Download Polish Local Government Support for Green Energy and Climate

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No. 60 (792), 11 June 2015 © PISM
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Editors: Marcin Zaborowski (Editor-in-Chief) Katarzyna Staniewska (Managing Editor)
Jarosław Ćwiek-Karpowicz Aleksandra Gawlikowska-Fyk Artur Gradziuk Dariusz Kałan
Piotr Kościński Sebastian Płóciennik Patrycja Sasnal Marcin Terlikowski
Polish Local Government Support
for Green Energy and Climate Projects
Adriana Skorupska
Polish local governments are more and more involved in energy and climate. Using the experience of
foreign partners, membership of international networks, and participation in national and international
programmes, local governments build wind farms and biogas plants, and actively oppose open-pit
mines. Polish authorities should make use of local governments and actively assist them in
implementing their operations, which can facilitate achieving the objectives of national policy in the
fields of climate and energy.
The involvement of local authorities in efforts to reduce CO2 emissions and support renewable energy sources (RES)
correspond with one of the EU’s main priorities for 2014–2020, which is to support a low carbon economy. It is also
consistent with the objectives of the new climate and energy package, agreed in 2014. The main objective is to reduce
CO2 emissions by 40%, by 2030. Metropolitan areas alone are responsible for 75% of CO2 emissions and consumption
of between 60% and 80% of energy globally. Therefore, local governments are an essential component of sustainable
development. Globally, city representatives will once again participate in a climate summit, in December 2015. At the
national and international levels, local governments are an increasingly important partner in the implementation of
climate and energy policy. Poland is no exception to this trend.
Motivation. The participation of Polish local governments in projects concerning energy and climate is a result of
pragmatic motivations, such as economy, local development, and environmental protection. Interest in green energy,
insulation, and public lighting stemmed from the desire to increase energy efficiency that brings savings. One such
example is Ustronie Morskie, where, thanks to a photovoltaic farm that opened in May this year, municipal spending
on energy will fall by between 80% and 90%. By establishing the farm on a reclaimed landfill site, the investment is also
a beneficial outcome of a “reuse and recycle” attitude.
RES is also a chance to boost the economic development of municipalities, as new biogas plants and wind farms
generate jobs and fiscal revenue. Therefore, municipalities have sufficient incentive to prepare conditions favourable
for green investment. Kisielice, in Warmia-Mazury, is the first energy self-sufficient municipality in Poland. Its energy is
produced jointly by a wind farm and biogas plant. Everyone benefits: the local government and people spend less on
energy, the investor pays taxes and creates new jobs, and the farmers provide substrate for the biogas plants.
Extreme attitudes can be met in coal mining areas. Although local governments usually support the miners in protests
against the closure of the mines, environmental protection motivates action in many communities. Awareness of the
effects of pollution translates into pro-ecological attitudes, which manifests as opposition to new mines and support
for RES; for example, local governments have succeeded in prohibiting the exploitation of lignite deposits near Legnica
in the strategy of Dolnośląskie until 2020.
Energy efficiency, RES and related innovations are EU priorities, which translate into financial support and the greater
involvement of local societies. Local authorities can obtain financing from the Operational Programme Infrastructure
and Environment for 2014–2020. The possibility of prosumer micro installations was launched in April 2015, with
funding from the Rural Development Programme for 2007–2013. Subsidies will be used to purchase and install
systems and equipment for RES energy production. Funding directed to small municipalities and their inhabitants will
cover up to 90% of investment costs. The budget, €22,750,000, will be covered by the European Agricultural Fund.
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Methods of Action. International cooperation of Polish local governments increasingly covers climate and energy.
For both, there is an opportune possibility to acquire new knowledge and inspiration. During study tours, local
government representatives look at different solutions, especially in the renewable energy and energy prosumer fields
(for example, local cooperatives) introduced in Germany, Denmark and the United Kingdom, where civic energy
programmes are much better developed.
