Poland’s EU Council presidency: A chance to lead on energy and climate

The policy brief outlines how Poland can use its 2025 EU Council presidency to influence the EU's energy and climate agenda. It emphasizes the need for a technology-inclusive approach to industrial decarbonisation—including CCS and clean hydrogen—to address regional cost disparities and ensure energy security. The brief also highlights the importance of mitigating socioeconomic impacts through retraining and equitable state aid, while promoting diverse energy solutions such as small modular reactors (SMRs) and geothermal energy.

• Poland is positioned to address regional disparities in Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) costs, noting that Eastern and Southern Europe may face costs up to six times higher than Northern Europe because of the distance to storage sites.
• As the third-largest hydrogen producer in Europe, Poland can lead EU discussions on realistic demand assessments for clean hydrogen and the prioritisation of end-use sectors to ensure limited supplies reach the most critical industries.
• The transition to a clean economy requires significant financial and social support, with annual investments estimated at €750–800 billion and a need for retraining programs to protect the 20% of Poland's workforce employed in heavy industry.
• Poland advocates for a technology-inclusive energy framework that incorporates renewable energy, CCS, clean hydrogen, and nuclear energy, specifically small modular reactors (SMRs), to balance energy security with climate goals.
• Poland is investing in innovative energy sources to reduce fossil fuel reliance, including deep drilling for geothermal energy in the Podhale region and the advancement of SMRs.

APA

Virone, A. (2024). Poland’s EU Council presidency: A chance to lead on energy and climate. Clean Air Task Force. https://www.catf.us/2024/12/polands-eu-council-presidency-a-chance-to-lead-on-energy-and-climate/

Chicago

Virone, Alessia. Poland’s EU Council presidency: A chance to lead on energy and climate. Clean Air Task Force, 2024. https://www.catf.us/2024/12/polands-eu-council-presidency-a-chance-to-lead-on-energy-and-climate/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Virone |first1=Alessia |title=Poland’s EU Council presidency: A chance to lead on energy and climate |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |date=20 December 2024 |url=https://www.catf.us/2024/12/polands-eu-council-presidency-a-chance-to-lead-on-energy-and-climate/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{virone2024polands, author = {Virone, Alessia}, title = {{Poland’s EU Council presidency: A chance to lead on energy and climate}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2024}, month = dec, url = {https://www.catf.us/2024/12/polands-eu-council-presidency-a-chance-to-lead-on-energy-and-climate/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }