Analyzing EU-Russia relations one may find significant difference regarding the energy security definition. From the Russian perspective this concept is defined mainly through the technical prism focusing on stable and secure supply. In turn, many European researchers add economic and environmental dimensions of this concept underlying the role of competitive market and interrelations with climate issue. In this paper author tries to reduce a difference between these two positions. He aims at elaborating broad definition of the energy security which should help for better analysis EU-Russia energy relations. He states that existing definition based on three abovementioned elements like security of supply, free market, and sustainable development, is incomplete and should therefore be extended by the fourth component, so called social and political agreement.
The impact of abandoning fossil fuels and the development of renewable energy on the global labor market is aimed at presenting the issue that affects now or in the near future most of the world’s economies (plants extracting fossil deposits and cooperating with them large enterprises and international corporations) in the field of correlation with environmental protection. The above is being realized, among others by departing in the next 20 years from the policy of extracting fossil fuels, especially coal, and is related to the use and development of renewable energy. This has a significant impact on the legal status of employees and employer. The departure from the extraction of fossil fuels will result in a sudden wave of mass layoffs around the world, including in Poland, and economic migrations, so now it is necessary to prepare an action plan for the next decades in terms of retraining employees and other possible forms of their professional activation, in the new realities of the labor market. In addition, there is a need to regulate possible ways of using renewable energy in people’s work, also in the context of the development of new technologies and their use in the work process. The development of the above should already result in the training of employees in new industries and create conditions for companies promoting the fight against global warming. It is important to deepen the study of the relationship between labor law and environmental protection law, which at the moment is unjustifiably downplayed, while in a dozen / several dozen years it will have a huge impact on human life, because climate change (and “currently” the Sars-CoV-2 pandemic) are already causing a lockdown in the world labor market. There is an absolute need to identify potential problems, adopt appropriate policies and action plans, and then successively implement them, e.g. for the transition to a low-carbon economy, but without much prejudice to the employment market and global unemployment. In this context, a coherent policy of the EU and international organizations will be important, including ILO, in order to ensure environmental and social order in employment relations, in the new reality of the 1950s, the 21st century. Conclusion de lege ferenda drawn after the above-mentioned research will be aimed at presenting potential opportunities for Poland and the world in terms of the new and employment policy.
This paper surveys key features of Poland’s energy culture and energy security situation and how they influence country’s attitudes towards environmental dimension of energy policy. It looks in this context at the obstacles and prospects for development of renewable energy in Poland. It deals, on the one hand, with the mechanisms and reasons behind disregarding in a public discourse potential role of RES in securing future energy needs of Polish society, on the other hand, with a potential contribution of green energy to Poland’s energy security.
PL
Artykuł ma na celu prezentację cech charakteryzujących polską kulturę energetyczną oraz kluczowych problemów bezpieczeństwa energetycznego Polski jako czynników wpływających na podejście kraju do ekologicznego wymiaru polityki energetycznej. W tym kontekście analizowane są bariery i szanse rozwoju produkcji energii ze źródeł odnawialnych w Polsce. Artykuł z jednej strony podejmuje temat mechanizmów i przyczyn niedoceniania w publicznym dyskursie potencjalnej roli OZE w zabezpieczeniu przyszłych potrzeb energetycznych społeczeństwa, z drugiej strony analizuje możliwe korelacje między wykorzystaniem OZE a bezpieczeństwem energetycznym Polski.
The green transition unfolding on a global scale is much less studied at the regional level, although its outcomes and management are strongly place-specific. This article presents a comparative study of green transition strategies in the Silesian Voivodeship (Poland) and the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug (KMAO) – Ugra (Russia), based on a qualitative content analysis of regional legislation and strategies. The regions share common specialisation in fossil fuel mining and have inherited some features of post-socialist economies. Research shows three common features of green transition policies in the studied regions. Firstly, much attention is paid to the dissemination of information about green transition and its benefits. Secondly, research on various green subjects and educational programmes for green market requirements are developed. Thirdly, it is planned for renewables to have a larger proportion in regional energy mixes. By mid-century, both regions are expected to reach climate neutrality, although by using different paths of development. Coal mines are planned to be closed down in the Silesian Voivodeship by 2050, while the KMAO – Ugra will retain its oil-mining specialisation but diversify it with hydrogen production.
Przyspieszający w ostatnich latach rozwój technologii w obszarze wykorzystywania odnawialnych źródeł energii, czyni je konkurencyjnymi wobec paliw kopalnych. Nowa technologia dalece zmieni światowy system energetyczny w ciągu najbliższych dekad. Tym samym, znaczenie konwencjonalnych surowców energetycznych, np. węgla i ropy naftowej, spadnie, a ich miejsce zajmą minerały takie, jak lit, czy kobalt. Zmiany te są kluczowe nie tylko dla ekologii, ale spowodują także rekonfigurację geopolitycznej mapy świata. Niektóre państwa na tym skorzystają, niektóre będą się zmagać z poważnymi problemami, jeśli będą chciały utrzymać swoją pozycję. Artykuł sygnalizuje pewne ogólne tendencje, które mogą być przydatne dla długookresowych projekcji geopolitycznych.
EN
Accelerating, within the last years, technological progress in the area of renewables, makes them as competitive as fossil fuels. The new technology is going to profoundly change the global energy system within the next few decades. Together with it, the importance of conventional energy resources, e. g. coal and oil, will fall, and minerals, such as lithium and cobalt, would take their place. These changes are not only crucial for the ecology of the planet but they will also reconfigure the geopolitical map of the world. Some countries would benefit from it, some would face serious obstacles to keep their position. The article signals some general tendencies that could be useful for long-term predictions in geopolitics.
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