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Case study: The Battle for Jezeří Chateau: Difference between revisions
Case study: The Battle for Jezeří Chateau (view source)
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, 16:28, 31 January 2013→The battle begins anew: Additional commentary on political support for lifting mining limits
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==The battle begins anew== | ==The battle begins anew== | ||
The dawning of the democratic era did not, however, herald the end of the chateau's battle for survival. Although the first post-communist parliament approved territorial limits to mining operations in the North Bohemian coal basin in 1991, which provided a sense of security to the chateau and its neighbouring townships in Horní Jiřetín and Černice, in more recent years those limits have come under increasing pressure by the mining lobby and | The dawning of the democratic era did not, however, herald the end of the chateau's battle for survival. Although the first post-communist parliament approved territorial limits to mining operations in the North Bohemian coal basin in 1991, which provided a sense of security to the chateau and its neighbouring townships in Horní Jiřetín and Černice, in more recent years those limits have come under increasing pressure by the mining lobby and representatives of various political parties to be lifted or abrogated altogether. | ||
The viability of the limits has long had doubt cast on them by the mining companies directly affected by the limits, Severočeské doly and the Czech Coal Group, and the electricity power company ČEZ. While the official stance of Czech Prime Minister Petr Nečas<ref>My government will not break the brown coal mining limits, Nečas promises. Hospodařský noviny, 3.12.2011. [http://m.ihned.cz/c1-53960700-moje-vlada-prolamovat-limity-tezby-hnedeho-uhli-nebude-slibil-necas]</ref> and all political parties represented in the Czech parliament as of 2012 (apart from the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia<ref>Communist Party member of parliament, Karel Šidlo, stated “The Communist Party decided to support the breaching of the brown coal mining limits as a necessary condition for ensuring the long-term energy security and independence of the Czech Republic, which is a basis for the further development of the Czech economy. Further reasons are the maintenance of job opportunities and reducing the unemployment rate in a region which has been for a long time one of the highest in the Czech Republic.”[http://www.parlament-vlada.eu/index.php/energetika/843-bude-dost-hndeho-uhli-pro-energetiku]</ref>) was in favour of maintaining the North Bohemian mining limits, mining interests have or have had the support of at least some individual members of parliament. These include prominent members of the main government coalition partner, the Civic Democratic Party, such as deputy party leader and Trade and Industry Minister, Martin Kuba<ref>Kuba pushed for the maintenance of the state’s right to expropriate private property as part of negotiations over a draft amendment to the Mining Act in case a decision is made in future to breach the current mining limits. "Kuba wants to keep the option of expropriation because of coal mining." Deník, 28.2.2012. [http://www.denik.cz/ekonomika/kuba-chce-ponechat-moznost-vyvlastnovani-kvuli-tezbe-uhli-20120228.html] A group of environmental NGOs has also accused Kuba and his Ministry of continuing to push for increased mining beyond the limits by promoting a raw materials policy that is completely at odds with the draft State Energy Strategy 2012 which is based on maintenance of the current limits. See "Kuba’s draft energy plan doesn’t count on mining beyond the coal limits, otherwise it’s worth nothing". Greenpeace press release, 7 November 2012. [http://www.greenpeace.org/czech/cz/press/sek_limity_sea/]</ref> and Jan Bureš.<ref>Bureš is a member of the parliamentary subcommittee on energy who stated “Personally, I believe that breaching the limits is desirable, and the state, as the coal owner, should set conditions so that mining beyond today’s limits guarantees a supply of coal for an economically acceptable price for Czech heating plants”.[http://www.parlament-vlada.eu/index.php/energetika/843-bude-dost-hndeho-uhli-pro-energetiku]</ref>. | |||
At the regional level, however, Czech Social Democratic Party politicians in the Ustí region have broken ranks with their national organisation by supporting a breach of the limits.<ref>The former deputy governor of the Ustí region for the CSSD, Pavel Kouda, is a well-known supporter of extended mining in the region, as is the CSSD district organisation in the city of Most. Kouda sent a letter on governor letterhead to the Ministry of Trade and Industry in late 2011 stating express support for the breaching of mining limits after 2014. "Usti region supports breaching of coal mining limits". ČeskáPozice.cz, 28 December 2011. [http://www.ceskapozice.cz/byznys/energetika/ustecky-kraj-podporil-prolomeni-limitu-tezby-uhli]</ref> Following regional elections in 2012, the Communists emerged as the largest regional party in the Ustí region, and its regional leader, Oldřich Bubeníček, restated the need from his party’s perspective to lift the limits to maintain regional employment, albeit “only if the miners agree with the local inhabitants and there is proper compensation".<ref>"Future Governor Bubeníček: I didn’t hang Lenin on the wall! But I won’t take him down." Hospodařský noviny, 18 October 2012.[http://zpravy.ihned.cz/politika/c1-57998550-budouci-hejtman-bubenicek-kscm-lenina-jsem-na-zed-nepovesil-ale-nesundam-ho]</ref> Negotiations between the Communist Party, the Czech Social Democratic Party and Severočeši.cz (North Bohemians) on forming a coalition regional government indicated that there was general agreement on breaching the mining limits.<ref>"A coalition of Social Democrats, Communists and North Bohemians is emerging in the Ústí region". iDnes.cz, 15 October 2012.[http://zpravy.idnes.cz/jednani-o-nove-koalici-v-usteckem-kraji-dyt-/domaci.aspx?c=A121015_161951_usti-zpravy_alh]</ref> | |||
Other important energy policy stakeholders are also in favour of breaching the mining limits. The head of the Energy Regulatory Office, Alena Vitásková, for example, supports mining past the current limits in order to lower energy prices for consumers. "If the coal limits are breached, heating from coal will be the cheapest for customers, that’s obvious. I’m in favour of breaching the limits – that way we’ll get an energy source cheaper than gas and renewable sources.”<ref>"ERU head Vitásková: I’m for breaching the coal mining limits." Hospodařský noviny, 4 August 2011. [http://m.ihned.cz/c1-52481830-sefka-eru-vitaskova-jsem-pro-prolomeni-limitu-tezby-uhli]</ref> | |||
==Resources== | ==Resources== | ||