Maciej Nowicki said he expected an agreement for selling unused carbon dioxide emission rights to Ireland to be signed in the next week or two.

On November 9 Poland signed a deal to sell carbon credits worth 25 million euros to Spain.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the Spanish deal would help fund his country's drive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve environmental protection.

The coal-rich east European country currently depends on fossil fuels for 94 percent of its electricity, based on infrastructure dating largely from the communist era.

The nations of the European Union, which Poland joined in 2004, committed last year to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2020 compared with 1990 levels.

They also committed to increasing the use of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency by 20 percent.

Saturday's announcement comes ahead of a key UN conference on climate change in Copenhagen next month.

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