Poland vetoed the European Union's climate strategy for 2050 on Friday, remaining the only country out of 27 E.U. members to reject an 80 percent carbon emission cut by the middle of the century.

It was the second time in less than a year that Poland blocked a compromise in the European Union's council of environment ministers. Poland, which gets 90 percent of its electricity from coal, was alone to vote against a proposed 25 percent emissions cut for 2020 in June last year.

Last week's ministerial conclusion draft dropped the 25 percent milestone but contained cuts of 40 percent by 2030, 60 percent by 2040 and 80 percent by 2050. E.U. ministerial conclusions often lead to new legislation and require unanimous support.

"The bad news was that Poland blocked Council conclusions for the second time," Connie Hedegaard, E.U. commissioner for climate action, said in a statement. "The good and encouraging news is that Poland was the only country to block. The Presidency and the other 26 member states explicitly asked the Commission to move on, and that is what we will do."

Poland wants the European Union to only have a carbon reduction objective for 2050 and leave it to individual states to decide how to get there.

"Everyone can see that this wouldn't work," Hedegaard said. "The E.U. is a democratic community where negotiations are about give and take to get a good result for all. We can't move forward if the most reluctant one dictates the peace to the rest."

Poland also blocked a mention of European Commission analysis showing that the European Union could cut its emissions by at least 25 percent by 2020 merely by sticking to its energy savings target. The country opposes any decision on E.U. carbon reduction goals for after 2020 until Europe gets more clarity on the likelihood of a global emissions deal.

Most other nations plan to push ahead

"One member state refused to compromise in spite of serious efforts from the presidency and from all other member states to deal with their concerns," said Martin Lidegaard, Denmark's minister for climate and energy. Denmark currently holds the E.U. presidency. "Milestones are not binding but are necessary if the E.U. is to stay in the lead on green growth. This is the right thing to do, both for economic and environmental reasons."

The Czech Republic and Romania had threatened to also veto the declaration but went along with the majority in the end. The European Union is on track to meet its goal of reducing carbon emissions by 20 percent from 1990 levels in 2020.

"Poland is adding to its image of an outdated economy and is holding back progress for the entire continent," said Joris den Blanken, E.U. climate policy director for Greenpeace, in a statement.

U.K. Energy and Climate Change Secretary Edward Davey said he would work to convince Poland that shifting to a low-carbon economy is part of the long-term growth strategy for Europe.

"There'll be no pause in the UK's efforts to push for a 30 percent emissions target for 2020, providing the much needed certainty that business needs to invest in the green technologies of the future," Davey said in a statement.