The Polish Climate Congress was held in mid-March 2023, an international meeting of experts in the field of sustainable development and innovative technologies, representatives of central administration bodies and international agencies, representatives of cities from Poland and abroad, representatives of embassies, delegates of business and its environment and non-governmental organizations, experts , scientists and journalists.

 

The congress was devoted to achieving climate goals through investments in renewable energy sources, establishing partnerships, better development of urban blue-green infrastructure, electromobility and sustainable transport, and the involvement of local communities. 

 

Over one hundred experts took part in twenty discussion panels. The congress was held thanks to the support of Deloitte, WiseEuropa, Polenergia, AMS, Goldbeck Solar and AirLiquide.

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The two days of the Congress were filled with discussion panels, meetings and round tables with the participation of outstanding foreign and Polish experts. The discussions were attended by Beatrice Coda from the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency CINEA, which manages European Commission programs contributing to decarbonization and sustainable economic growth; Bernard de Longevialle, Global Head of Sustainable Finance at rating agency Standard & Poors, a New York company that conducts independent economic analyzes of countries, affecting the international image of national economies, which also evaluate the actions of governments; Dr. Giuseppe Tesoriere, a valued expert in urban economics from the World Resources Institute, Cllr Stephen Cowan from the management of the City of London; Rolandas Urbonas, Executive Director from the Lithuanian Energy Institute and Javad Kaypour from the Stockholm Energy Institute. 

 

The issues discussed during the event concerned a wide range of institutional solutions, including European Union and national institutions, solutions in the development of green areas, electromobility, ecological construction, possibilities of financing environmental investments, ESG standards in organization management, and, above all, energy development trends. 

 

The international plenary session was substantively prepared by Climate-KIC, the largest European organization established by the European Commission dealing with counteracting climate change through innovation, represented by Aleksandra Gołdys and Anna Brussa. The topic of the meeting was the megatrends of the climate and energy transformation, competitiveness and energy security resulting from the transformation and the economic and social context of the Fit for 55 package. The inaugural panel was attended by: Beatrice Coda from CINEA, James Hughes, Minister-Counselor for Economic Affairs, British Embassy Warsaw, Rafał Gawin President of the Energy Regulatory Office, Piotr Maciołek Member of the Management Board of Polenergia, Jacek Bogusławski Member of the Management Board of the Wielkopolska Voivodeship, Tomasz Gasiński from Deloitte and Maciej Bukowski President of the Management Board of WiseEuropa.

 

Subsequent discussion sessions took place in thematic paths. The substantive scope dedicated to energy covered a wide range of current topics related to it, interesting for both participants representing business sectors and public institutions. Experts discussed the REPowerEU program, energy security and the related energy mix for the Central and Northern European region, the importance of partnerships in creating a modern distributed system, including energy clusters and energy cooperatives, issues related to business and investment potential in relation to new energy, renewable energy , nuclear, hydrogen and the future of energy in Poland. The discussion also covered topics related to heating, i.e. the role of local government units and the implementation of PGN and the draft assumptions for the heat, electricity and gas fuel supply plan - industry recommendations for achieving the 4th or 5th generation of heating networks. An important topic in this thematic track was decarbonization, discussed in the context of innovation and technology. The panels on energy featured: Mayor Piotr Grzymowicz, Mayor of Olsztyn; Kasjan Wyligała, President of the Management Board, Lubelski Węgiel Bogdanka; Agnieszka Spirydowicz, President of the Zgorzelec Cluster; Jacek Bogusławski, Management Board of the Marshal's Office of the Greater Poland Voivodeship; Andrzej Redo, Egis-Poland; Paweł Łączkowski, Deloitte; Albert Gryszczuk President of the National Chamber of Energy Clusters; Łukasz Trześniewski Z-Cluster Zgorzelec Cluster for the Development of Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Efficiency; Maciej Reimer, Director of the Climate Department, Local Government of Łódź; Kamil Sankowski, Member of the Management Board of Polenergia Fotowoltaika; Anna Dyląg from KAPE, Artur Szymczyk Deputy Mayor of Lublin; Jakub Mielczarek, Director of the Association of Voivodeships of the Republic of Poland, Beatrice Coda European Commission DG Energy, CINEA; Rolandas Urbonas, Deputy Director of Lithuanian Energy Institute; Jarosław Kawula, Large Business Director at AirLiquide; Piotr Hałoń from Deloitte, Ph.D. Eng. Artur Dyczko, Advisor to the Director for KOMAG Strategic Projects, Piotr Kopacz, project manager Energy- and process-efficient construction, NCBR; Jacek Wiśniowski, Mayor of Lidzbark Warmiński; Marcin Podgórski, Director of the Department of Waste Management, Emissions and Integrated Permits, Marshal's Office of the Masovian Voivodeship in Warsaw; Krzysztof Skowroński KAPE; Aneta Więcka, manager of the Heat Plant of the Future and Heat and Power Plant projects in the local energy system, NCBR; Kamil Kwiatkowski, Euros Energy. The substantive supervisors of the thematic path were: Marcin Roszkowski, President of the Management Board of the Jagiellonian Institute; Andrzej Maciejewski, Sobieski Institute; Dominika Adamska, Teraz Środowisko and Piotr Wróblewski from Polska Press.

