The Coal Commission Secretariat organised a study trip to the Karlovy Vary coal region. The coal region is located in the western part of the Czech Republic and it is the smallest region in the country, but it contains a significant part of the country’s lignite reserves. Like the counties of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and Heves, the region is eligible to draw on the resources of the Just Transition Fund. Lignite mining is ongoing in the region, with extraction linked to the privately owned Sokolovská uhelná (SUAS).
In addition to the Secretariat, the eight-member delegation was made up of members of the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Public Administration and Regional Development, as well as representatives of the municipalities of the North Hungarian coal region, including the mayor of Bükkábrány. During the study tour, the delegation members were familiarised with the situation in Sokolov and the surrounding municipalities in relation to the lignite extraction and had meetings with key players in the just transition there: members of the Karlovy Vary Regional Council, mayors of the municipalities concerned and representatives of SUAS, the region’s leading energy operator. The programme also included a visit to the lignite-based power plant in Tisová.
On the second day of the study trip, a meeting was organised with the Czech Ministry of Environment, where Hungarian and Czech experts were able to exchange their experiences on the implementation of the just transition and to identify joint cooperation opportunities.
The study tour was carried out in the framework of the LIFE IP North-HU-Trans project.
News sent by: Zsuzsa Piskóti-Kovács PhD
Photos by: Zsuzsa Piskóti-Kovács PhD