Page 5 - AsiaElec Week 12 2022

AsiaElec COMMENTARY AsiaElec

pipeline gas all possible replacements. decommissioned coal plants could be upgraded
“If we want to do that in the short term, to reserve status, worth a total of 3.5 GW, of in
we’re going to have to reconsider the plans we order to maintain security of energy supply in
forged in the past. Looking at Poland’s current the winter of 2022-23 and in the following years.
legislative situation, it’s pushing us very clearly Indeed, the state secretary at the German cli-
towards more consumption of gas,” Polish Cli- mate ministry, Patrick Graichen, said this week
mate Minister Adam Guibourge-Czetwertynski that Russian aggression on Ukraine has broken
told a meeting of EU environment ministers in the narrative of gas as “a bridging technology,”
Brussels, Reuters reported. which means that more coal could be burned in
“We’re looking at that again to see how we can the short term.
reduce our dependence on gas during this tran- Yet any role for coal would risk slowing down
sitional period.” the pace of change required to boost renewables,
Coal has strong advocates in Poland. “We reduce fossil fuel consumption and pare back
have to start a real reactivation of coal extraction emissions growth in the coming years.
in Poland,” said former Polish Economy Minister Elsewhere, Belgium could extend the work-
Jerzy Markowski. ing lives of some its nuclear reactors by 10 years
However, EU Green Deal Commissioner from 2025, alongside an increase in offshore
Frans Timmermans said earlier in March that wind and solar.
although it might make sense for coal-depend-
ent states such as like Poland and Germany to Economic effects
keep burning coal for longer, rather than switch- Emissions could also suffer as global attention
ing to natural gas before converting to renewable moves from the green agenda towards stemming
energy, it would be “an incredibly stupid choice” economic decline and dealing with geopolitics
to open new mines. and security in a bid to end the war in Ukraine.
RWE has also warned that coal was still an For example, Oxford Economics cut its GDP
option, and that coal generation could replace forecasts for CEE countries by an average of 1
Russian gas percentage point (pp) for 2022 and 0.5pp for
CEO Markus Krebber said that 2023.

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