The Latest: Workers in Poland protest push to end coal use

The latest on the U.N. climate summit COP26 in Glasgow:

WARSAW, Poland — Trade union members from Poland’s energy sector have protested before the European Union’s office in Warsaw, saying the EU's moves to discourage coal use are responsible for soaring energy prices.

Some 200 power plant and coal mine workers from across Poland blew horns and waved union flags as they chanted. The protest’s motto was “YES for Poland’s Energy Sovereignty. NO to High Energy and Heat Prices.”

Trade union leaders say the EU energy policies will harm Poland's economy. The coal industry is a major employer in Poland, which gets more than half of its electricity from black and brown coal.

A government energy policy plan calls for increasing reliance on nuclear energy once the infrastructure is built.

Like other EU member nations, Poland has pledged to phase out coal use and to develop wind, solar and other renewable energy sources. At the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow this week, the government said it would not be able to close all coal-fired plants until 2049, a target that disappointed activists.

———

GLASGOW, Scotland — British actor Idris Elba has brought his star power to the U.N. climate talks in Glasgow to highlight the importance of helping small farmers cope with global warming.

Elba and his wife, model Sabrina Dhowre Elba, took the stage Saturday in support of the U.N.’s International Fund for Agricultural Development.

Elba said he wanted to highlight the dangers of global food chains being disrupted as small-scale farmers in particular are hit by the effects of climate change. He said that 80% of the food consumed worldwide is produced by small-scale farmers.

“This conversation around food is something that needs to be really amplified, and one thing I’ve got is a big mouth,” Elba said.

Speaking on the same panel, Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate, 24, said global warming is already causing hunger for millions around the world, including in her own country.

She said a shift from meat to plant-based diets could help save millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year while freeing up more land that’s currently used for animal feed.

———

GLASGOW, Scotland — Police helicopters buzzed over Glasgow early Saturday as authorities prepared for a second day of protests by climate activists demanding faster action to curb global warming.

Despite a little drizzle and strong winds, tens of thousands of people were expected to join a rally through the Scottish city where this year’s U.N. climate talks are being held.

Inside the conference venue, negotiators knuckled down for a seventh day of talks to finish draft agreements that can be passed to ministers for political approval next week.

Among the issues being haggled over at the talks by almost 200 countries are a fresh commitment to the goal of capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius, getting countries to review their efforts more frequently, and financial support for poor nations.

———

Follow AP's climate coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate