Polish deputy climate minister Mikołaj Dorożała resigns over policy clashes

Resignation of the deputy climate minister

On 4 September 2026, Mikołaj Dorożała resigned from his positions as Deputy Minister of Climate and Environment and Chief Nature Conservator. Ministry spokesperson Marek Pogorzelski confirmed the departure on Friday afternoon following Dorożała's announcement on social media. Dorożała had held both portfolios since 2023 after entering government on the recommendation of Polska 2050. Polish Press Agency sources reported that Climate Minister Paulina Hennig-Kloska and Dorożała differed on ministry policy and operational priorities. According to those sources, cooperation had faltered over several months because ministry leadership prioritized joint climate policy rather than individual initiatives.

Tensions over forestry and hunting policy

During his tenure, Dorożała repeatedly clashed with hunting groups, state foresters, and the commercial timber industry over environmental regulations. He advocated for mandatory periodic medical examinations for hunters and imposed limits on tree felling in sensitive forest areas. These measures generated persistent friction with coalition partner Polish People's Party (PSL), led by Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. Months before the resignation, Kosiniak-Kamysz publicly argued that Dorożała should leave over policy decisions, to which Dorożała responded that he was prepared to step aside if reform were reversed. Following Friday's announcement, PSL deputy leader Urszula Pasławska celebrated the exit on social media with an artificial intelligence image referencing an end to tormenting hunters and foresters. Dorożała framed his conservation approach as a strategic necessity.

Protection of nature was, is and will remain my deepest motivation. I believe that at this scale and pace of civilisational development with all its negative consequences, an exclusively utilitarian approach to nature is a strategic mistake. It is sipping champagne on the Titanic knowing what we are heading toward.

Conservation track record and initiatives

In his departure statement, Dorożała outlined conservation initiatives completed during his three years in office. He oversaw the introduction of an ecological component for the Eastern Shield border defense program and stopped logging across designated high-value woodlands. The ministry created over 200 new nature reserves during his term, including the Bliżyńskie Lasy Naturalne reserve covering nearly 3,000 hectares. In July 2026, UNESCO approved a 25-year management plan for the Białowieża Forest that allocates 96% of the forest area to natural processes. Dorożała also advanced the National Wetland Protection Strategy for government adoption by late 2026 and removed five endangered bird species from hunting lists. His legislative proposal for the Lower Oder Valley National Park, modified after a presidential veto to expand the Drawa National Park, is scheduled to conclude in November 2026.

Successor designated from Centrum parliamentary club

Member of Parliament Sławomir Ćwik is scheduled to take over the deputy climate minister position on Monday, 7 September 2026. Ćwik was elected to the Sejm in 2023 from the Chełm electoral district on the Trzecia Droga ticket, securing 8,004 votes. In February 2026, he left Polska 2050 to co-found the Centrum parliamentary club and joined the governing board of Unia Centrum under Hennig-Kloska. Before joining the parliamentary majority, Ćwik previously ran for parliament on the Nowoczesna ticket in 2015 and contested European Parliament elections in 2019 and 2024. Ćwik holds a law degree from Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin and completed postgraduate tax studies at the SGH Warsaw School of Economics. Ministry sources indicated that Ćwik will not take on the role of Chief Nature Conservator, which will be assigned to a separate appointee.