The economic crisis is the rising costs of energy transition

Due to the current economic situation, which was adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, an expert videoconference was organized to discuss views on the challenges of transformation towards climate neutrality and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the EU's climate and energy policy. Andrzej Sadoś, the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Poland to the EU, draws attention to the need of facing the challenges of more complicated  energy transition process, as its costs, although already high, will continue to increase.In the opinion of the Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Climate, Adam Guibourge-Czetwertyński, it is necessary to develop a proper reconstruction plan that will allow the development of Europe, but without hindering the situation of poorer countries and regions.Maciej Pyrka from KOBiZE referred to an analysis carried out as part of the LIFE Climate CAKE PL project, which shows that reducing emissions by 2030 will reduce the supply of emission allowances in the ETS system, and this will lead to a significant increase in their price, as well as may lead to tighten reduction policies in the non-EU ETS area.This, as a result, ultimately will cause the phenomenon of carbon leakage, as the increase in allowance prices will bear high production costs. Tom van Ierland from the European Commission emphasized that despite the negative effects of a pandemic on the economy, the achievement of climate goals by 2030 is invariably a priority for the European Commission.