 

 

The thematic path on green public investments was very popular, with discussions based on best practices in the design of modern urban space that takes into account blue and green infrastructure as an important city resource. The EU Renovation Wave program and a new approach to green construction were discussed here - energy efficiency and climate neutrality of buildings in relation to Polish cities, local circular economy as a growing trend in the European economy, standards for maintaining green areas in cities, including the separation of zones for increasing biodiversity and retention, the role of inter-sectoral dialogue in developing effective tools for greenery departments and urban greenery management boards; climate policy of cities and regions and Nature Based Solutions as the basis for adapting cities to climate change, green public transport and building infrastructure for electromobility and renewable energy in transport, as well as a round table of Presidents and Mayors on building the capacity of small municipalities to solve environmental problems, taking into account best practices support for small communes and the role of climate education in local government units. This path also includes climate education and a critical analysis of the green deal in the context of the social dimension of the energy transformation and the impact of green investments on the economic development of the region. Lessons from the EU Mission for Climate Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030. The substantive partner of this path was the Sendzimir Foundation, and the supervisors of individual panels were: Dr. Eng. Agnieszka Sznyk, President of the Management Board of Innowo; Magdalena Bartecka, Just Transition Program Manager, Zielona Sieć; prof. Janusz Jaglarz, Krakow University of Technology; Monika Bielska, independent expert of the Green Rating program, Aleksander Rajch, Director of External Relations, Member of the Management Board of PSPA;  Marcin Kowalczyk, WWF Senior Climate Policy Specialist and Judyta Łuczyńska from the Sendzimir Foundation. Artur Szymczyk, Deputy Mayor of Lublin, appeared on panels on green public investments; Anna Hetman, Mayor of Jastrzębie Zdrój; Małgorzata Żebrowska-Piotra, Mayor of Łomianki; Grzegorz Szuplewski, Mayor of the Piastów Commune; Roman Smogorzewski, Mayor of Legionowo; Artur Tusiński, Mayor of Podkowa Leśna; Ph.D. Ewelina Szczech-Pietkiewicz, prof. SGH; Joanna Leoniewska-Gogola from Deloitte; Ewa Krasuska from NCBR; Robert Chciuk, Director of the Waste Management Department, Ministry of Climate and Environment; Ewa Całus, Plenipotentiary of the Mayor of Krakow for Climate Education; Dorota Bartosz, Director of PLGBC; Justyna Glusman Managing Director, Fala Renowacji Association; Łukasz Górecki, Director of the Capital City Development Authority; Katarzyna Szymczak-Pomianowska Director of the Department of Sustainable Development, Wrocław City Hall; Mariusz Skwarczyński from NCBR; Arkadiusz Węglarz from KAPE; Łukasz Pawlik, City Greenery Board in Krakow; Monika Pec-Święcicka, deputy director of the Municipal Greenery Board, Wrocław City Hall; Dr. Piotr Reda, Audit Committee, Landscape Architecture Association; Kamila Nowocin, Deputy Director for Green Areas Maintenance of the Green Areas Management Board of the Capital City of Warsaw. Warsaw; Paweł Ścigalski, Plenipotentiary of the President for Air Quality, Krakow City Hall; Dorota Zawadzka-Stępniak, Director of the Air Protection and Climate Policy Office at the Capital City Hall. Warsaw; Justyna Mazurkiewicz, Head of the Climate Department, Marshal's Office of the Małopolska Voivodeship; Marek Kuzaka, President of the Management Board of AMS S.A.; Dr. Eng. Weronika Radziszewska KEZO Research Center of the Polish Academy of Sciences - Energy Conversion and Renewable Sources; Tamas Dombi, Director of the Road Traffic Management Office, Warsaw City Hall; Bartosz Swatko from Automotive Deloitte;  Artur Kalicki from Polenergia eMobility; Cezary Gołębiowski from Ecorys, Norwegian Funds; Mariusz Kuszel, President of the Management Board of MPK in Inowrocław; Grzegorz Nowaczewski, President of the Management Board of Virtual Power Plant; Wojciech Dobrołowicz, Mayor of the City and Commune of Bogatynia; Tomasz Matuszewski, Mayor of Sanok; Jacek Kisiel Deputy Director of the Air Protection and Climate Policy Office of the City of Warsaw. 

