Workers of the Polish coal mine, energy and shipyard industry rally in Brussels against the so-called 'climate package' which could threaten Polish economy, job market and energy prices.

Joanna Najfeld reports

Several hundred Polish coal miners, employees of the energy sector and shipyard industry rallied in front of the European Commission headquarters in Brussels on Thursday protesting  against the EU directives introducing the so-called climate package.

The 'climate package' imposes an obligation on EU countries to cut CO2 emissions by one fifth. Polish industry workers protest against the restrictions imposed on Poland, which may threaten the Polish economy and job market, as well as cause the rise of energy prices. That's why they gathered at the protest in Brussels.

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'What we're saying is that the package is a threat to the whole Polish society, the whole Polish economy - you have to realize that. We protest on behalf of our country, a member of the European Union.'

'If Polish power plants are to be modernized the way the European Union wants it, then most of our coal mining industry will close down. We cannot allow that.'

90% of  Polish energy industry is based on coil, and that means high CO2 emissions. The EU restrictions could cause a fatal blow to the Polish job market, said the protesters: 'We support protecting the climate, but we are against limiting work places in Poland.'

If Poland was to accept the new EU requirements, Polish power plants would have to limit their activity and most of the coal mining industry would just disappear, the protesters argued. On top of that, prices of energy would go up radically: 'The cost of that will fall on the poorest. The rich will get by somehow, but what about the poor?'

What the protesters called for at the rally was some milder conditions for Poland, such as more time to catch up with the Union regulations. For example, when it comes to trading the CO2 emissions quota - Polish companies are now granted the quota for free. The Union wants to sell the quota at auctions in 4 years. Poland would like to introduce this rule in several stages.

The unionists' rally was a form of support to the Polish government which is lobbying for more liberal approach on the part of the EU towards Poland. The government fears a real and drastic rise of energy prices. 'Energy takes up 12% of the budget of an average Polish family - 8% for heating and 4% for electricity. So this fight is really about serious costs for Polish families,' environment Minister Maciej Nowicki said in Brussels on Wednesday.

Thursday's rally in Brussels was supported by Polish Members of the European Parliament. Marcin Libicki of Law and Justice party said if the law cannot be changed, it has to be rejected. 'The government should most definitely veto this law, when it comes to it. We'll see what the result of the European Parliament vote will be. I suspect Poland will lose by a tiny margin,' said Libicki.

Following the European Parliament vote Poland still has a theoretical chance to negotiate the climate package. Poland is not the only country protesting the package. European Union commissioner for Environment, Stavros Dimas, admitted on Thursday that the pressure to ease up the regulations may bring effects: 'There are some concerns expressed by Poland and other member states and of course we take them into account. In some respect, there could even be improvements in the proposal.'

The situation should be clearer by the end of the year. France, which presides the Union, wants the issue to be closed by then.

Environmental requirements for companies imposed by political bodies are controversial by definition, says Konrad Zasacki, who has been working with companies, helping them to meet the standards set for example by the Kyoto Protocol: 'All those gases are emitted during normal activity of every industry. So to control greenhouse gases emissions, means to control the business and the entire industry. So it is a political issue.'

On top of that, while global warming is a fact, it still remains scientifically uncertain whether it is greenhouse gases which cause it, and even if they do, we still don't know whether man-made emissions can be blamed, continues Zasacki: 'I've never seen convincing proof that could satisfy me, that the antropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases are responsible for global warming. We have natural emissions from natural sources like for example volcano erruption, absorption from the ocean, or methane from Siberia that is vented into the atmosphere from the internal frost. One volcano erruption emits several thousand more greenhouse gases that man-made emissions. When you calculate, it appears that the antropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases is only a slight percent of natural processes. So to say that human activity causes the global warming, it is too far for me.'