What goes on in Poland on the 18th of May.
Greenpeace – PGE GiEK lawsuit on closure of the company’s mine
On May 18, 2022, a lawsuit filed by the Greenpeace Polska Foundation against PGE GiEK will begin in the District Court in Łódź, in which activists demand the complete closure of all of the company’s power plants within the next 8 years.
– The lawsuit by environmental activists from the Greenpeace Foundation against the country’s largest energy producer is unprecedented – according to available information, never before, in any other EU country, has Greenpeace demanded the closure of all conventional generation assets in such a short period of time. Meanwhile, there are countries in Europe that emit more carbon dioxide than Poland. Switching off the power plants, which today cover approx. 36 percent of the domestic electricity demand, would completely destabilize the Polish energy system in such a short time, leading to interruptions in energy supply and further, even several times, increase in its prices. Such a large and rapid reduction in installed capacity would not be without impact on the energy market in the entire European Union. The lawsuit of the Greenpeace organization can be interpreted not only as an act to the detriment of the Polish economy and Polish citizens and an attack on the national energy sovereignty, but also as a desire to upset the stability of the economy of the entire European Union, says PGE GiEK.
– Greenhouse gas emissions from the activities of the PGE GiEK concern directly contribute to the deepening of the climate crisis. The president of PGE, Wojciech Dąbrowski, likes to repeat empty words about the company’s pursuit of climate neutrality, but he does not take any real action to do so. In 2021, PGE group’s emissions increased by 19%. compared to the previous year. This is not any green change that PGE talks about. That is why we sued the owner, among others Bełchatów and Turów. We demand climate justice. In the world, similar cases have already found their positive solutions in the courts. An example is the Netherlands, where the court ordered Shell to reduce greenhouse gas emissions deeply by 2030 – said Piotr Wójcik, energy market analyst at Greenpeace.
The merger with PKN Orlen postponed the publication of PGNiG’s strategy
PGNiG’s vice-president for finance, Przemysław Wacławski, said during this year’s Gazterm conference that the merger with PKN Orlen had postponed the publication of the strategy. – Currently, the main element on which we will build our business is ensuring Poland’s energy security in the long term – he stressed.
– We are in the process of a merger with PKN Orlen, which resulted in a certain shift in the context of the publication of the strategy, but I can say that the main element on which we will build our operations is ensuring Poland’s energy security in the long term – said Przemysław Wacławski, vice president for financial affairs at PGNiG .
According to Wacławski, PGNiG must act in a practical way in the present circumstances. – First, we must ensure energy security. If we are talking about REPowerEU, we can check the point about severing resources from Russia. We understand the goal of renewable energy. We, as PGNiG, want to build competences to store hydrogen in Poland, using, among others, salt caverns – he emphasized.