Poland should build a nuclear power station to meet growing energy demand, reduce dependence on imports and cut emissions costs, Deputy Prime Minister Waldemar Pawlak told Gazeta Wyborcza.

Moving toward atomic energy would be a ``sensible direction,'' Pawlak said in an interview with the newspaper. The government will make a decision on building a plant by the end of the year, he said, according to Gazeta Wyborcza.

Poland produces about 95 percent of its power from coal, which emits more than twice as much carbon dioxide as natural gas when burnt to generate electricity. European Union emission permit prices have gained 28 percent in the past year on the European Climate Exchange.

Poland, the largest of the EU's eastern member states, must first focus on increasing energy efficiency and raising the share of renewable sources because construction of a nuclear plant will take 10 to 15 years at least, Pawlak told Gazeta Wyborcza.