Poland authorities and mining unions said on Thursday that an agreement on a plan to restructure the country’s unprofitable and polluting coal industry is imminent, as hundreds of workers protesting the government’s intention to shut mines refused to return to the surface. Some of the miners have been underground since Monday when the protest began. From two mines, the movement has expanded to 10. Other miners have staged shorter demonstrations across the country’s southern coal region, a spokesman for one of the unions told Reuters on Wednesday. Poland is more dependent on coal than any other state in the European Union. The fossil fuel provides nearly 80% of its energy needs, with 8% of that electricity coming from a single coal mine, Turów . The country is also the bloc’s only member that hasn’t committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2050. Since the 1990s, governments have grappled with the […]