Conference | COP24's contribution to the Paris Agreement | New dimension of energy security

Energy security and climate change is an inseparable but often overlooked topic that should be taken up in the discussion on energy transition. Just ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference in Katowice, The German Marshall Fund’s Warsaw Office and Forum Energii hosted an event - COP24's contribution to the Paris Agreement | New dimension of energy security. You can watch entire conference on our youtube channel. 

The beginning of our joint event with GMF was introduced by secretary of state at Polish Ministry of Environment – Mr. Michał Kurtyka, who is also a plenipotentiary for presidency of COP24. In his speech, he devoted much attention to the development of the implementation principles of the Paris Agreement - the so-called rulebook - this is one of the most important expectations for the summit that has just begun. In the coming years, these principles will be a significant impulse for energy security by regulating legal issues, and by building mutual trust among the parties to the agreement. “We need this rulebook in order to trust each other, to make sure that we are all on the same line regarding the way we see the future of our planet” – Mr. Kurtyka said.

During the first discussion panel our guests have took into consideration political implications for energy transition. A high level of attention is focused on withdrawal from the Paris Agreement by the United States.

On the other side of Atlantic, the European Union (EU) which has played a key role in the adoption and ratification of the Paris Agreement, set a plan to complete the revision of its post-2020 climate and energy policies that would go in line with its international commitments under the Paris Agreement. According to the President of Forum Energii - Joanna Maćkowiak-Pandera   next year will be very important due to the creation of national plans aimed at proposing measures limiting the impact on the climate and the environment.

In the second discussion panel our guests representing think tanks  and private sector  focused on energy transition – its implications for energy security and security of supply and made several conclusions. First of all, e the costs of renewable technologies went significantly down. Secondly, despite being variable, these energy sources do not pose a threat to power system. They are indeed a challenge, but one that modern electricity systems can overcome.

Counterintuitively, in times of climate change and for example severe draughts, even in Europe, these are thermal power plants that bring additional risks to power systems.

Susanne Nies the Corporate Affairs Manager for ENTSO-E in conclusion said that “definition of security of supply - is having many dimensions. Energy poverty has to be tackled in this context. Security of supply, sustainability and competitiveness shouldn't act against each other. Solutions are sector coupling, regional cooperation and R&D.”

The conference resulted in fact-based and solution-oriented discussions, and showed that security of supply already denotes broader issues than physical availability of energy resources. Gradually, the brunt of challenges moves towards the power sector and its resilience to climate change.

COP24, a Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), is held every year and attended by heads of governments and ministers of almost two hundred states. This year’s conference, to be held in Katowice, Poland from December 2-14th, aims at ensuring full implementation of the Paris Agreement and setting out a path that each country will decide to follow in terms of intensifying its climate protection efforts.