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Polish Briefing 21 September, 2018 9:00 am   
COMMENTS: Mateusz Gibała

Polish Briefing: Poland based on coal needs an investment plan

What goes on in Poland on the 20th of September.

Poland based on coal needs an investment plan

The European Commission is currently working on a plan to reduce emissions by 2050, to which the energy sector will contribute to a significant extent – said Marion Labatut representing EURELECTRIC during the IV Energy Congress in Wrocław.

Marion Labaut presented the three decarbonisation scenarios. – The first assumes 80 percent, the second is 90, and the third is 95 percent. This shows the scale of the European Union’s ambition to fulfill the assumptions of the Paris Agreement in limiting CO2 emissions. In order to achieve the most optimistic result, increased international cooperation was assumed in reducing emissions, but each of them assumes acceleration of work compared to the current state – she said.

-An important tool will be regulations promoting eco-friendly technologies and fuels, and we will also have to convince consumers that they would prefer to switch to electric cars. Each country is at a different point in the fight against climate change; Poland is heavily dependent on coal energy and will need a large investment plan, what we are working on. Norway is in a different situation, where renewable energy sources are developed – she added.

From 1990 to 2015, CO2 emissions in the European Union dropped by an average of 1%. – If we want to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement, by 2050 they will have to reduce by at least 4 percent each year. This is a great challenge for technology and entire societies. The issue of energy efficiency at the level of the European Union will play a key role here. We also assume an increase in the importance of electricity for the progress of decarbonisation. We are also looking at other carbon-neutral technologies, such as hydrogen, which will be of great importance in transport. We are thinking about electrification of some short air routes, the next problem will be CO2 emissions from water transport – she emphasized at the end.

Poland is not able to build a coal-fired power plant by itself

– Free flow of energy in the European Union requires innovation. Thinking about energy transformation is difficult because it requires difficult actions. In my opinion, the Polish economy is not able to build a coal-fired power plant by itself – said Jan Staniłko from the Department of Innovation in the Ministry of Enterprise and Technology during the 4th Energy Congress “New Face of Polish Power Industry” that takes place in Wrocław.

– Free flow of energy in the European Union requires innovation. Thinking about energy transformation is difficult because it requires difficult actions. In my opinion, the Polish economy is not able to build a coal-fired power plant by itself. Another question, what are we to design ourselves in Poland – stressed Staniłko.

As he reminded, there are companies in Poland that are able to contribute to the development of the gas sector, it is also important in the transformation.

– In Poland, we are able to design and build 80 percent of components for wind energy. Mobility is also a part of the energy sector – emission standards will be a challenge for state-owned companies, because in the future the combustion cars will be less and less in Europe. In Europe, we will build our own battery base, they will not be lithium-ion batteries, but hydrogen will be an important fuel. Today it is treated as waste, but it is a rational way of stabilizing sources. In the future, you can imagine Orlen as a distributor of hydrogen – emphasized the representative of the ministry.