Julia Gałosz, Polish Biologist, Law Student, Nuclear Advocate, January ‘25

Meet This former child of the forest who wants to restore balance to nature through nuclear energy

Julia Gałosz used to be a “raging climate activist,” as she put it, advocating for a return to forests, reducing consumption, and going vegetarian. While Gałosz once thought lifestyle changes were the best way to save the environment, this all changed by 2019, when she attended a pro-nuclear demonstration outside Phillipsburg Nuclear Plant, in Germany. 

Gałosz joined scientists and nuclear advocates to voice support for nuclear energy and protest the German nuclear phaseout plan; Phillipsburg Unit 2 was slated to be the 13th reactor shut down since Germany introduced the phaseout policy in 2000. 

Gałosz said she became convinced of nuclear’s benefits after she understood the vast amount of energy nuclear produces on a tiny amount of land. While Gałosz still believes in consuming less, she has shifted her focus to advocacy centered on making systemic change. 

Gałosz is a biologist, law student, and nuclear advocate from Poland, and is a board member at Fota4Climate, a Polish environmental NGO. As president of the organization’s Youth Climate Council, Gałosz works with the Ministry of Climate and Environment and helps organize events. As part of this work, Fota4Climate has developed a curriculum on energy, biodiversity, and biology for primary schools and high schools in Poland. Lessons are available to download, from the ministry, for any teacher. 

Gałosz, with a hand-made sign reading “Science for Nature & Humanity”.

From a young age, Gałosz showed interest in biology spurned on by her mother, a botanist, and her father, an ecologist. Gałosz fondly remembers summer vacations growing up, running barefoot in the forests with her siblings, almost always covered in mud. The family of five traveled in a small car, slept in tents, and inevitably were always covered in mosquito bites. 

“The dirt, the mud, the soil. I could feel it in my hands. I could breathe this fresh air and stay in the forest for two weeks or more, just, you know, playing with the sticks, nothing else,” Gałosz  said. “I was asking a lot of questions (about the natural environment.) And I think at the time, I realized that there is a lot to protect and there is a lot to learn about. There are a lot of resources that we can use. We can learn about our place in the whole circle of life.” 

Gałosz’s journey towards nuclear energy began when her father attended COP 24 in Katowice, Poland, in 2018, and met pragmatic activists who wanted to “save nature and embrace humanity.” The following year, Gałosz attended a pro-nuclear demonstration with her father, at Phillipsburg nuclear plant in Germany, and began to look into the energy source. 

“I started seeing the way for humanity to cut the emissions, to give the people the energy that they need, and without destroying nature, was nuclear,” Gałosz said. 

As part of her research at Jagiellonian University, Gałosz saw the deforestation of tropical forests to produce biomass electricity, which she said was an environmental crime putting biodiversity at risk. For Gałosz, the biodiversity loss could not be justified, especially with an untapped solution like nuclear available to provide electricity. 

“That’s crazy, how we are destroying the most valuable forests in the world just because we need electricity, because we need energy, and nuclear can solve that easily,” Gałosz said. “We were worried about the nuclear waste and we weren’t worried about destroying the most important ecosystems in the world. Something wasn’t right.” 

Gałosz said she is proud she has helped to shape the debate around nuclear in Poland. 

The Russian-Ukraine war, just over the border, has caused people to value energy they once took for granted. 

With inefficient coal mines and high prices of electricity, some people are simply not heating their homes in cold winter months. Gałosz believes nuclear offers hope, however, especially if the country can capitalize on the public support, which is over 90% according to recent polls. 

Much of Poland’s interest in nuclear lies outside climate goals, according to Gałosz. 

“It's very important to cut the emissions, to go net zero, to invest in nuclear and renewables,” Gałosz said. “But for the other part of the country, I think it's it's very important to stabilize the energy system and to diversify it, because we cannot rely on natural gas anymore. I think we found a way to speak with people to show them that nuclear is very important.”

As a biologist, Gałosz believes in science as an evidence-based practice. She said science could be a tool to “elevate humanity”, fight poverty, and fight hunger. According to Gałosz, based on the research and the numbers, the best available evidence, nuclear is the needed solution for climate and energy needs right now. 

Gałosz, with a sign that says “Save the Climate! Support the Atom!” in Polish.

Moving forward, Gałosz hopes to infuse young voices into the conversation on nuclear energy within Poland, creating a debate with a greater diversity of backgrounds. Out of this, she hopes Poland constructs three large nuclear plants. Additionally, once she attains her law degree, she hopes to preserve biodiversity through the legal process. 

“I believe in the importance of implementing a legal framework for climate and environmental policies. Political will is crucial, but in democratic countries, it often remains a mere aspiration,”   Gałosz said. “I would like to express my support for land-spearing energy solutions.  Additionally, the Polish  National Nature Conservation Act, established in 2004, should be updated and extended to facilitate the creation of new national parks and enhance various forms of nature conservation.” 

From the biologist’s perspective, Gałosz views nuclear energy as a way to restore balance to the environment. 

“From a biologist’s point of view, you know, we are the species that is thriving in this earth environment right now. But at the same time, it's very difficult, because we got here by cutting our forests, destroying our natural resources, burning coal, burning natural gas,” Gałosz said. “With the help of science, we can try to figure out how to balance it.”