Intensive modernization and reconstruction of the energy sector takes place throughout the

world. The EU climate and energy policy will have a huge impact on the development of the energy

sector in the coming years. The European Union has adopted ambitious goals of transforming

towards a low-carbon economy and the integration of the energy market. In June 2015, the G7 countries

announced that they will move away from coal fired energy generation. Germany, which

has adopted one of the most ambitious energy transformation programs among all industrialized

countries, is leading these transformations. The long-term strategy, which has been implemented

for many years, allowed for planning the fundamental transformation of the energy sector; after the

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, Germany opted for a total withdrawal from nuclear energy and

coal in favor of renewable energy. The German energy transformation is mainly based on wind and

solar energy. Germany is the fifth economic power in the world and the largest economy in Europe.

Therefore, the German energy policy affects the energy policy of the neighboring countries. The

article presents the main assumptions of the German energy policy (referred to as Energiewende).

It also presents the impact of changes in the German energy sector on the development of energy

systems in selected European countries.

The research is devoted to the organization of the energy policy objectives implementation

through programs. A country’s energy policy can be monitored in many ways. The article proposes

to consider the implementation of energy policy objectives with the budget programs maintenance

on the example of Ukraine. Budget programs make it possible to trace the dynamics of changes in

the aim and directions of the authorities’ energy policy, implemented for budgetary funds. With the

budget programs since 2002 in Ukraine, it was possible to trace the increase in spending on the coal

industry, highlight the funding forced of negative consequences in the energy sector and separate

the steps to develop an energy strategy. Changes in the totality of energy policy budget programs

are shown, their contents are considered. The decrease in the budget programs number associated

both with the enlargement of their aim and with the withdrawal expenses for reconstruction and

social protection of those affected by the previous energy activities from the budget funding. To

assess budget programs planning and implementation uniformity the author’s integrated indicator is

proposed. It takes the funding level and the quality indicator implementation on assignment directions

into account. The calculation of the indicator showed that the expenditures for the general

management of the energy policy and for scientific development are planned in the programs more

evenly than the expenses for the energy strategy implementation.

Observing the situation in the power industry it is easy to see that there are very deep changes in it. They rely primarily on moving away from conventional energy to renewable energy. This is particularly the case for energy in the European Union. Europe strives to be a forerunner in renewable technologies and a leader in the fight against global warming. The mining industry is being abolished and coal-fired power stations are being displaced by renewable energy sources. This situation is not only a result of EU directives but also of grassroots social initiatives inspired by environmental groups. The new lignite openings are being blocked, due to the lack of public acceptance, and the construction of conventional power plants. They do not help economic arguments for the development of energy based on coal, lignite, fuel that is significantly cheaper than the other, or to provide potential investors with the creation of new jobs. Also, coal investments are suspended in other regions of the world. CoalSwarm coal research shows that 2016 saw a dramatic fall in the amount of coal investment in the world. Even in China and India, where most of the coal industry has developed in recent years, about 100 investments have been suspended. The situation in the US is unclear. Although Barack Obama signed the Paris Agreement, current United States President Donal Trump has spoken out about this agreement and in numerous speeches and is eager to return to the dominant role of coal in the American economy. Poland still maintains the carbon structure of the power industry, but the Minister of Energy has announced that the new block at the Ostrołęka power plant will be the last coal-fired power plant to be built in Poland. This statement allows us to believe that there may be a return to Poland’s energy policy in the nearest future, and the long-awaited document, Poland’s energy policy until 2050, will determine the direction of change for the coming years.

The public and, above all, scientists clearly emphasize that the cause of global climate change caused mainly by carbon dioxide emissions is, above all, human activity and its combined emission. It is associated with the processes of fuel combustion in the energy, industry and transport, as well as with poverty being the main cause of difficulties in meeting basic energy needs in households and the incorrect way of heating them. The public is often made aware that the climate should be protected and at the same time convinced that global warming has no impact on the everyday lives of Poles. Meanwhile, Poland, due to the high share of coal in the energy sector, is indicated as one of the main culprits of carbon dioxide emissions in the European Union and exposed as a significant shareholder of climate change causing global warming. The aim of the work is to show the opinions of young people aged 15–24, in terms of their awareness of the human impact on climate change and indication of desirable directions of the modern energy policy, defining the level of support for these directions, which will significantly contribute to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions.

The research conducted among young people shows that it is aware of the consequences of climate change, especially on a global scale, and to a much lesser extent in Poland, and still less in the Podkarpackie province. The studied youth emphasizes that climate change is currently one of the greatest threats, but it is one of many threats.

