Website: Europe.com

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][distance desktop_type=”30″][lvs][distance desktop_type=”30″][vc_btn title=”Source – gov.ua” color=”sky” i_type=”material” i_icon_material=”vc-material vc-material-perm_device_information” add_icon=”true” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kmu.gov.ua%2Fen%2Fnews%2Fpotentsial-ukrainy-u-sferi-krytychnykh-kopalyn-vazhlyvyi-dlia-zelenoho-perekhodu-vsiiei-ievropy-ruslan-strilets|target:_blank”][distance desktop_type=”30″][vc_column_text]

For the first time, a joint meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the European Commission College was held in Kyiv, during which Ruslan Strilets, Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, spoke about Ukraine’s important role in implementing green technologies in Europe.

He said that Ukraine had deposits of 21 out of 30 minerals essential for the EU, including lithium, graphite, cobalt, zinc, etc. Ukraine’s victory in the war against the aggressor is important for the raw material security of the entire continent. Our country, which accounts for only 0.4% of the world’s land area, contains 5% of global mineral resources. Today, more than 2,000 mineral deposits are in occupied territories, with a total value of more than USD 12 trillion.

“The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources is consistently pursuing the work initiated by Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal and Vice-President of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič back in 2021 by signing a Memorandum of Understanding on a Strategic Partnership on Raw Materials. Despite active hostilities, Ukraine continues to develop the legal framework for investment, deepen cooperation with partners and fulfill international obligations to achieve sustainable development goals. russian armed aggression has not hindered progress in our relations,” Ruslan Strilets said.

Among the results of cooperation between Ukraine and Europe:

A European-Ukrainian working group has developed amendments to the Roadmap for 2023-2024. It is expected to be signed.

A Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between the Ukrainian Geological Survey and the EBRD, which would help modernize the system of geoinformation management. This includes development of the National Geological Data Portal and the digitization of geological reports. We expect to receive a final positive decision from the EBRD to provide funds for these purposes in the near future.

The Government of Ukraine, together with the European Commission, held a first business forum where Ukrainian companies presented their portfolios on the development and extraction of lithium, graphite, rare earth elements, and zinc. The goal was to attract investors and loans from European financial institutions. We expect that Ukrainian projects will be identified as strategic for Europe as a whole.

According to the Minister, an important step should be Ukraine’s integration into the draft EU Raw Materials Strategy until 2030.

“We expect to get the European Commission’s decision in the next quarter. We share common values and strategic goals of the EU, including with regard to the extraction of critical raw materials. I thank our friends and partners from the European Commission for their unprecedented support for Ukraine. I am personally grateful to Maroš Šefčovič for his help in building a modern Ukraine,” Ruslan Strilets emphasized.[/vc_column_text][distance desktop_type=”30″][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section]

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][distance desktop_type=”30″][lvs][distance desktop_type=”30″][vc_btn title=”Source – European Commission ” color=”sky” i_type=”material” i_icon_material=”vc-material vc-material-perm_device_information” add_icon=”true” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fec.europa.eu%2Fcommission%2Fpresscorner%2Fdetail%2Fes%2Fip_22_7413|target:_blank”][distance desktop_type=”30″][vc_column_text]Silesia has the largest hard coal mining in the EU and will gradually move away from coal extraction and coal combustion.

At the end of 2022 Commission has adopted all five Polish Operational Programmes with Territorial Just Transition Plans (TJTPs). These TJTPs are worth more than €3.85 billion under the Just Transition Fund (JTF) to support a just climate transition in the coal regions of Silesia, Małopolska, Wielkopolska, Lower Silesia and Łódzkie.

€2.4 billion for Silesia and Western Małopolska

Silesia has the largest hard coal mining in the EU and will gradually move away from coal extraction and coal combustion. This will also have an effect on part of Western Małopolska. These regions will therefore receive the majority of funding through the JTF in Poland. With a budget of around €2.4 billion for Silesia and Western Małopolska, this EU funding will assist the region’s inhabitants and support them during the transition to a green economy, with new job opportunities and cleaner air.

The Fund will specifically support the local economic diversification by investing in small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) working on renewable energy, clean mobility and other green sectors.

To restore environmental damage from the mining activities, the JTF will also invest in rehabilitation and decontamination of 2,800 ha of post mining areas in line with the polluter pays principle.

To help reduce energy bills and to allow citizens to benefit from stable, ecological, and affordable energy sources, the Fund will invest in Western Małopolska in the energy efficiency of public buildings and of housing, including by supporting home insulation, rooftop solar installations, and heat pumps.

The JTF will also invest in the training of 100,000 workers many of whom currently work in the fossil fuels sector and equip them with new skills to work in renewable and climate neutral industries. 27,000 new jobs are expected to be created in Silesia directly as a result of the just transition plan measures.

€415 million for Wielkopolska

The Konin subregion of Wielkopolska will receive €415 million for its ambitious plan to transition away from its lignite mining industry and lignite power plants.

