The article presents the Polish conditions after the signing of the Kyoto Protocol and subsequent findings of the climate and energy package adopted by the EU in the context of the need to adjust Polish coal power to the requirements of these provisions. Presents the state of emissions and reduction of CO2 emissions in Poland, the EU and in the world. This state shows that Europe is ahead of the pack with a reduction of CO2 and our country during the years 1988 and 2014 reduced the emission of this gas nearly 35%, which is the best result in the EU. The EU climate policy sets more challenges on the horizon of 2030 and 2050 years. To meet these challenges Poland should (except implementing renewable energy) modernize the basic part of the energy, ie. coal energy. The current net efficiency of coal energy is 33–34%. We should take advantage of the German way and speed up a construction of power station with an efficiency of 46% or more percent. Against this background, it discusses the state of national energy and investment plans in a modern coal power stations in Poland and Germany. Our neighbours at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries have boosted efficiency by building a lot of modern power station burning lignite and hard coal. It should be noted that in Germany first power stations of the net efficiency above 40% started to work at the turn of the 80’s and 90’s of the 20th century and in Poland after nearly 20 years, ie. at the end of the first decade of the 21st century (Gabryś 2014/2015; Kasztelewicz 2013; Kasztelewicz 2014/2015).