The thematic paths: business and financing were held with the participation of outstanding foreign experts. In this area, the content included ESG reporting and the taxonomy of sustainable financing in the context of decarbonization of the energy-intensive industry in Poland, the role of CCUS technology in the pursuit of climate neutrality; sources of financing for private green investments and sources of financing for public climate investments, as well as assessment of investment effectiveness by financing institutions and future-proofing, taking into account process improvement in investment projects. The substantive supervisors and moderators of the panels were: Dr. hab. Marcin Kawiński, professor at SGH; Agata Kozłowska, lawyer from the Sobieski Institute; Krzysztof Kobyłka from WiseEuropa and Kamil Laskowski, Analyst at WiseEuropa. The panels were attended by: Dr. Tomasz Wiśniewski, Director of the WSE, Dr. Tomasz Gasiński from Deloitte; Grzegorz Pizoń, partner in the Energy & Utilities, Bird & Bird; Mariusz Wawer, Head of Governmental Relations at 3M; Dariusz Sokulski, Head of Energy & Performance Services, Sustainability Officer at Siemens; Anna Chmielewska Director of EBRD; Antoni Bielewicz, European Climate Foundation; Kamil Liberadzki Director of the Regulatory Development Department, Polish Financial Supervision Authority; prof. emergency Ph.D. engineer Marek Ściążko from AGH; Xavier Guesnu, President of the Management Board of Lafarge Polska; Piotr Sabat, Member of the Management Board for Development of PKN ORLEN; Bernard de Longevialle, Global Head of Sustainable Finance, Standard & Poors Global Ratings; Cllr Stephen Cowan, Leader, London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham Hammersmith & Fulham Council and Giuseppe Tesoriere, PhD Urban and Regional Economist Research and Knowledge Exchange WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities World Resources Institute and Henrik Johansson from Vaxjo Kommun, Sweden.

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The Polish Climate Congress was accompanied by a ceremonial Gala of Energy Transformation Leaders. Every year, the event gathers the heads of the largest energy companies and the most innovative Polish enterprises competing for the title of Energy Transformation Leader for their projects. The competition, under the patronage of the European Commission, is carried out in cooperation with three independent public institutions, the National Energy Conservation Agency, the National Center for Research and Development and the Industrial Development Agency, which are members of the jury. The awards and title of Energy Transformation Leader 2023 went to, among others: State Forests, Polenergia Fotowoltaika, Amazon, Ghelamco, Veolia Term, Tauron, AMS, Euros Energy, Goldbeck Solar, ABB, Schneider Electric, Lafarge and others.

 

All congress events were available free of charge to the public sector and the scientific community. Payments from partners and private participants were intended entirely for organizational purposes.

 

Nearly 500 people registered to participate in the event. , the agenda has been downloaded over 1,000 times, and the expected number of views of the panel recordings on our Polska Neutralna Klimatyczne podcast channel will be a minimum of 4,000 unique users for the next edition.