The Polish government, which recently announced ambitious plans to spend €34bn ($40bn) to build its first nuclear power plants, has reached an agreement with trade union representatives to phase out coal mining by 2049.

According to Climate Change News, the agreement was struck on 25 September in the city Katowice, in the coal-rich southern region of Silesia, following several days of negotiations. It comes after hundreds of miners joined strikes last week by staying underground after their shifts in protest against threatened mine closures.

This the first time Poland has put a timeline on ending coal, which accounts for around 80% of the country’s electricity generation.