Thanks to the help of the EU, Konin will turn the page on lignite extraction. It will decontaminate and reconvert the degraded area to focus on renewable energy production, including the production of green hydrogen. EU grants will also support the development of a circular economy and invest in increasing energy efficiency through building insulation.

Moreover, the Fund will support training and reskilling activities for 5,500 workers in the lignite industry.

€581.5 million for Lower Silesia

In Lower Silesia, the Wałbrzyskie subregion will receive €581.5 million to phase out coal.

The Fund will invest in the diversification of the local economy with the creation of new SMEs and start-ups especially in green sectors.

A more diversified economy will help creating 1,000 new green jobs in carbon-neutral sectors and will invest in the local educational infrastructure. Investments will be made in renewable energies such as solar energy, the replacement of obsolete boilers and better insulation of buildings.

€369.5 million for Łódzkie

Next to coal mining, the Łódzkie region also hosts the biggest single emitter of CO2 in the EU, the lignite power plant in Bełchatów. Poland has committed to reduce substantially lignite extraction and combustion capacity in the region by 2030.

€369.5 million of EU funding will be invested in new business infrastructure for local SMEs and in research laboratories, as well as in energy efficiency and renewable energy deployment.

The Fund will further support workers currently employed in the Bełchatów power plant as well as in mining and related sectors. These workers will be trained with new skills to be ready for new green jobs.

Finally, the JTF will also support measures to decarbonise the local transport by, for example, by investing in new electric buses.

Background

The JTF supports territories that are particularly affected by the transition towards a climate-neutral economy. The Territorial Just Transition Plans (TJTPs) identify these territories with the Commission during the negotiations of the 2021-2027 Partnership Agreements and the associated programmes. The Commission approved the Partnership Agreement with Poland in June 2022.The TJTPs, developed in close consultation with local partners, identify the challenges and development needs in each territory, and the objectives to be met by 2030. They also identify the planned actions with specific governance mechanisms.

The approval of TJTPs opens the door to dedicated financing under the other two pillars of the Just Transition Mechanism (JTM): a just transition scheme under InvestEU and a Public Sector Loan Facility for Just Transition that combines Commission grants with European Investment Bank loans. The JTM is a key tool to ensure that the transition towards a climate-neutral economy happens in a fair way, leaving no one behind. It provides targeted support to help mobilise around €55 billion over the period 2021-2027 in the most affected regions. Lastly, the Just Transition Platform helps to accelerate the just transition by involving all stakeholders helping them to share experiences and best practices.

Under the 2021-2027 Common Provisions Regulation, Member States must fulfil so-called horizontal and thematic enabling conditions in the implementation of Cohesion Policy programmes. One of the enabling conditions requires compliance with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. When preparing their programmes, Member States have to assess whether the enabling conditions are fulfilled. The Polish authorities have indicated in their self-assessment that they do not currently comply with the enabling condition on the Charter. Therefore, the Commission cannot reimburse expenditure related to the parts of the programme concerned, until the conditions are fulfilled. Member States must ensure that these conditions remain fulfilled during the whole programming period. The Commission is in dialogue with Poland to ensure that the requirements of the enabling conditionality are fully met.[/vc_column_text][distance desktop_type=”30″][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section]

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][distance desktop_type=”30″][lvs][distance desktop_type=”30″][vc_btn title=”Source – notesfrompoland.com” color=”sky” i_type=”material” i_icon_material=”vc-material vc-material-perm_device_information” add_icon=”true” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fnotesfrompoland.com%2F2023%2F04%2F06%2Fpoland-overtakes-us-to-have-worlds-second-largest-lithium-ion-battery-production-capacity%2F%23%3A~%3Atext%3DEastern%2520Europe%2520Newsletter-%2CPoland%2520overtakes%2520US%2520to%2520have%2520world’s%2Clithium%252Dion%2520battery%2520production%2520capacity%26text%3DAfter%2520a%2520series%2520of%2520investments%2Cthe%2520world%252C%2520behind%2520only%2520China.|target:_blank”][distance desktop_type=”30″][vc_column_text]After a series of investments in lithium-ion battery manufacturing, Poland’s production capacity rose to 73 GWh in 2022, overtaking the US to become the second largest in the world, behind only China.

Poland now has 6% of the world’s total production capacity, compared to 14% of all European countries combined, notes the Polish Alternative Fuels Association (PSPA) in a report published this week based on data from BloombergNEF. They are, however, well behind China, which has 77% of global capacity.

However, the PSPA warns that, with fierce competition in the sector, Poland is set to fall to sixth place in global manufacturing by 2027 as other countries invest in producing the rechargeable lithium-ion battery that power electric vehicles.

Recent years have shown, nevertheless, that the sector’s growth in Poland is robust. The value of exports in the battery sector increased 38-fold over the last six years from around 1 billion zloty (€0.21 billion) in 2017 to 38.6 billion zloty (€8.24 billion) in 2022.

