The EIB's and EBRD's role in changing the Polish energy market

The Polish energy market is at a crossroads. While over 90% of electricity is produced from coal, two thirds of the installed coal capacity is older than 30 years and one third is almost 40 years old. Huge investments in energy capacity are needed in order to maintain the current levels of energy generation and to meet the requirements of the EU's climate and environmental legislation.

That need provides a great opportunity to channel investments to support the EU's climate and energy policy and a transition towards energy efficient energy production based on renewable energies. The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) can play a crucial role in this process: They can shape this change by providing financial assistance to energy efficiency projects and renewable energy sources and by refraining from financing fossil fuel projects. This is especially relevant given that the cost of the required investments in the Polish energy infrastructure is in the range of 28 to 50 billion euros.

Update: The EBRD confirmed during later meetings that it will not finance any coal project in Poland.

More information on the Polish coal projects can be found here.