Last week, our team arrived in Karpacz, Poland, for the #EconomicForum2023. The forum featured many thoughtful and thought-provoking panels, presentations, and conversations, including a conversation with our Founder & Chief Policy and Global Affairs Officer, Paul Domjan, and Amb. Dr. Reka Szemerkenyi. Here are some of our overall takeaways:
We're looking at a sea change in how we think about energy security, as the focus has shifted from securing a reliable source of fossil fuels to transitioning towards alternative sources of energy. This shift, though, may bring about new security challenges, such as potential geopolitical conflicts over the supply of rare earth minerals.
It is encouraging to see that both major Polish political parties are in favour of transitioning energy, though they do have different proposed timelines. Civic Platform is more ambitious for the 2030s and prefers decentralisation, while Law and Justice favours centralised control. Civic Platform may need coalition partners, but Law and Justice's nuclear programme could still proceed under a Civic Platform government due to existing contracts.
On either timeline, to achieve its goal of phasing out fossil fuels and accommodate the increased load from renewable energy, Poland must enhance its grid infrastructure. This will require strategic planning and the utilisation of active management tools.
Poland plays out themes that are seen globally, as decarbonisation is now seen as the route to security. However, the need is clear for new technology to address the challenge of balancing supply and demand as renewable energy penetration increases, while also dealing with rising costs.
Educator and Communicator I Master in Teaching and Learning (Cambridge, double A thesis) I Adv. Dip in Prof. Studies I Previously, Assistant Headteacher, Subject Leader and UPS3 I Diverse non-education roles too
3wI contacted all my constituency candidates (thanks to your facility) Only two replied: belatedly, the Conservative; and, immediately, the 🥳 winning 🥳 Labour candidate