That meant it accounted for 2.4% of all Polish exports, according to data from Statistics Poland (GUS), a state agency.

This growth has been achieved thanks to the major investments by foreign companies that have decided to open factories focused on batteries or electromobility in Poland.

Poland is currently home to the largest car battery factory in Europe, launched by LG Energy Solution in Biskupice Podgórne near Wrocław, and Europe’s largest factory for energy storage systems, launched by Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt in Gdańsk.

Other leading companies in the battery sector investing in Poland include Korean SK Nexilis and German Mercedes-Benz. Poland is also Europe’s largest exporter of electric buses.

As well as manufacturing sites, companies have started to open technology centres in Poland focused on developing electromobility, with Swedish car manufacturer Volvo announcing a new technology hub in Kraków last month.

The report shows, however, that strengthening the European value chain for lithium is currently a major challenge.

While Europe has significant lithium resources, “many commercial mining operations are still in the pipeline, including in the Czech Republic, Serbia and Romania”, said Aleksander Rajch of PSPA, one of the report’s co-authors, quoted by the Polish Press Agency (PAP).

“In order to accelerate the launch of new mining and processing capacities of battery sector raw materials in Poland, it is necessary to simplify administrative procedures,” said Rajch.

“It is also important to implement incentives for the development of battery reuse and recycling technologies in order to create a closed cycle of production, operation and disposal,” he added.

Main image credit: LG Energy Solution press pack[/vc_column_text][distance desktop_type=”30″][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section]

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][distance desktop_type=”30″][lvs][distance desktop_type=”30″][vc_btn title=”Source – Euractiv” color=”sky” i_type=”material” i_icon_material=”vc-material vc-material-perm_device_information” add_icon=”true” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.euractiv.com%2Fsection%2Fpolitics%2Fnews%2Fczechia-poland-dispute-over-coal-mine-settled-but-locals-still-suffer%2F|target:_blank”][distance desktop_type=”30″][vc_column_text]Czech and Polish political heads have settled the dispute over the coal mine Turow, but inhabitants of villages near the open-pit mine still face problems, EURACTIV.cz reports.

Czechia and Poland officially settled the long-term dispute by signing an agreement in February 2022. Part of this agreement was the withdrawal of the lawsuit Czechia filed against Poland in reaction to Polish authorities’ decision to expand operations at the massive lignite mine close to the Czech border.

The issue was politically resolved, even from the point of view of Czech President Petr Pavel, who recently visited Poland.

“Both sides commented on the dispute over the Turów mine in the sense that it is closed,” the presidential office told EURACTIV.cz.

The agreement included the construction of an underground barrier, completed in February 2022, which should protect local water sources. However, Czech organisations do not consider the agreement or the constructed barrier as a solution because it does not work well in practice.

Czech Geological Service, responsible for monitoring the impact of the mine, confirmed to EURACTIV.cz that the barrier had brought no positive effects to the Czech territory so far.

Another problem is a lack of information. While the agreement should secure Czech authorities access to data about the Turów mine, including its impact on water levels, not all information is available.

“The problem is that some of the information, the key ones, Poland has labelled as ‘trade secrets’ and banned their publication. Thus, the Czech Environment Ministry refuses to give us this information,” Milan Starec from the local organisation Association Uhelná explained.

Greenpeace has a similar opinion. “The excuses of trade secrets or even intellectual property are absolutely absurd,” said Greenpeace Czech Republic spokesperson Lukáš Hrábek, adding that local people and environmental organisations are not asking about the economic aspects of coal mining.

“In this case, the ministry is more friends with the Polish mining company than its own citizens, whom it should be protecting. It’s shameful,” Hrábek added.

The Czech Environment Ministry told EURACTIV.cz it disagrees with the criticism. The Ministry admits that it cannot publish some of the information demanded; however, it publishes all the information that Czech law allows to be disclosed.

(Barbora Pištorová, Aneta Zachová | EURACTIV.cz)[/vc_column_text][distance desktop_type=”30″][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section]

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WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish coal miners angered by a European Union directive aiming to reduce methane emissions protested noisily Friday before the EU office in Warsaw saying it will deprive them of their jobs.

Some 300 miners chanted “Thieves” and used smoke flares and sirens to draw attention to their protest in the downtown area of Poland’s capital. Traffic was temporarily closed in the area.

Protesting miners from the Solidarity 80 union said recent climate recommendations for the 27-member EU that call for a significant reduction of methane, starting in 2027, would force most of the nation’s mines to close, with the loss of tens of thousands of jobs.

The majority of Poland’s mines have a high presence of methane gas that gets released in the coal extraction process. That also leads to serious mining accidents as methane becomes explosive when mixed in low proportions with oxygen.

Located in the southern Silesia region, the coal mines are among Poland’s major employers, offering some 77,000 jobs in the nation of 38 million.

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