Coal is the primary energy source affecting Poland’s energy security. It is because deposits of this raw material are available in Poland. Unlike natural gas or oil reserves, which are limited in the country. The high cost of extracting Polish coal in comparison with coal prices on the world market has made it necessary to adopt Polish mining to functioning in market economy conditions. The paper presents the evolution of Polish government policy towards the activity of coal mines in the years 1990–2015. This article aims to present government policy on restructuring coal mining after 2015 and showing its effects. The stages of consolidation of the power industry with the mining industry are shown. The above issues are presented in the context of the European Union’s energy and climate policy, paying particular attention to the share of renewable energy sources in the energy and fuel balance and the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.

Poland, as one of the European countries experiencing the most significant economic growth in recent years, permanently relies on coal power. There are plenty of reasons behind this condition, however, wanting to become one of the European leaders Poland ought to diversify its energy sources and lower the share of those harmful to the natural environment. Some changes have already been implemented, nevertheless the Polish government is mostly reluctant to diminish the role of coal mines. Moreover, the current actions taken to diversify sources of natural gas imports are dependent on Polish foreign policy and international alliances. The author analyzes changes in the Polish energy security strategy in recent years and compares them with provisions established during COP24. The article analyzes the Polish energy market with the share of individual sources and examines the possibility to increase the share of those alternative to coal in the near future.