production hit record lows last year, with only 30 million tons extracted. By 2030, that figure is expected to fall to just 6 or 7 million tons. The government and unions have agreed to phase out coal by 2049, with costs projected at over $37 billion, although this figure may rise.

Despite these challenges, the government continues to subsidise the industry, which requires annual support of up to 10 billion zloty to stay afloat. The task of managing the industry’s decline includes plans for the gradual severance of the 70,000 miners. The government is looking at a 10-year bill for severance pay to approximately 10% of the workforce, estimated at $2.8 billion.

For Krzysztof Zawisza, 39, who has spent half his life working as a miner, the end is clear.

"It seems that it’s a question of eight to 10 years when coal will die a natural death,” he said. “Hiring practically stopped around 15 years ago and soon there won’t be anyone left to do the work.”

The powerful mining unions are pressing for a slow transition, with Solidarity union leader Dominik Kolorz arguing that coal should remain part of Poland’s energy mix as a “transitional fuel” until nuclear power comes online in the late 2030s.

As the industry fades, the region around Katowice hopes to reinvent itself. Silesia is part of the EU’s Just Transition program, which has €2.22 billion dedicated to creating new industries and job opportunities for displaced miners. This includes investments in IT centres, car factories, and a €145 million gaming and technology hub being developed in the former Wieczorek mine.

Kolkowski, who comes from a long line of miners, reflects on the cultural weight of the industry:

“Mining is more than just a job. It’s like asking a fisherman why he’s drawn to the sea. It’s a job, but something draws him there.”

While the coal industry fades, the legacy of mining continues to shape life in Silesia—and its future may hinge on finding new sources of employment in a rapidly changing energy landscape.

By Sabina Mammadli