Czech Environment Minister Jan Dusik resigned Thursday from the caretaker cabinet, saying the prime minister had put pressure on him to decide hastily on plans to upgrade a controversial large coal-fired power plant. The ministry has yet to rule on the project, which has drawn objections from environmentalists and from Micronesia. The Pacific nation fears increasing floods as a result of climate change partly due to carbon emissions from the Czech Prunerov plant.
Czech Environment Minister Jan Dusik resigned Thursday from the caretaker cabinet, saying the prime minister had put pressure on him to decide hastily on plans to upgrade a controversial large coal-fired power plant.
The ministry has yet to rule on the project, which has drawn objections from environmentalists and from Micronesia. The Pacific nation fears increasing floods as a result of climate change partly due to carbon emissions from the Czech Prunerov plant.
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Dusik told reporters that as one of his last acts as minister he would ask Czech utility CEZ to submit an alternative plan for the work at Prunerov, using the best-available technology, or to cut emissions elsewhere.
He said he decided to resign after Prime Minister Jan Fischer asked for an immediate ruling.
"I am not convinced that it is possible to give a positive or negative opinion with a clear conscience now, with regards to the situation in which the EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) process is presently in," Dusik said. "That's why I decided to resign."
Article continues: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62H49C20100318
