Portrayal of the Green New Deal Discourse in Poland

Abstract: Poland is known for its hesitant attitude towards the Green New Deal. Such approach is often expressed in the political discourse of the governing party, Prawo i Sprawiedliwość. Despite approval of the European Green Deal, Polish action plans for energy transition are not ambitious. A significant part of Polish society, characterized by low environmental awareness, opposes decarbonization. This paper examines factors limiting and enabling a Green New Deal in Poland as seen through the perspective of Polish media discourse. Content analysis was applied to identify the frequency of aspects mentioned in national newspapers supporting or hindering the agenda of a Polish Green New Deal. The study is focused on media coverage of the ecological crisis, the European Union effect, neo-pluralist mobilization, or green conversion prospects, as factors potentially enabling a Green New Deal in Poland. It concentrates on media coverage related to the Soviet legacy, dependency on dirty energy, and the domestic power of energy firms and corporatist links between the ruling party and state- owned companies, and Euroscepticism, as prospective factors disenabling a Green New Deal in Poland. The findings raise a question if the promotion of universal environmental and energy standards is possible given countries’ differences in economic profile and level of development.