Greenpeace targets President Karol Nawrocki over wind energy veto

Greenpeace activists have launched a protest campaign in Warsaw and Poznań targeting President Karol Nawrocki. The campaign uses caricatures and posters with the slogan “Don’t be like Karol” to criticize his previous veto of an amendment to the wind energy law.

The veto blocked legislation that would have reduced the minimum distance between wind turbines and residential buildings from 700 to 500 meters, a move intended to facilitate onshore wind farm construction. President Nawrocki defended his decision by stating he was standing on the side of social interests rather than lobbying efforts.

Greenpeace claims this decision contributes to higher energy costs for Polish families. The organization estimates an annual loss of 1,500 PLN per household, attributing the figure to various factors including subsidies for unprofitable mining (600–800 PLN), CO2 emission allowances (300 PLN), natural gas imports (300 PLN), and capacity market costs (200 PLN). Mikołaj Gumulski, a climate campaign coordinator for Greenpeace Poland, described the veto as one of the most harmful, arguing it risks long-term energy price increases and geopolitical dependency on gas imports.