Abstract
Currently, Poland has been facing a process of intensive changes in the energy sector, motivated by the strengthening of the goals of the climate and energy policy at the European level. A key challenge for energy transition in Poland is to build an energy system that corresponds with social needs not only in terms of energy demand, but also environmental protection, with a strong role of local initiatives. The aim of this study is to present the expectations of the Poles regarding the optimal energy mix, especially representatives of local governments, and their awareness of the needs and expectations of their local communities. According to the authors, local governments are extremely important links, responsible for the development of the energy economy and energy security at the local level. The authors set themselves the task of verifying whether local authorities are prepared to create a substantive energy policy at the local level in accordance with the directions of the Polish energy policy and on the basis of local conditions, including the opinions of the inhabitants of a given region. The objective of this work was achieved by reviewing the available sources and the adopted survey method. A review of the literature, in particular in terms of the conducted research on the social acceptance in terms of energy policy, showed that there are no comprehensive surveys of the opinions of local government representatives. The results of study conducted by the authors showed that although the vast majority of respondents know the assumptions of the Polish energy policy until 2030, almost a quarter did not realize that the energy policy will be changed in the near future. At the same time, the vast majority of respondents believe that the Polish government should prepare a social campaign related to the energy policy. According to the authors, this proves the need to improve the awareness of this research group, which may bring benefits in the process of shaping the energy economy of the regions. The survey also showed preferences of the representatives of local governments for the optimal energy mix in Poland and their subjective assessment of the knowledge of public opinion in the region on the expected shape of the energy policy. From the findings, it can be concluded that more in-depth research is needed on the preparation of local governments to shape energy policy at the local level, including more detailed research on how opinions of the inhabitants of a given region and the specificity of a given region are taken into account while shaping local energy policy.
Highlights
The transformation of the Polish energy sector has become a reality due to the need to keep pace with the path set out by the European Union’s climate and energy policy, and through support of society, which has created an impulse of initiatives and measures aimed primarily at increasing energy security at the local level and reducing the environmental pressures of the energy sector
Both the Polish government and its citizens recognize the need to change the structure of power generation in Poland, and the path taken by the recently adopted draft Energy Policy of Poland until 2040 coincides with the expectations of Poles
The authors made an attempt to check the development of the energy sector in Poland and verify the public opinion on the energy policy implemented in Poland
Summary
The transformation of the Polish energy sector has become a reality due to the need to keep pace with the path set out by the European Union’s climate and energy policy, and through support of society, which has created an impulse of initiatives and measures aimed primarily at increasing energy security at the local level and reducing the environmental pressures of the energy sector. An important reason for the growing interest of local communities in the energy sector is the increasing environmental awareness. The European Commission’s 2014 study showed that most respondents associate the quality of their lives with the state of the environment and believe that environmental problems have a direct impact on their lives. People watch their governments more closely as regards their actions related to the energy sector, expressing their opinion and taking action in support of central action [1]. Poland faces the risk of missing capacity, which may result in capacity shortages and difficulties in meeting a growing demand for energy [4]
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