The implementation of the energy transition with the simultaneous reduction of its negative impact on citizens, is the main objective of the actions carried out by the International Energy Agency Global Commission on People-Centred Clean Energy Transitions. The first meeting of the commission held on 15 March 2021 was chaired by Dan Jørgensen, Danish Minister of Climate, Energy and Utilities. During the meeting, Polish Minister of Climate and Environment, Michał Kurtyka, presented the social context of Poland’s transition toward a low-carbon economy.

Polish and Lithuanian cooperation in the field of energy is the main subject of talks at the meeting of Minister of Climate and Environment, Michał Kurtyka, with the Lithuanian Minister of Energy Dainius Kreivys. The event, which took place on 12 March 2021, was also attended by the Government Plenipotentiary for Strategic Energy Infrastructure, Piotr Naimski, and the Deputy Minister for Climate and Environment, Adam Guibourgé-Czetwertyński.

Poland is fully implementing the 2018 CJEU judgment. Signing a new annex to the forest management plan for the Białowieża Forest District is the only legally possible form of replacing the existing annex. It will enable active protection of valuable habitats and species in line with the guidelines of the European Commission and UNESCO.

Polish-Japanese cooperation in the energy sector is one of the topics of the on-line investment conference “Why Poland now? Attractive destination for energy and infrastructure projects”, organized by the Polish Investment and Trade Agency and the Polish Embassy in Tokyo. The event, which took place on 3 March 2021, was attended by Michał Kurtyka, Minister of Climate and Environment.

The Ministry of Climate and Environment, together with the Chief Environmental Protection Inspectorate, and with the support of the Ministry of Justice, has developed a proposal to strengthen criminal legislation on environmental crime.

Energy and climate policy, electromobility and nuclear energy were the main themes of the ministerial meeting of Michał Kurtyka and Adam Guibourgé-Czetwertyński with the Slovenian delegation chaired by the Slovenian Minister of Infrastructure Jernej Vrtovec. The meeting also provided an opportunity to discuss the agenda and priorities of the Slovenian presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Minister of Climate and Environment, Michał Kurtyka, and Deputy Minister, Adam Guibourgé-Czetwertyński, took part in a meeting with the Finnish Ambassador to Poland, Mr Juha Ottman, during which they discussed energy and climate transformation. Talks concerned mainly the possibilities for bilateral cooperation between both countries in the context of climate policy and the role of nuclear energy in the European Union’s climate and energy policy.

The discussion on how to implement the recommendations of the European Commission on the National Reconstruction Plan in the context of the so-called European Semester was the main subject of the discussion by Michał Kurtyka, Minister of Climate and Environment, with Virginijus Sinkevičius, EU Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, at the videoconference held on February 5. The meeting addressed the important issues of adaptation to climate change, waste management, clean air and waste water financing in the framework of the National Reconstruction Plan.

“The steps taken by the Nord Stream 2 AG company and other entities which are involved in the Nord Stream 2 project, both economically and politically, and which seek to complete the construction of a new gas pipeline connecting Germany and Russia regardless of the circumstances are a cause of concern for Poland”, said Michał Kurtyka, Minister of Climate and Environment.

The objectives of climate neutrality, the prospect of EU/USA energy cooperation and the fair energy transition have been key issues discussed during the debate “Reimagining the transatlantic energy and climate relationship”, organised by the Atlantic Council within the 5th Global Energy Forum. The event, which took place on 20 January 2021, was attended by Michał Kurtyka, Minister of Climate and Environment.