According to Client Earth, if the failure to implement the CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) Directive is taken into account, the investment cannot be considered legal. Even if the development of the power plant does not take place, the question of the principles on which it was planned remains open and is of great importance since it concerns all new investments in the energy sector.
This case is a part of a major problem. The Polish Government has also failed to meet deadlines for transposing other acts of the EU climate package into national law: the Directive2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources and the Directive 2009/29/EC on the greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme of the Community. The Polish Government is not only trying to block the progress of the EU climate policy but is also shirking the obligation to transpose the obligations that have already been made into Polish legal system which is an alarming signal regarding the forthcoming Climate Change Conference COP 19.
A commentary from dr Marcin Stoczkiewicz, Client Earth lawyer: The CCS Directive is the first European act which regulates the geological storage of CO2. It specifies that conducting a CCS readiness analysis, which assesses the capabilities of CO2 capture and storage, is one of the conditions for granting building permit to any installation of power higher than 300 MW.