Emissions from the electricity sector in Poland increased by 7% in 2021 compared to 2019, according to the European Electricity Review report published by Ember. At the same time, the emissions of the energy sector in the European Union in 2021 decreased by an average of 5% compared to the levels before the pandemic, and a similar scale of reductions was observed in most Member States. As a result, electricity emissions across the EU are dropping half the pace needed to limit global warming to 1.5 ° C.
“In 2021, Poland was by far the biggest brake on the European climate policy. Every year Poland lags behind its neighbors more and more,” said Charles Moore, director of Ember for Europe.
In 2021, Poland was responsible for almost a third of the EU’s coal-based electricity generation. It remains the country in the EU most dependent on coal, the dirtiest form of electricity production. Hard coal-based electricity production in Poland in 2019-2021 increased by 7% (+8 TWh, from 118 TWh to 126 TWh), while in the EU it decreased by 3% (-15 TWh).
In 2021, as a result of the ongoing gas crisis, the pace of the EU’s departure from coal slowed down. In the past two years, electricity production from coal has fallen by 29%. In the last two years, coal-based energy production only declined in countries like Spain (-42%) and the Czech Republic (-9%), which were shutting down coal-fired power plants, but this was largely offset by growth in Poland (+ 7%).
Most of Europe is on track to move away from coal in 2030. Poland is the only country where the talk on the withdrawal of coal has not officially started. It is worrying that Poland plans to maintain its position as the EU’s largest producer of coal energy in the future. and is also planning the largest increase in natural gas production in Europe , it was announced.
In 2021, photovoltaic installations produced 27% more energy than in 2019. Poland recorded one of the most impressive growth rates, increasing its production of solar energy fourfold, from 1 TWh in 2019 to 4 TWh in 2021, i.e. significantly faster than in the Czech Republic, Romania and Bulgaria. In Poland, wind and solar energy (20 TWh) has now surpassed the production of electricity from gas (16 TWh). Nevertheless, the share of photovoltaics in electricity production in Poland in 2021 was only 2%. Recent changes to the prosumer billing system mean that growth in 2022 may slow down. Across the EU, solar power generated 6% of electricity in 2021, with Germany (9%) and the Netherlands (10%) performing above average,.
Poland risks lagging behind in the European race for green energy. Poland has the potential to be an example of success in the field of renewable energy, but at this point it is cutting its own wings.
The European Electricity Review analyzes electricity production data for the entire year 2021 in all EU-27. The report compares electricity data for 2021 with those for 2020 and 2019. The 2019 comparison is a much more accurate measure of the EU’s overall progress in the transition from coal to clean electricity than the year-on-year comparison of the headline figures. year as these numbers fell and then rose again due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Source: ISBnews