The young people emphasize that the energy policy in Poland should aim at the better utilization and reduction of energy consumption as well as increasing the share of energy based on renewable energy sources, associated mainly with public health protection, reduction of air pollution, as well as the energy security of the country. Young people show a lack of determination regarding the use of nuclear power plants, where we see supporters and opponents of this source of electricity in a similar relationship.

The aim of the article is to discuss and assess the diversification of renewable energy sources consumption in European Union member states. The time scope covers 2005 and 2015. The data comes from Eurostat. The analysis was based on synthetic indicators – using a non-standard method. Synthetic indicators were assessed based on three simple features such as: the share of renewable energy in energy consumption in 2015, the difference between the share of renewable energy in energy consumption in 2015 and in 2005 (in percentage points), deficit/surplus in the 2020 target reached in 2015 (in percentage points). The European Union member states were divided into four diversified group in terms of renewable energy sources consumption (first class – a very high level, second class – quite a high level, third class – quite a low level, fourth class – a very low level). Then the divided groups were analyzed according to the share of renewable energy sources in the primary production of renewable energy and the consumption of individual renewable energy sources. During the research period renewable energy consumption increased in the European Union, but individual member states are characterized by a diverse situation. The type of energy used depends largely on national resources. The countries of Northern Europe are characterized by a greater share of renewable energy sources in consumption. Biomass is the most popular renewable source of energy in the European Union. Depending on the conditions of individual countries – it is agricultural and forest biomass.

The energy security of the European Union is still a concept, rather than the actual action. It was confirmed by legal regulations that give Member States the possibility of individual control of energy security. Furthermore, EU Member States can perform unilateral energy policy, which is often in the interest of the most powerful countries. The concept of energy solidarity, solidarity mechanisms of energy flows directly from the Treaty of Maastricht. This was intended to help to increase energy security, and above all, its construction at the EU level. The functioning of the European Communities and the European Union is showing that the goal of building energy security of the European Union is still in the process of creation and still remain a certain course of action. Following th energy crisis of 2009 we can observe discussion about the concept of energy union, as a way to build energy security of the European Union. Currently, its energy security is limited to the definition adopted by the European Commission and activities aimed at the development of energy infrastructure of Community interest, which contributes to improving EU energy security. The aim of this article is analyze the concept of energy union and attempt to answer the question whether it has a real chance of success, and whether the concept of the proposed shape will be effective and necessary. These questions are important because of we can observe discrepancies between the regulations, promotion of building a common energy security and the practical action of individual Member States of the European Union.

The aspect of climate change in the modern world is one of the broader issues of global social and economic policy. Climate change implies a modification of the business environment, especially the energy sector. Any change in the conditions in which the company operates is the cause, the effect of which becomes its financial situation during the relevant period. Therefore, climate policy will play an increasingly important role in shaping the energy of the future. At present, energy companies are taking measures to process primary energy from fossil fuels, in particular coal, in an efficient and environmentally friendly way. The article presents the impact of international climate agreements on the energy and coal industries. The latest agreement signed in Paris defines a global plan to minimize the dangerous effects of global warming on the climate arising from carbon emissions. The most important outcome of the agreement was the unification of many countries with a common goal. The European Union played a key role in signing the first legally binding agreement in the world, which is also a forerunner in the carbon trading system: EU ETS (European Union Emission Trading Scheme) The US-based CO2 emissions trading system has become a model for the European Commission. In addition, the article highlights the correlation between the EUA ( European Union Allowances) and “ARA coal” prices as well as the role of the coal market in price formation of emission allowances.

In this paper, selected aspects of energy efficiency are shown. The European Union regulations in area of energy efficiency such as Directive 2012/27/EU, are discussed. The national legal regulations which describe energy efficiency such as the Energy Efficiency Act are presented. Principles concerning the obligation of energy savings and energy audits of enterprises are described. National, regional and local programs and measures concerning the improvement of energy efficiency are performed. These are horizontal measures and energy efficiency measures in: industry, transport, the buildings of public institutions and energy generation and supplies. National economy energy efficiency is shown. The energy intensity indicators (primary, final) and rate of their changes in last years are performed. Moreover, directions of undertakings connected with the possible future reduction in energy intensity of the national economy, are defined. An analysis of energy efficiency measures and solutions for the improvement of energy efficiency, especially in industry and households, is performed. The improvement of economy energy intensity indicators constitutes the most effective solution which brings significant economic, technical and environmental benefits such as an increase in economic innovation and its competitiveness, the improvement of the energy supply security level, a reduction in the consumption of natural resources and a reduction of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. The conclusions contain an analysis of the present level of energy efficiency in Poland and the perspectives of its increase in the future along with the benefits connected with it.

