Use of coal looms large as climate talks begin

KATOWICE, POLAND >> Negotiators from around the world opened the United Nations’ annual climate change conference Sunday in a Polish city built around mining coal, widely seen as a main culprit behind global warming.

Arriving for two weeks of talks on tackling climate change, conference participants cast off hats, scarves and heavy coats as they entered cavernous halls in Katowice heated by coal-fired power plants nearby.

Coal is center-stage at the U.N. summit, which is taking place three years after a landmark deal in Paris set a goal of keeping global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit).

While the Polish government claims Katowice is in the process of transforming into a green city, monitoring sites showed elevated levels of air pollution.

Poland, which is presiding over the meeting, plans to use Monday’s official opening event to promote a declaration calling for a “just transition” for fossil fuel industries that face cuts and closures amid efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Environmental activists have expressed concerns about the non-binding declaration, arguing that it could be cited as justification for propping up dying industries instead of investing in renewable energy sources.

Poland’s deputy environment minister, Michal Kurtyka, urged envoys from almost 200 nations to make progress on fleshing out the 2015 Paris agreement.

“We are here to enable the world to act together on climate change,” he said.