Likewise, international local government networks are important forums for developing and sharing activities, projects
and know-how. Some forums are focused solely on energy projects (such as the Covenant of Mayors, the Climate
Alliance, and Energy Cities), others are established for cooperation in various fields, and more and more attention is
being devoted to energy and climate issues (Eurocities). Among the 6,000 signatories of the Covenant of Mayors,
committed to reduce CO2 emissions, there are about 40 Polish units.
One such Polish example, Bielsko-Biała, is one of the most active cities combating climate change, and it has
successfully implemented numerous international projects. The city has been engaged for many years with Energy
Cities (the mayor is on the board of the network), and launched one of the first municipal energy management
agencies. The project “Bielsko-Biała protects the climate” was recognised as the best in Europe in its category in 2013.
Despite the desire to reach the top level, not all local governments are able to fulfil various design obligations. This is
mainly because of financial constraints or insufficient knowledge.
Foreign partners also provide important support in environmental protests. Polish local governments engage in
protests abroad, and they can effectively seek reciprocal support from foreign partners for local purposes. An example
is opposition to Polish quarries. The “human chain” against construction of open-pit lignite mines features not only
Poles but residents of German towns. The National Coalition “Development Yes—Opencast No” brings together a
spectrum of local and international organisations. Indeed, a representative of the coalition was one of the signatories
to the moratorium in the National Assembly for Wales that introduced a ban on open-pit coal mining.
Polish local governments can also count on EU institutional support. Several municipalities that are home to coal
deposits hosted local referendums in 2009. Although the results were clearly against the construction of mines, the
government adopted a plan assuming their construction. The Committee on Petitions of the European Parliament,
which was asked for help, called on government to respect the results of the referendum and to start dialogue with
local communities. Moreover the Commission for Environment, Climate Change and Energy, as a forum for discussion
and prepares opinions and documents for the EU institutions, operates in the Committee of the Regions.
Problems. The growing tendency to engage in projects related to climate and energy meets legal, financial and social
barriers. The long legislative process for RES support blocked the government programme “biogas plant in each
municipality by 2020,” which was adopted in 2010. Until recently, there was no incentive for the development of civic
energy programmes, so eagerly supported in the partner countries.
The new law on RES can be an important stimulus for sector development, especially in smaller communities, but will
not work automatically. Still, local governments lack the knowledge and human resources to carry out energy projects
and deal with the complicated auction of the RES support system. Investment in renewable energy or building
renovation plans requires long-term planning, and the majority of local governments are still learning. In addition, the
development and implementation of municipal low-carbon economy plans (subject to the receipt of EU grants) faces,
in most cases, an insurmountable barrier.
This barrier is local societies’ concerns over new investments. People are afraid of a decrease in land value, increased
noise and bad smells, and possible negative impacts on health. There is a lack of reliable public consultation and
information, but also lack of transparency. Municipalities that cooperate with foreign partners deal better with these
problems, as they can draw on their experience. In Kisielice, the local government organised a trip to its German
partner municipality to show how, in practice, renewable energy installations operate and the innovation involved in
such solutions.
Prospects. Despite the fact that more and more Polish local governments are interested in energy projects as a form
of investment and local development, and as a way of diversifying energy sources, their engagement is uneven.
International cooperation can therefore be an important factor in making local governments more active, and
examples of innovative activities will be replicated slowly in Poland. Local governments will therefore play an
increasingly important role in shaping thinking about energy and climate.
Polish authorities should be aware of the role that local governments can play both in the implementation of climate
policy (the reduction of CO2 emissions in the metropolitan areas) and energy (RES and prosumer). On the one hand,
local governments are responsible for implementing the arrangements concluded at the EU and global levels, where
they are already seen as partners of governments and the EU institutions. On the other hand, the transformation of
the energy sector and the consequences of climate change are a challenge for local governments. However, support
for new tasks must be more systemic, both financially and substantively. Strengthening the position of local
governments in the management of energy, finding innovative solutions, and support for involvement in international
cooperation projects, including the increased absorption of EU funds, is economically important for the whole
country. The active promotion of Poland’s local government achievements has the added benefit of image
enhancement. Local authorities would be able to export not only the Polish governance experience to the Eastern
Partnership countries, but also their experience in energy citizenship.
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