Problem

Locals have always thought of Libiąż as an extension of the Janina coal mine. Located about 2.5 kilometres away, waste from the mine is sent to and processed in the city, creating economic opportunities for many workers and informal businesses.

Since 2016, however, as policies promoting clean energy transition have ramped up, there has been no need to process mine waste in Libiąż.


Responses

Municipal officials, mine managers, trade unions, business leaders, and community activists are working together, with support from the World Bank’s Just Transition initiative, to repurpose the land comprising the Libiąż waste heap in ways that will strengthen the region economically and socially while also building resilience against climate changes.

The site will be transformed from an environmental liability to an asset, with solar farms and industrial parks in special economic zones among the options to attract investment, development and jobs.

The town also realised shifting away from coal required both an economic transformation and cultural transformation in order to improve the quality of life for the whole community – from diversifying the local economic base, boosting women's participation, to creating an employment pipeline for local workers.

For instance, Thermoplast, a Libiąż-based plastics processing and recycling company, is one of the firms employing Libiąż’s former miners. Thermoplast is also working with the local vocational school to create a pipeline of workers who are committed to staying in Libiąż. The partnership emerged following large-scale planning meetings on the coal transition, convened early in the transition process by the municipality of Libiąż – one of many cross-sector agreements facilitating investment opportunities in the town.

Find out more: World Bank