The place of gas in the energy mix has been called into question. What challenges must be faced by the Polish industry and economy to compensate for the development deficiencies in relation to the rest of Europe, especially Western Europe? 

Poland’s energy mix differs significantly from that of Western countries, and this is certainly one of the areas in which changes are needed. However, the direction of these changes is less obvious. We will not escape from decarbonisation. We have signed up to a vision in which Europe competes in global markets with a green and digital economy, and not, for example, with lower prices. This is supposed to distinguish the European economy from, for example, the Chinese, Indian or other dynamically developing countries, and this is supposed to be our advantage. The development of cleaner technologies in the energy sector is therefore a double priority.

The second aspect in which we need to catch up is the level of investment. The investment rate in Poland is one-fifth lower than the EU average and as much as one-third lower than in our neighbour countries who, like us, underwent the transformation from a socialist to a capitalist economy: Hungarians, Czechs and Slovaks. Without a strong increase in investment in infrastructure, digitalisation, energy efficiency or machinery, we will not be able to seize our opportunities.

We invite you to read the full interview of Łukasz Macander from 4CF and President of the Polish Association of Future Studies for the portal of Trybuna Górnicza.