What goes on in Poland on the 10th of April.
Czerwiński: The Energy Policy of Poland until 2040 is inconsistent with what the European Union is aiming for
My assessment of Poland’s Energy Policy until 2040 is unambiguous. It is inconsistent with what the European Union is aiming for, said the chairman of the Parliamentary Energy Group for the Winter Package Andrzej Czerwiński speaking on the panel „Polish Energy on the Road to Low-Emission Energy” at the Polish Nationwide Energy Summit in Gdansk, under the media patronage of BiznesAlert.pl.
The discussion about energy in Poland is a never ending story, but there have been no radical changes for years. In 2002, for the first time, an attempt was made to organize a long-term energy policy, and it was during term of Jerzy Hausner as the Deputy Prime Minister. There are no longer brave professors who deny global warming. Now the problem of smog came to this, said the deputy.
Looking at what we have now, it is possible to assess by ourselves whether we have approached European emission reduction targets, or have created a nuclear power plant, to quit the coal or not. Now the support of the power plants within the capacity market is an issue as well as too little RES increase. The state created large energy concerns and they invested in coal. In result we have to import from abroad almost 15 million tonnes of it.
The created governmental plans concerning reduction of emission are unfeasible, and everyone feels what the quality of the air is. The discussion on changes in the energy sector should be reflected in changes in the law. We should rely on dispersed energy, said Czerwiński.
My assessment of Poland’s Energy Policy until 2040 is unambiguous. The European Parliament adopted directions of development until 2050. They assume the extension of energy transmission connections, to deliver energy from the windy to windless areas. Parliament also postulates quitting coal progressively, what is included in Poland’s Energy Policy until 2040, but instead we have adopted a law on the capacity market, which stabilizes coal-fired power plants, and each of us will pays for it. The costs of energy production in Poland skyrocketed and what we have is a totalitarian solution, where everyone has the price of energy fixed by the law, concluded Czerwiński.
Dąbrowski: It is easy to set renewable energy goals, but it is harder to implement them
Many EU countries have agreed to reach RES goals which are not achievable. It’s easy to decide on political goals which are not completely backed by analysis. It is even worse when it comes to their implementation, said Deputy Minister of Energy Tomasz Dąbrowski at the Polish Nationwide Energy Summit in Gdańsk, whose media patron is BiznesAlert.pl.
The Energy Policy of Poland until 2040 project was presented for public consultation and everyone can get to know it. The document triggered a public discussion. Differences between its supporters and opponents relate mainly to the pace of leaving fossil fuels as well as to proposals, how we should replace them.
We wanted to create a transformation plan that will cost the economy as little as possible. We have assumed the development of nuclear energy, renewable energy and the decrease of emission intensity of the Polish economy. The priority was to ensure the security of energy supply, said Dąbrowski.
We believe in myths preached by various circles according to which Poland has the largest level of CO2 emission within the EU, and this is not true. When it comes to carbon dioxide emission measured in absolute values Poland occupies only fifth place in the European Union. Before us we have Germany, Great Britain, France and Spain. We do not occupy the first place in coal mining either, because here Germany which is perceived by many as a „green” country is also a leader. It is worth remembering because the discussion about the energy sector looks different when we refer to hard data, said the Deputy Minister of Energy.