“Absolutely no one advises anyone to build such structures because they impoverish society,” Deputy Minister of the Climate and Environment Urszula Zielińska said of the need to build dams as anti-flooding defenses in 2023.
The co-chair of the Greens made the comment at a 2023 debate organized by Polska 2050, also attended by other opposition politicians including Szymon Hołownia, reports news portal Do Reczy.
She further stated at the time: “That is why I appeal to you not to talk about these structures as investments. These are disinvestments. These are ways to impoverish our society.”
In the wake of Poland’s tragic flooding, social media users, led by MEP Patryk Jaki of the Catholic, nationalist Sovereign Poland party, are calling attention to Zielińska’s past comment, as politicians on both sides are looking to place blame.
In 2020, the Green politician also posted criticism of the construction of the Wielowieś Klasztorna retention reservoir. Discussed for decades, the reservoir is meant to protect southern Wielkopolska from potential flooding, as well as protect the areas in the reservoir’s catchment area and below the dam from the effects of drought.
“In the era of climate change and the growing drought problem, investing in dams that destroy nature is, in our opinion, the worst solution,” she wrote back in 2020.
In the midst of Poland’s severe flood emergency, Zielińska’s comments must certainly be coming back to haunt her.
