Towards a Sustainable Transition — business perspective in light of new geopolitical situation — conference of the Business & Science Poland in Brussels

On 27 October this year, as part of the ongoing debate on the EU's challenges, which unite and include sustainable development, energy policy, finance and economics, Business & Science Poland organized a conference in Brussels, during which representatives of EU institutions and business discussed sustainable transformation in the light of the current geopolitical situation.

Achieving the objectives of the European Green Deal for European business is a very ambitious and costly task. ”The Green Deal is the right direction in the long run, but in terms of security, the European Union needs to make some adjustments” said Roberts Zile, Vice-President of the European Parliament, in his opening speech. Following the debate, Ruud Kempener from DG ENER of the European Commission stated that:”Billions of euros go to the energy sector. Let's make sure that these billions are used in such a way that we can both solve short-term problems, but also accelerate the dimension to climate goals by 2030.”. In the debate Tomáš Pirkl, the head of the Czech CEZ organisation representing the energy industry stated that: “Before the crisis, we were mainly looking at the decarbonisation aspect. Now we are looking more at other aspects, namely security of supply and affordability.”

The current situation resulting from the war in Ukraine, including the rising prices of energy and raw materials, has accelerated the need for diversification and the search for new energy sources and carriers, and the goal has become primarily to ensure the EU's energy security. ”We should not be pitting companies against the Commission... it was not the European Green Deal that caused the current crisis. It was Russia who played with gas prices and then with the impact of the war in Ukraine. — said Tomáš Pirkl from CEZ. Ensuring the stability of access to energy supply is a huge challenge, which is not guaranteed by renewable energy sources such as wind energy or photovoltaics alone. The discussion also raised the issue of the possibility of using nuclear energy as well as natural gas. According to Adam Czyżewski, Chief Economist of PKN Orlen S.A.: In parallel with the development of renewable energy sources, we must have security in gas and oil, (...) reserves to be used in case of emergency.”

From the perspective of European businesses, the development of business in the EU's internal and global market, which depends on joint and coordinated efforts, is key to a sustainable transition process. The common goal is a successful transition to a sustainable low-carbon economy, but also a responsible future. ”Faced with war and violent deglobalisation knocking on our doors, Europe cannot afford to play with fire. We need the right investment environment to grow our economy steadily and continuously.” stated Dr. Bogdan Rzońca — Member of the European Parliament, Member of the ECON and BUDG Committees. According to Katarzyna Lachowicz, Director of BSP in Brussels, success will depend on providing companies and societies with a clear and simple path of transformation, taking into account the significant investment needs and the urgent need for support in this area.

It is necessary to emphasize that every business decision must take into account not only the cost of investment, but also the long-term profitability. In the opinion of Mr Rzończa'Even the best legal framework and the most ambitious ideas cannot replace a stable and predictable investment environment for market participants. Today, everyone in the Union is paying for underfunded energy infrastructure, be it LNG or nuclear.”

The debate was an opportunity to discuss the role of the EU taxonomy in the context of investments for sustainable projects and the achievement of climate and energy objectives. ”Achieving climate and other environmental goals cannot be done solely by the European Union — they are global goals and require global work” noted Elisabetta Siracusa from DG Fisma.

Also important in the discussion was the development of new directions and innovations in business. As pointed out by Katarzyna Lachowicz from BSP:”Innovative solutions are a synergy of business and science (...) Undoubtedly, this direction requires strong financial support at every level”.

During the discussion, the business position and the point of view of the European institutions were presented.

Quotations:

Robert Zīle, Vice-President of the European Parliament:

• The Green Deal is a right direction in the long run, but thinking about the security aspect, the European Union needs to make some adjustments.
• Because of the security aspects of this and the next winter we have to make adjustments in our long-term climate goals.

MEP Roberts Zile's speech can be seen HERE

Bogdan Rzońca, Member of the European Parliament, Member of the ECON and BUDG Committees:

• A. Such technologies might be Nuclear Power, Natural Gas, and others.
• Sustainable finance should be kept as straightforward as possible and easy to comply with. A cumbersome and detailed reporting obligations could introduce a major driver of the unnecessary cost of green transformation and discourage the uptake of green finance. If the European framework puts more emphasis on collecting paperwork rather than delivering sustainable projects, that would prove that we have failed our mission.
• Even the best legal framework and the most ambitious ideas cannot replace a stable and predictable investment environment for the market participants. Alle in de EU-pays voor de onderfinancieerde energiinfrastructuur, waaronder in LNG of nucleaire.
• With war and rapid globalization knocking on our doors, Europe cannot afford to play with fire. We need a suitable environment for investments in order to develop our economy in a stable and continuous fashion.

Katarzyna Lachowicz, Director of the BSP Branch in Brussels:

• A la situation géopolitique actuelle, la besoin d'une transition d'énergie et décarbonisation, comme une prix d'énergie extraordinaires sont à tous les jours — from industry to consumers.
• Innovative solutions mean synergy of business and science that weconsider is one of the best ways forward. But this direction needs a strong financial support.

Elisabetta Siracusa, Principal Advisor, DG FISMA:

• The taxonomy already has a big impact on companies and decision makers.
• Ez sehen [a debatê di nav qanûnên hevbeş] de pir erênî ye, ji ber ku ew pêdivî ye ku pênasekirin, nêzîkatiyên hevpar û pêşveçûna domdariya di warên veguheztinê de pêşve bibe.
• Eu Unionul Européen a un niveau global ne peut pas être les Objectives de la Climatique et d'autres Objectives d'Environnement.

Ruud Kempener, Team Leader, DG ENER:

• Hvis jag viser i den elektriske systemer i EU-et, vi er meget som vi kan forbedre av industrien til å gjøre i 2015.
• Billions of Euros are going into the energy sector. Je.

Dr Adam Czyżewski, Chief Economist, PKN Orlen S.A.:

• A taxonomy a la nivel de productos ou de attività se forwards se, pero se se a la futuro, a los que se a la nueva tecnología de la futuro. Because it is very difficult, close to impossible, to regulate something that does not exist yet.
• You can't accelerate economic growth without the cost of it. (...) If you want to go fast, you simply force to get rid of reserves and the results are not very pleasant.
• Alongside the development of renewables, we need to develop and invest in a backup, which means fossil fuels like gas and oil. Et n'est pas dire que nous vous, mais nous avoir des reserves pour l'utilisation en cas d'urgence.

Tomáš Pirkl, Head of Brussels Office, ČEZ:

• Nous (...).
• We should not be sitting companies versus the Commission — we should be here one by one, because I can't agree more, it was not the European Green Deal which made the current crisis. It was Russia, which was playing with the gas prices, and then the impact of the war on Ukraine.
• Ahead of the crisis, we were looking mostly on the aspect of decarbonization. Nu, we're looking for more on other aspects, which are security of supply and affordability.
  

For information on the agenda of the debate you are invited HERE

Article by Łukasz Osiński entitled “Energy crisis. Experts: The European Union must make changes to climate goals”, a report on the course of the debate appeared on the portal forsal.pl, wgospodarce.pl, polkieradio24.pl and www.wnp.pl

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