PDF - Koalicja Klimatyczna

The Right Honourable
Donald Tusk
Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland
Open letter to Prime Minister Donald Tusk in the matter of government’s renewable energy
source policy
Mr. Prime Minister,
We feel misled: as citizens, academic researchers, entrepreneurs, activists, and taxpayers. We
feel that we have been misled for many years during which various representatives of the
government presided over by you have tried to make us believe that renewable energy is not
a good solution for us and our economy.
Mr. Prime Minister, what reasons support such a belief? Are you aware that prices for
equipment used to generate renewable energy continue to fall on the global market, and
small investors allocate to purchases of this equipment hundreds of billions of dollars
annually already now? Do you know how important renewable energy sources are in energy
use plans of a vast majority of developed and developing countries all over the world? Have
you had any opportunity to view the data from Germany indicating that solar energy, among
others, will become fully competitive for prosumers in terms of prices with energy generated
using coal within months? Have you met, at least once, with Polish manufacturers and
exporters of equipment for the renewable energy industry? Have you seen their
manufacturing plants, stores, sales statistics? Do you really perceive this market as nonexistent only because it is created by, and made up of small manufacturers who are focused
on their businesses and have neither time nor chance to wait for an audience at the Ministry
of Economy and the Chancellery of the Prime Minister?
We feel misled as a nation, because attempts are made to threaten us with energy prices
rising as a consequence of subsidizing renewable energy sources while Poland continues to
subsidize coal mining (according to OECD data, the subsidies amount to PLN 2–3 billion p.a.),
and recently, despite the implemented budgetary savings programme, also the nuclear
project. By supporting these technologies, we preserve in Poland an energy system that will
require growing subsidies for the rest of its useful life. Assistance is denied to technologies
that really need it, state-of-the-art, innovative, future-oriented solutions that, as such, need
assistance only in the initial phase of their development.
The renewable energy industry is capable of generating enormous income, resulting from the
emergence in Poland of a completely new, innovative market sector that will create new jobs,
new opportunities in rural areas and an advanced energy generation infrastructure. Its
development will also enhance energy security of our country and entail a reduction in the
costs of importation of energy resources (amounting to about PLN 70 billion p.a. in Poland).
Renewable energy sources enable everyone to produce energy and share it with others. In
other words, the implementation of RES technologies always entails a great leap forward for
the entire national economy, comparable with the popularization of the Internet.
Therefore, we are deeply concerned about the context and circumstances of works on the
RES Bill.
The solutions proposed in the Bill will prevent the renewable energy industry from
developing. They will be advantageous only for major energy corporations that generate
"green" energy on a large scale, unprecedented in the world, using combined fuel
combustion, i.e. joint combustion of coal and biomass imported from more than 20 states.
This technology is inefficient, and in general, it is not supported by other Member States of
the European Union. No support is planned for Polish citizens (potential prosumers, i.e. both
producers and consumers of energy) and for technologies of local "green heat" production.
Moreover, the proposed RES Bill does not ensure that the objectives defined in the EU
Directive on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources will be achieved.
This will expose our country and us, taxpayers, to severe fines imposed by the European
Commission in expectable new proceedings following this unsuccessful implementation of EU
legislation.
Mr. Prime Minister, we appeal to you for a strategic and long-term approach to Polish
energy policy. We request you to reject the RES Bill proposed by the Ministry of Economy
(version 4.1) as a draft statute damaging to the national energy sector, national economy
and the nation. In our opinion, the previously developed solutions for distributed energy
generation should be reconsidered, as contained in the former RES Bill that was fully
consulted with the stakeholders and is open to the development of energy generation with
citizens’ participation. We also expect that you will provide advantageous conditions for an
expert debate on energy industry development in Poland and stop actions discriminating
renewable energy sources and defaming them among Polish citizens.
Signatories of this letter:
Związek Pracodawców Forum Energetyki
Odnawialnej (Renewable Energy Forum –
Employer Union)
Grzegorz Wiśniewski, President
Polska Organizacja Rozwoju Technologii
Pomp Ciepła (Polish Organisation for Heat
Pump Technology Development)
Paweł Lachman, President
Stowarzyszenie Producentów i
Importerów Urządzeń Grzewczych
(Heating Equipment Manufacturers and
Importers Association)
Janusz Starościk, President
Fundacja Rozwoju Energetyki Słonecznej
(Solar Energy Development Foundation)
Ryszard Ciach, President
Klaster 3x20
Jan Popczyk, President
Polskie Stowarzyszenie Geotermiczne
(Polish Geothermal Association)
Beata Kępińska, President
Polskie Stowarzyszenie Pomp Ciepła
(Polish Heat Pump Association)
Tomasz Mania, Deputy President
Polska Korporacja Techniki SGGiK (Polish
HVAC, Sanitary and Gas Technology
Corporation)
Tadeusz Jassa, President
Unia Producentów i Pracodawców
Przemysłu Biogazowego (Union of
Manufacturers and Employers of the
Biogas Industry)
Sylwia Koch-Kopyszko, President
Pomorskie Konsorcjum 3x20
Edward Licznerski, President
Stowarzyszenie Wolna Przedsiębiorczość
(Free Entrepreneurship Association)
Krzysztof Brzozowski, President
Polskie Towarzystwo Fotowoltaiki (Polish
Photovoltaics Association)
Stanisław M. Pietruszko, President
Polska Izba Ekologii (Polish Environmental
Chamber)
Grzegorz Pasieka,President
Koalicja Klimatyczna (Climate Coalition)*
Zbigniew Karaczun, expert
*
Koalicja Klimatyczna (Climate Coalition) is an alliance of 23 non-government organisations. Its mission
is to implement joint projects aimed at preventing adverse anthropogenic impact on the climate,
keeping in mind the good of people and the environment.
Member organisations: Fundacja Aeris Futuro, Fundacja ClientEarth Polska, Fundacja Efektywnego
Wykorzystania Energii, Fundacja Ekologiczna Arka, Fundacja Ekologiczna Ziemi Legnickiej Zielona
Akcja, Fundacja EkoRozwoju FER, Fundacja GAP Polska, Fundacja Greenpeace Polska, Fundacja Na
Rzecz Zrównoważonego Rozwoju, Instytut na rzecz Ekorozwoju, Liga Ochrony Przyrody, Polski Klub
Ekologiczny Okręg Dolnośląski, Polski Klub Ekologiczny Okręg Górnośląski, Polski Klub Ekologiczny
Okręg Mazowiecki, Polski Klub Ekologiczny Okręg Świętokrzyski, Polski Klub Ekologiczny Okręg
Wschodnio-Pomorski, Pracownia na rzecz Wszystkich Istot, Stowarzyszenie Ekologiczne Eko-Unia,
Stowarzyszenie Ekologiczno-Kulturalne Klub Gaja, Społeczny Instytut Ekologiczny, WWF Polska, Zielone
Mazowsze, Związek Stowarzyszeń Polska Zielona Sieć.
Contact: [email protected]