The future and the development of power industry are the one of the major issues in the domestic and global policy. The impact of the power sector on the earth climate changes and the attention for sufficient funds of energy in the following years are the primary challenges which the power industry is facing. The article delineates the current state of the domestic sector of energy production. In the prospect of the next few years, it will draw on conventional power engineering nevertheless, with the growing involvement of renewable energy sources. However, it is important to develop the new energy strategy, which will point the direction of domestic energy production sector changes. What is more relevant, the new legal regulations connected with environmental protection will definitely restrict using fossil fuels in the power industry. In addition, the paper discusses the most important aspects involved in creating a country’s energy mix. The first aspect is the current state of the energy sector in Poland, i.e. the percentage of particular technologies in the present power and electrical energy balances, the technical state of the manufacturing sector’s infrastructure. Based on historical data of Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne SA regarding the energy consumption and demand, a mathematical estimation for electricity demand and its consumption forecast was performed. The obtained forecasts were then used to conduct a simulation of power and energy demand fulfillment in the national power system. Finally, several possible scenarios were presented, taking different factors affecting the energy sector in Poland into consideration.

The article aims to study the determinants of the energy policy implementation process from

risks and danger perspectives by building the risk management system model. The research methodology

is based on the application of the risk map to the energy policy. Our results confirmed

that the risk map could be applied in the energy industry to identify the risks and to implement the

energy policy risk management system model which will prevent critical uncertainties and risk

structure, identified from the risk map as well as bring the energy industry to the future state by

implementing scenarios and strategies, developed by the World Energy Council. The research limitations

are that the main limits are concerned with the lack of the evaluation results of the energy

policy risks aimed for the system management of the changes which these risks may introduce. No

empirical study has been conducted. The application of the risk map is related in a major part to

the enterprise level with financial and technical purposes of changes. In the research we made an

attempt to develop the managerial recommendations for the regulators on how to make a transitions

of risks to opportunities of introducing and managing changes in the framework of the energy

policy risk management system model. The originality/ value of the paper consists firstly, in the innovativeness

of applying the tool of matrix forecasting to the energy sector; secondly, in providing

a supporting tool to policy-makers and managers decisions.

The European Union aspires to pursue an ambitious climate policy. The energy sector is a key tool to ensure success in this area. At the same time, excessively ambitious targets can be a serious problem for individual member states. The aim of the article is to analyze the possibilities available to the Polish energy sector in the context of the assumed EU climate neutrality goals by 2050.

The analyzed research problem concerns, in particular, two areas of strategic importance for Poland: the coal sector and the renewable energy sources sector. The role of the former should be significantly reduced in the coming decades, while the position of the latter should be substantially strengthened. The juxtaposition of these challenges with the Polish economic, social and techno- logical realities is the main subject of analysis in this text. The method of system analysis with elements of a decision-making approach will be used. This will allow for an effective analysis and review at the research level of the most important problems and challenges faced by Poland in light of the necessary adjustments to be made in order to achieve the priorities assumed by the European Union.

The hypothesis of the article is that Poland is able to effectively meet European climate targets, although the implementation of this challenge requires decisive action on the part of the government, as well as an adequate response from investors and society. To this end, appropriate actions must be undertaken at both a strategic and operational level.

Economic development is strictly dependent on access to inexpensive and reliable energy sources based on diversified primary fuels. The strategic framework for the construction of the energy mix is defined in the Energy Policy of the State, the content of which, in terms of its mandatory elements, has been specified in the Energy Law. The task of the Energy Policy of the State is to create the shape of the future power sector, including designing the most advantageous regulatory, system and technical solutions guaranteeing the appropriate level of energy security of the country, monitoring of the system’s evolution and also designing and implementing changes aimed at the optimization of the functioning mechanisms. The vision of the development of the power system at the global level should also reflect changes in the formation of dispersed civil energy structures. Unfortunately, the results of the conducted analyses reveal existing imperfections of the data acquisition and information system, which should be used in the planning process. This issue is particularly important from the perspective of the dynamically developing concept of the energy self-sufficiency of communes and the emergence of energy clusters. The present paper describes the functioning of strategic planning in the field of the electric power system with an illustration of the improperly functioning mechanisms of information transfer in the context of the advancement of dispersed civil energy structures.

The article presents selected issues from the Polish Energy Policy draft until 2040. From many issues, the authors chose the ones they considered the most revolutionary. Firstly, the National Power System should be restructured to meet the challenges of a changing environment, be adapted to the growing demand for electricity, and at the same time have the least impact on the natural environment. These goals can be achieved through reforms to reduce the importance of coal in the energy mix and the development of renewable energy sources, especially offshore wind energy. The next tasks are the development of electromobility, enabling the reduction of pollution caused by transport, and, in the longer term, after 2030, the development of nuclear energy in place of the withdrawn coal power.

