Poland Energy Transition : The Path to Sustainability in the Electricity and Heating Sector
This report explores options to scale up and accelerate the energy transition to cleaner electricity and district heating generation mixes and reconcile the government’s concerns over the serious local air pollution and commitments to combat climat...
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| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2018
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/983941544623112019/Poland-Energy-Transition-The-Path-to-Sustainability-in-the-Electricity-and-Heating-Sector http://hdl.handle.net/10986/31061 |
| Summary: | This report explores options to scale up
and accelerate the energy transition to cleaner electricity
and district heating generation mixes and reconcile the
government’s concerns over the serious local air pollution
and commitments to combat climate change. The report draws
three main conclusions from the analyses and consultations
carried out during the last six months: Despite impressive
progress towards sustainability, Poland’s coal-dominated
energy sector imposes heavy health costs on its population.
A recent World Bank report estimated that the cost of
ambient air pollution amounts to about USD 31-40 billion,
equivalent to 6.4-8.3 percent of GDP in 2016. Moreover,
deterioration of ambient air quality is responsible for a
significant health burden with an estimated 44,500 premature
deaths per year. The ambitious cleaner strategy to scale up
renewable energy sources in the power and district heating
generation mix is economically justified, if local and
global environmental benefits are accounted for. Poland is
moving in the right direction on energy transition with its
envisioned targets on renewable energy, but achieving the
more ambitious targets under the European Union Emission
Trading Scheme requires intensified efforts to scale up and
accelerate the penetration of clean energy. Active labor
market policies can help mitigate employment impacts, which
are expected to be negligible at national level and modest
at local level given a dynamic economy and tight labor. |
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