Analyse
Forty years after Chernobyl, which sparked a powerful anti-nuclear movement in Poland, the country is on the verge of a historic turnaround: nuclear power plants are to be built again – and memories of the radioactive cloud over Warsaw are fading.
On 1 May 1986, the annual May Day demonstration took place in Warsaw. The residents of Warsaw cheered in the streets, while in the background a radioactive cloud from the eastern border was spreading over Poland. Just a few days earlier, on 26 April, an accident had occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
It has been 40 years since the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl. This event left a deep mark on the Polish mentality. However, as time passes, it remains only a memory, which, like the entire testimony of communism, will remain in our memory, but unfortunately, with each passing year, it will have less and less influence on current energy policy.
In 1986, leading Polish officials quickly understood the high risk of radiation exposure and initiated a remarkable preventive action against thyroid cancer. Within just three days, 18,5 million people received a iodine solution. At the same time, the Polish government tried to downplay the explosion at the Chernobyl power plant in order not to disturb the 1st May Labour day celebrations. The disaster was only briefly mentioned on 28 April 1986 in the evening television news, two days after the disaster. This had a negative impact on the authorities and created fertile ground for anti-nuclear protests and demonstrations. In order to examine the events and social movements of that time, it is necessary to trace the history of Polish nuclear policy.
Poland's First Research Reactor, “Ewa,” Goes Into Operation in 1958
The history of nuclear energy in Poland dates back to the 1950s. The first plans to build nuclear power plants in Poland began in 1956. Initially, there were plans to build an experimental power plant with a capacity of 200-300 MWe on the Narew and Bug rivers. In 1956, the Office of the Government Plenipotentiary for the Use of Nuclear Energy (renamed the Atomic Energy Office in 1973) was established, which operated until 1980. Poland's first research nuclear reactor “Ewa” was launched in 1958 at the Otwock-Świerk centre. This led to the flourishing of nuclear physics as a science, the emergence of this field at the Warsaw University of Technology, the publication of scientific articles and the development of personnel associated with the nuclear industry. In 1970, the second Polish research nuclear reactor “Maria” was built. In 1971, the Polish government decided to start building the first Polish nuclear power plant equipped with Soviet WWER-440 reactors, and a year later to locate it in Żarnowiec in Pomerania, but construction did not start until 1982.
The construction of the Żarnowiec power plant lasted until 1989, but it never came to fruition, precisely because of the Chernobyl disaster and growing anti-nuclear protests.
In the 1980s, Poland already had a nuclear industry: our plants were already producing heat exchangers for Soviet WWER-440 reactors, and construction companies were participating in the construction of nuclear power plants in the USSR, Hungary, East Germany and Czechoslovakia. Interestingly, the first law on nuclear energy, the "Atomic Law", was not passed until four years after the start of construction in Żarnowiec in 1986. The plans at that time were ambitious, as in addition to Żarnowiec, further power plants were to be built in Poland. The construction of the Żarnowiec power plant lasted until 1989, but it never came to fruition, precisely because of the Chernobyl disaster and growing anti-nuclear protests.
Chernobyl Has a Massive Impact on Poland's Environmental Movements
In Poland, environmental movements did not appear until the 1980s and were linked to the „Solidarność” movement. Initially, however, they were more concerned with the broadly understood issues of environmental protection, air and soil pollution than nuclear energy itself. Before the Chernobyl disaster, in the early 1980s, several independent environmental organisations were established in Poland alongside the democratic opposition movement „Solidarność” (WiP – Freedom and Peace; Polish Ecological Club (PKE); the Ecological-Peace Movement "Wolę Być" (I Prefer to Be)). The authorities of the Polish People's Republic allowed the creation of independent environmental associations, treating them as a safety valve for Polish society and considering them less dangerous to the authorities than political movements.
