Energy Independence Needed - Now

By Paweł Wojciechowski*

Contrary to predictions, at the Versailles summit in March Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki did not urge European Union leaders to block oil and gas imports from Russia. But it is also hard to imagine such a reckless charge from a Prime Minister who constantly torpedoes climate policy. Now that the tables have been overturned and the EU has decided to use climate-policy weapons to cut itself off from Vladimir Putin’s fossil fuels, it’s time for the Polish PM to admit that the energy security strategy has to take the green route, that Polish security depends on renewable sources of energy.

The previous energy security paradigm was based on interdependence. This was supposed to prevent not only using gas as a weapon but also escalating of conflicts. However, it turns out that it was only part of a bigger plan in Putin’s cynical game. As a result, oil and gas keep flowing while the aggressor is killing people. No one is turning off the tap: neither Russia, whose 40 percent of budget revenue depends on hydrocarbon exports, nor the European Union, which fears the effects of the embargo on its economy, which is why at the recent EU summit it only decided to gradually turn down but not turn off the tap.

Now, the Versailles Declaration adopted in March by the EU heads of states is more than just about shutting down interdependence. The breakthrough in this declaration is the announcement of gaining independence from fossil fuels in two ways: not only independence from Russian imports, but also the economy’s general and lasting independence from all fossil fuels.

Suddenly Putin has caused climate policy to become a weapon for improving security. Climate defenders have become his unexpected enemies, as the acceleration of the energy transition will make European Union countries less dependent on imports of Russian energy resources.

Also, Poland’s security depends on accelerating the development of a zero-emissions economy based on millions of independent renewable energy sources. Paradoxically, these less predictable sources, like wind and solar systems, allow Poland to build a resilient scattered system that is difficult to attack. The security is a broader issue than just a possible supply shock from reduced imports. Dependence on fossil fuels is also creating risks for a system based on large-scale energy. And if the problem is the power balance because power supply from prosumers is highly unstable, the solution is self-balancing regional energy clusters consisting of windmills, solar panels, biogas plants and power storage.

The green economy means a future not only without the dilemmas of feeding the Russian bear, but also without perks and sinecures - those created by an energy industry based on companies controlled by the state Treasury. Poland needs to end the myth that its security is based on coal or on giant power plants that will never be built. Such thinking only fossilizes the old system and impedes the development of a network adapted to renewables.

The whole world is turning away from fossil fuels because this makes economic sense. Even China, where the share of investments in coal- and gas-fired power plants has dropped below 10 percent. And nobody is forcing them into anything. Green transformation simply pays off. Renewable energy is becoming cheaper, and conventional energy is becoming more expensive.

In the face of security threats, Poland should resolve the conflict over the rule of law with Brussels as soon as possible, and quickly mobilize funds from the National Recovery Plan, the lion’s share of which is supposed to go to the energy transformation. Especially now when the Green Deal gives us a double dividend: development and security.