The role and importance of energy security increases with the development of civilization, whose inherent element has become the demand for energy and its carriers. The article discusses the issue of cooperation in the field of energy security in Central Europe at the moment of finishing work on the North-South Corridor, which changes the existing gas architecture in the region. In order to better understand the situation in the region, the energy systems of the Visegrad Group countries, identical to the Central European region, have been analysed, according to the definition of the World Bank and OECD. Considering the historical and geopolitical connections of the Visegrad Group’s fate, it is important to create a common gas market. The physical interconnection of gas systems greatly increases energy security in this region. Moreover, thanks to the construction of LNG terminals in Poland and Croatia, it will be possible to diversify not only the routes, but also the sources of supply of this important raw material.

Natural gas plays a significant role in the energy structure of many world economies. Many of them are highly dependent on domestic resources exploitation, other on its deliveries from non-domestic directions. In Poland its importance was relatively low, but in recent years we can observe an increase of interest in this raw material. The aim of the paper is to present the role of natural gas as a primary energy carrier and to determine its impact on the sustainable development and energy security of Poland. The role of gas in the European Union restrictions and development of the domestic economy is also a point. Theoretical deliberations are focused on the most important features of the Polish natural gas market. The article presents the most important national regulations concerning the development of the gas sector in Poland. The amount of natural gas resources are shown as well as indigenous production of the fuel and imports, including the directions from which natural gas is imported. Both political and geographical aspects of the directions of natural gas acquisition are discussed. The level and potential abilities of the diversification of the natural gas supply are discussed. The importance of gas storages in underground gas repositories is underlined. The authors point to the increase in the diversification of raw materials in the structure of electricity, heat production and the transition to pro-ecological fuels.

In 2008, the European Union adopted the climate and energy package. It foresees the three most important goals to achieve by 2020 in the field of energy: 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, 20% share of energy from renewable sources in total energy consumption in the EU, 20% increase in EU energy efficiency. Therefore, individual countries were obliged to move away from fossil fuels for renewable energy production. Depending on the capabilities of each country and the development of renewable energy, various goals have been set for individual countries. For Poland, the share of RES energy in total energy consumption has been set at 15% (Directive 2009). The Polish energy policy until 2030 includes state strategies in the field of implementation of tasks and objectives in the area of energy resulting from the need to build national security and EU regulation. The challenges of the current national energy industry include increasing demand for energy and implementation of international commitments in the area of environmental and climate protection (Policy 2009). Contemporary domestic energy is characterized by a high share of fossil fuels, mainly coal, in the production of electricity and heat, and the different share of RES energy in individual technologies and energy sectors. Poland has significant natural resources, which are a source of biomass for energy purposes. Large energy units dominate in the national consumption of biomass while the share of heating plants is still insignificant (Olsztyńska 2018). The aim of the article is to analyze, based on available data and own observations of the author, the share of biomass in the national energy and heat, as well as defining factors affecting the level of biomass use in the area of Polish power industry.

The paper analyzed the natural gas sector in Ukraine for the period 2000 to 2018. This sector was affected by external factors, such as the crisis which began in late 2008/2009, as well as internal factors, including the situation in Ukraine after 2013 (the Annexation of Crimea). A comparative analysis was also conducted of the natural gas sector in European Union countries and Ukraine – compared the specificity of natural gas consumption in 2018. The analysis (I) examined the demand for natural gas in Ukraine between 2000 and 2018; (II) described changes in sources to cover Ukraine’s gas needs with a particular emphasis on its own production; (III) pointed to the fundamental changes that have occurred in the natural gas supply routes to the Ukrainian sector in recent years; (IV) stressed the growing role of own production in balancing Ukraine’s gas needs; (V) described the role of Ukraine as a transit country for Russian gas to be delivered to EU countries (in recent years, the volume of natural gas transmitted via the Ukrainian transmission system has been around 90 bcm annually); and (VI) looked at the structure of natural gas consumption in the Ukrainian gas sector and how it has changed in recent years. Unlike EU countries, the growing role of own production in balancing Ukraine’s natural gas needs was emphasized, which is consistent with the strategy of the Ukrainian government. Also, attention was drawn to the threats that may significantly reduce the role of Ukraine as an important transit country. The paper also puts forward the most important parameters concerning the underground natural gas storage facilities in Ukraine which is one of the largest in Europe.