Senate Rejects President Nawrocki’s Climate Policy Referendum Proposal

Poland’s Senate has rejected President Karol Nawrocki’s proposed climate policy referendum for the second time, with 59 senators voting against the initiative on Thursday, August 6.

Senate Rejection of the Referendum Proposal

Karol Nawrocki submitted the referendum request to the Senate in July. Under the proposed project, referendum participants would answer the question: “Are you in favor of Poland’s implementation of the European Union’s climate policy?”

The Senate rejected President Karol Nawrocki’s motion regarding the climate referendum on Thursday, August 6. A total of 59 senators voted in favor of rejecting the presidential motion, 32 voted against, and one abstained. The Senate voted on Nawrocki’s proposal for the second time, following the initial vote in May when senators also rejected the president’s motion.

Justification for the Presidential Motion

The justification for the president’s motion indicated that resubmitting the request to hold a referendum stems from the desire for the sovereign nation to make a decision of crucial importance for Polish households, agriculture, and the economy.

The decision to renew the motion was made after analyzing the proposed ETS directive revision of July 17, 2026. “Instead of a real, deep reform corresponding to the scale of the problems (…) the European Commission presented a set of technical corrections that do not change either the direction or the final pace of the most costly elements of climate policy. The European Commission does not propose a fundamental limitation of the system’s costs, but only a partial postponement of them in time,” the text reads.

The justification emphasized that “costly, unilateral, and hasty” climate policy leads to the weakening of economic competitiveness, rising energy prices, and the relocation of production outside of Europe. “Consequently, this limits the states’ ability to finance security, investments, and other public policies—including environmental actions,” it added.

Statements by Senator Piotr Masłowski

Earlier on Wednesday, during a joint meeting of several Senate committees, Senator Piotr Masłowski (Nowa Polska-Centrum Senate Club) submitted a motion to deny consent for holding the referendum. The senator pointed out that Europe should invest in renewable energy sources to lower prices.

– I will only remind you that when Solidarna Polska (…) tried in the previous term to submit a motion for Poland’s withdrawal from the ETS, both Prime Minister Morawiecki and Jarosław Kaczyński claimed that it simply cannot be done, because it cannot be done, which you know very well – Masłowski said, addressing the president’s representatives.

– Besides, it comes from your side that this is not about leaving the ETS, but about strengthening our voice in negotiations in the European Union, but, for heaven’s sake, that is not what a constitutional referendum is for. Therefore, without looking for any alibi, I will certainly vote against this motion – Masłowski said.

Paweł Szefernaker on EU Climate Policy Costs

The head of the President’s Cabinet, Paweł Szefernaker, explained that all formulations of a subjective nature had been removed from the previous motion. – Now, when there is no longer any alibi, the only honest and democratic way out is to give Poles a vote – he stated.

Szefernaker noted that “EU climate policy is an extremely costly project and at the same time dramatically inefficient on a global scale.” He added that imposing drastic rigors in Europe does not eliminate global emissions.

– Industrial production is being transferred from Europe to third countries with significantly lower ecological standards and higher emission levels. Production disappears from Europe, but the demand for goods remains, and we only import them from abroad, which paradoxically increases global emissions while destroying European jobs and tax revenues – said the head of the President’s Cabinet.