Poland reduces CO2 emissions

“Over the last twenty years Poland has increased its GDP several times and has stabilized the level of greenhouse effect gases emissions” was the message of the Polish Ministry of the Environment at a European Council meeting in Luxemburg on climate change ahead of an EU summit in Brussels October 28-29.

Poland’s emission curbs are the effect of actions taken to protect the environment: establishing a comprehensive financial system for the environment and adjusting Polish requirements to EU restrictions, it was noted.

The Ministry of the Environment said the biggest achievement of the meeting was giving the green light to surplus AAU quotas (CO2 emission unit in UN system) which some countries including Poland have recorded, wnp.pl reports.

The accepted provisions pertaining to AAU quotas allow developing the green investments mechanism initiated in Poland which will lead to further reduction of CO2 emissions and a permanent improvement of energy efficiency in non-ETS industry sectors. Together with a coalition of other EU member states having surplus emission rights in the UN system Poland has been fighting for strengthening their position, wnp.pl informs.

The Ministry of the Environment underlines that the European Council responded that the fact that the surplus of polluting rights granted according to the Kyoto Protocol expected in Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Estonia, Slovakia and Lithuania is not a result of an accidental crash of the economies but the outcome of a difficult and costly restructuring carried out after 1990.

Poland’s achievements in reducing carbon dioxide emissions are less the result of the bankruptcy of certain energy-consuming plants in the transformation period and more the effect of actions to fight climate change, the Minister of the Environment underlined. “I am happy with this outcome of the meeting. We were able to discuss some key matters and reach an agreement. From my point of view, acknowledging our standpoint in the debate over AAU is crucial. I consider the meeting in Luxembourg to be a great success which brings us one step closer to Copenhagen” minister Nowicki told a news conference in Warsaw.

Polish Market

ECONOMIC MONITOR

download pdf

• ● In December 2009 and January 2010, as in previous months in the second half of 2009, the Polish economy stood out against other countries in terms of GDP growth. Poland’s economic growth was higher than projected and higher than in other European countries.
read more »

• In 2009 construction output increased by 3.7%.
read more »

• Retail sales increase in most product groups.
read more »

• On the Warsaw Stock Exchange, stock prices were very volatile in January 2010.
read more »

• At the end of December 2009 the registered unemployment rate (claimant count rate) amounted to 11.9% versus 11.4% in November.
read more »

• At the end of January the president signed the 2010 budget bill into law. The bill was adopted by the parliament on December 18.
read more »

• In the fourth quarter of 2009 the Polish economy turned out to be more resistant to the global crisis than had been projected and than the economies of Polish neighbours, something which boosts optimism in forecasts for 2010 and the next years.
read more »

PODCAST

• Why do Israeli property developers pick Poland?

• New Polish president’s economic priorities

• Storm over homoerotic art show at Warsaw’s National Museum

• Poland’s new president Bronislaw Komorowski: a pragmatic, pro-business, euroenthusiast

• Poland and OECD innovation strategy

• How to make the Polish economy more innovative?

COMING UP

18th International Defence Industry Exhibition >>

Biotechnological Cracow >>

WEEKLY MARKET ANALYSIS

No macroeconomic data for the Polish economy will be published at the beginning of this week. On Friday, the National Bank of Poland (NBP) will release balance of payment estimates for July. We think that the current account deficit was EUR750 million, a figure similar to that recorded in June. Bloomberg’s consensus forecast is EUR1,004 million.

MARKET INFO