ABSTRACT
Eastern Europe lacks oil and gas resources but has in abundance what Chilean poet Pablo Neruda called "the disaster of coal." Coal is difficult to mine, transport, and burn. Reform has been the subject of considerable attention of domestic governments and international agencies, particularly the World Bank, but cleaner air and higher productivity have come about mainly as the result of depressed demand. Air pollution in the form of acid rain also causes serious economic damage to crops, buildings, and equipment. Coal-related pollution in the late 1980s was particularly severe in Poland, where it was concentrated in Upper Silesia and in the Krakow region. The Czech Republic managed both to reduce environmental pollution and to avoid deep reductions in Gross Domestic Product. Russian coal mining reform has made some progress in eliminating subsidies and providing hard budget constraints. Key nations in transition have already taken the painful step of eliminating almost one million jobs in coal mines.
