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Polish Briefing 26 March, 2020 9:00 am   
COMMENTS: Mateusz Gibała

Polish Briefing: Poland calls on the EC to support RES due to coronavirus

What goes on in Poland on the 26th of March.

Poland calls on the EC to support RES due to coronavirus

Poland proposes the European Commission to introduce protective mechanisms for the Renewable Energy Sources (RES) sector. It faces the challenges that have arisen in the face of the coronavirus crisis. BiznesAlert.pl reached the letter of the Minister of Climate Michał Kurtyka.

– SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has an increasing impact on the European and global economy. Unfortunately, over the past few days, investors have been telling us about possible delays affecting major energy projects – writes Minister Kurtyka.

The addressees of the letter reached by BiznesAlert.pl are the Vice-President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans, EU Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson and the Minister of the Environment and Energy of Croatia Tomislav Corić.

The renewable energy sector suffers from interruptions in the supply of components from China

Kurtyka emphasizes that the global renewable energy sector is highly dependent on the import of components from China, which was the first to experience the coronavirus crisis. – This has delayed the supply of components to Europe and will have a further impact on production plants in the coming months – we read in the letter. Stagnation and interruptions in supply negatively affected the wind and solar sector.

The problem described by the Polish climate minister may affect ongoing investment, integration of the European energy market and security of supply. – Europe is in the center of a pandemic, the situation will most likely be prolonged and deteriorated in the coming months. It will also affect other sectors that directly support investments in the energy sector, such as production, transport, construction, as well as the financial sector – reads Kurtyka’s letter to the European Commission.

Defend a fair energy transformation

The letter also includes concerns about the economic slowdown and its negative impact on upcoming energy challenges. Poland’s concerns relate in particular to the intermediate objectives of climate policy set for 2022 and 2025. – This applies not only to renewable energy sources, but also to other objectives enshrined in the EU’s climate and energy policy – emphasizes Minister Kurtyka.

The climate ministry emphasizes that the goal of the Polish government is to build a strong European zero-emission industry, which is a long-term challenge and will help diversify the energy mix, thus improving security of supply. – Our efforts should be directed at reducing the risk of similar situations in the future and strengthening the resilience of our economies and supply chains – emphasized Minister Kurtyka.

The minister expressed readiness to cooperate with the Commission services and in the EU Council, in which Croatia is currently in charge, to develop ad hoc mechanisms and a long-term European energy transformation strategy, especially renewable energy. – It will be important for the success of climate policy in Europe – concluded the minister.