A good example of an anti-nuclear protest before the Chernobyl disaster is Wojciech Jaronia's artistic protest (performance) on the beach in Mrzeżyno in 1985, which aimed to draw the attention of Poles to the nearby Soviet military base, where nuclear missiles were located. Activists from Silesia created sculptures warning of a nuclear disaster and calling for the disarmament of the communist and Western alliances. The real boom in environmental movements in Poland did not occur until after the Chernobyl disaster (26 April 1986). The government's cover-up of the disaster had a negative impact on the authorities and created fertile ground for anti-nuclear protests and demonstrations. Within a few days of the Chernobyl disaster, people took to the streets of Warsaw, Wrocław, Kraków and the TriCity (Gdańsk, Gdynia, Sopot), organised by various independent associations. In the TriCity, protests against the construction of a nuclear power plant in Żarnowiec became particularly strong. Residents of the region began to organise information meetings, distribute independent leaflets and demand reliable data on the safety of the investment. Questions about the real dangers, emergency procedures and why the public had not been informed earlier about the potential risks became increasingly frequent.
The government's cover-up of the disaster had a negative impact on the authorities and created fertile ground for anti-nuclear protests and demonstrations. Within a few days of the Chernobyl disaster, people took to the streets.
Between 1987 and 1989, protests against Żarnowiec gained momentum. Demonstrations were organised in Gdańsk and Gdynia, pickets were held at the construction site, and solidarity marches took place in other Polish cities. Democratic opposition activists, intellectuals, artists and some members of the clergy joined in the protests. It became increasingly clear that opposition to nuclear energy was linked to a broader movement against the lack of transparency of the authorities of the Polish People's Republic and against the political system. The Solidarity movement played an important role, which, after a period of martial law, began to reorganise in the second half of the 1980s. Environmental issues, including opposition to nuclear power, became part of a broader struggle for civil rights and access to information. Meetings and debates on the dangers of nuclear energy were organised in many workplaces and universities. There were also hunger strikes, including in Gdańsk, demanding a halt to the construction of Żarnowiec and independent expert assessments.
In 1988 and 1989, during a period of intensifying workers' strikes and a deepening economic crisis, the issue of Żarnowiec became a symbol of a broader conflict between society and the authorities. The anti-nuclear protests were part of a wave of social unrest that ultimately led to the Round Table talks in early 1989. At the Round Table, attended by representatives of the Polish People's Republic authorities and the opposition led by Lech Wałęsa, environmental issues were not the main topic of negotiation, but the mobilisation around Żarnowiec was part of a broader process of democratisation in the country.
After the partially free elections of 4 June 1989 and the appointment of Tadeusz Mazowiecki's government, the issue of the construction of a nuclear power plant was re-examined. In the face of a difficult economic situation, rising investment costs and strong public opposition, a decision was made in 1990 to suspend the construction of the power plant in Żarnowiec. Ultimately, the project was definitively cancelled, which many observers considered one of the greatest victories of the anti-nuclear movement in Central and Eastern Europe. In 1990, a local referendum was also held in the Gdańsk Province on the continuation of the power plant's construction. The majority of voters opposed the investment, which further strengthened the political decision to close it down. This was one of the first examples of the use of direct democracy mechanisms in the Third Republic of Poland in a matter concerning energy policy.
Following the Political Changes, the Anti-Nuclear-Movement in the Country Is Also Evolving
After the construction of Żarnowiec was suspended in Poland for about 15 years, there was virtually no mention of a return to nuclear power. The topic appeared sporadically in strategic documents, but did not cause much public excitement or mass protests. For example, in 2005, the Ministry of Economy and Labour merely mentioned nuclear energy as one of the possible options in the country's future energy mix. The topic did not return to public debate until Donald Tusk's government. In 2009, the government announced its intention to return to nuclear energy, and in 2014, the Polish Nuclear Power Programme (PPEJ) was adopted. This document provided for the construction of the first nuclear power plant in Poland and the preparation of the entire institutional and legal infrastructure for the development of nuclear energy. Among the locations considered was once again Żarnowiec, a symbol of an unfinished investment from the communist era, as well as other locations in Pomerania, including Lubiatowo-Kopalino and the vicinity of Choczewo.
The topic did not return to public debate until Donald Tusk's government.
The return of the nuclear energy issue also sparked the first local public protests in years. The most famous example was the protest by the residents of Gąski in the municipality of Mielno, where one of the possible locations for the power plant was being analysed by the government. In 2012, a local referendum was held there, in which the vast majority of residents opposed the construction of a nuclear power plant. Protests also took place in other coastal towns, and some environmental organisations attempted to revive the anti-nuclear movement. Nevertheless, these protests were mainly local in nature and did not develop into a nationwide social movement on the scale of the 1980s. The situation changed with the adoption by the PiS government of the PEP2040 (Polish Energy Policy 2040) document and the updated nuclear energy programme prepared during Michał Kurtyka's term as climate minister. These documents set out an ambitious plan to build several large nuclear units, ultimately six reactors with a total capacity of around 6–9 GW, which would be built in two nuclear power plants. At the same time, there was also talk of developing small modular reactors (SMRs), which could be built at large industrial plants and replace coal-fired power generation in industrial regions.
