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European Union (EU) climate/energy targets and policies are poised for the first full climate policy cycle - from adoption and implementation of the policy package for 2020, to reform for 2030. A dynamic approach to the ways in which EU policies affect policy development is developed by applying theories of domestic implementation, policy feedback and integration. Implementation experiences in Poland - the ‘least climate ambitious’ EU member state - affected Polish preferences for reformed EU policies. Existing EU policies, their ‘fit’ with Poland’s energy interests and change in anticipation of future EU policies explain much of the variation in preferences. Second, policy feedback from Poland significantly affected the EU 2030 climate and energy framework. As yet, the EU has succeeded only partly in gathering momentum through a ‘snowball’ effect whereby positive policy feedback from implementation generates further steps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the article is to show the possible effects of implementation of the European Union climate policy on the economy and the labour market in Poland. The specified research objective and introductory literature review were the basis of the following research hypothesis: the EU climate policy will cause great uncertainty in strategic sectors of the Polish labour market and economy. The hypothesis has been examined by a method based on critical analysis of Polish and foreign literature on the EU climate policy and its economic effects. The critical analysis of literature and of available statistical data and economic forecasts con- firmed the research hypothesis. It means that implementation of the EU climate policy will lead to considerable increase of uncertainty in the Polish labour market. The situation in traditional branches and sectors, such as mining, metallurgy, cement plants and traditional power plants industries is particularly worrying. On the other hand there is an expectation that in sectors based on green energy and in industries producing low emission technologies the demand for jobs will increase, but the scale of the increase is not clear and any predictions here may turn out to be incorrect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]