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After the change of government in 2023, Donald Tusk's new government did not withdraw from its plans to build nuclear power plants, but decided to continue with them. The construction of the first power plant in Pomerania, in the municipality of Choczewo, in the Lubiatowo-Kopalino location, in cooperation with the American company Westinghouse, was officially approved. The investment also received approval from the European Commission for public aid, which paved the way for its implementation. The government's current plans include the construction of two nuclear power plants in Poland, although only the first one has been formally approved so far.
What Is the Polish Public’s Attitude Toward Nuclear Energy Today?
It is symptomatic that there is no broad public debate on the subject of nuclear power in Poland today. There are no mass protests. There is no nationwide anti-nuclear movement in the form that existed in the 1980s. In fact, the anti-nuclear movement has not been a significant social force for a long time. It is centred around individual people, the Green Party and a local initiative in Pomerania called Bałtyckie SOS (Baltic SOS). What is more, it should be noted that there are now more movements in Poland supporting nuclear power than opposing it. Pro-nuclear attitudes dominate among climate activists. This is largely thanks to the left-wing Razem party, which openly proclaims its pro-nuclear stance and has its audience mainly among young and middle-aged people.
The main argument for the development of nuclear energy is "energy security", especially in the context of the war in Ukraine.
Support for nuclear power has been growing steadily for many years. The percentage of supporters of the construction of nuclear power plants in Poland rose from 39 percent in May 2021 to 75 percent in 2022. 13 percent of respondents oppose the construction, and 12 percent have no opinion on the matter (CBOS, 2022). The survey showed that a positive attitude towards the development of nuclear energy prevails among respondents with right-wing (83 percent), left-wing (75 percent) and centrist (76 percent) views. The concerns expressed mainly relate to the potential risks associated with the operation of nuclear power plants. Most people point to the possibility of a failure, damage, explosion or accident at a power plant. The survey was conducted between 7 and 17 November 2022 on a sample of 1,038 people. The latest ministerial public opinion poll of 26 January 2026 shows even higher support, with 92 percent of Poles declaring that they want a nuclear power plant to be built in Poland. According to information provided by representatives of the Ministry of Energy, this is a record level of support for nuclear power in the history of public opinion polls.
The debate on nuclear energy was reactivated in 2005 during the PiS government, but its current nature is largely technocratic. The main argument for the development of nuclear energy is "energy security", especially in the context of the war in Ukraine and geopolitical tensions. However, the investment planning process is far from inclusive. There is a lack of broad dialogue with civil society, and decisions are made centrally. The residents of the municipality of Choczewo, where Poland's first nuclear power plant is to be built, and the neighbouring municipalities of Gniewino and Krokowa, mostly support the investment – according to media reports, support there reaches around 75 per cent. Protests by the local organisation Bałtyckie SOS, which fears a decline in tourism and the destruction of local nature (there are Natura 2000 protected areas nearby), are unlikely to stop the investment. In the face of discussions about energy security, the origin of uranium is rarely discussed in Poland. There is no major public debate on its extraction or import destinations. In a situation of geopolitical tensions, dependence on non-European countries may prove risky, but this issue remains on the margins of the debate.
Memories of Chernobyl are gradually fading. For the younger generation, it is no longer a personal experience, but history. Time will tell whether Choczewo will become a symbol of a new chapter in Polish energy or whether it will share the fate of Żarnowiec as an unfinished project.
Literature:
- Bibliography: Borowicz, T., Szulecki, K., Waluszko, J. (2020). "No nuclear power in our home." Anti-nuclear protests in Poland after 1985. Gdańsk: European Solidarity Centre.
- Central Office of Public Opinion (CBOS). (2022). Opinions on nuclear energy in Poland. Warsaw.
- Ministry of Climate and Environment. (2020). Poland's Energy Policy until 2040 (PEP2040). Warsaw.
- Ministry of Economy. (2014). Polish Nuclear Power Programme. Warsaw.
