Andrzej Ancygier

A Common Renewable Energy Policy in Europe? Explaining the German-Polish Policy Non-Convergence

While the European Commission envisaged the creation of a ‘common European energy market’ by 2014, it is quite clear that the provisions of the Lisbon Treaty protecting national sovereignty over energy policies and mixes are here to stay. We have, however, seen some visible moves towards EU-wide energy governance coordination through regulation and steering bodies. What about policy convergence? While some authors argue that we are seeing policy convergence in the specific area of renewable energy (regulated by the Climate and Energy Package targets), we investigate a case of clear non-convergence: Germany and Poland. This article analyzes the different channels and mechanisms of policy diffusion and tries to explain why, despite the geographic proximity and compatibility of energy systems, Germany and Poland have so far been very different in their renewable energy policy choices. We focus on four mechanisms discussed in the political science literature: learning, emulation, competition and coercion, and show why the Polish government is largely ignoring the developments taking place in the neighboring country and following its established pattern of development in the power sector. We show the limits and potentials of each mechanism, and conclude with some policy implications for both neighboring countries.

German-Polish Cooperation in Renewables: Towards Policy Convergence?

Through the launch of its energy transition – or Energiewende – Germany became a pioneer in a very ambitious policy emphasising the rapid development of renewable energy sources. However, while its role as a renewable energy (RE) policy promoter is clearly visible outside of Europe, we see much less policy convergence in Europe itself. In the framework of the Dahrendorf Symposium we have investigated the Polish-German cooperation in the renewable RE sector, looking for traces of policy diffusion in order to understand the visible lack of policy convergence. Focusing first on the differences between the two countries and then also within them – between the different levels of governance – the paper concludes by highlighting possible policy implications on this matter.

What is a rational energy policy and who is the judge? Comments on Smyrgała’s “Fukushima and Energiewende”

ABSTRACT In this article, we respond to a number of points raised by Dominik Smyrgała in his recent piece “Fukushima and Energiewende.” We believe his piece, although timely and taking on an important topic, suffers from three important issues. Smyrgała makes selective use of statistical data and opinions, and bends some facts and the spirit of certain documents to fit his thesis. Lastly, the question he asks about the impact of a single event on an entire energy system trajectory is epistemologically very difficult to tackle and the research design he proposes does not acknowledge it – thus failing to answer the research question. We further discuss “irrationality” as a handy rhetorical device used to criticize energy policy decisions one doe snot agree with. The goal of this response is also to provide some additional information on the changes taking place in the German energy sector and deepen the understanding of this massive social, economic, and political experiment.

Energy Democratization? Societal Aspects of De-Carbonization in the German and Polish Energy Sectors

Development of renewable sources of energy has not only a significant impact on the power system but also on society. It has the potential to replace the existing conventional sources of energy with never-ending renewable sources, while at the same time empowering the consumers of electricity and leading to the democratization of the power system. What are the impacts of energy transformation on the society and on the political system, and what are the socio-political impediments for an energy transformation to take place? Finally, what kind of energy/society relations do we want to achieve as a result? Tapping into the ongoing policy debate on “energy democracy”, we try to conceptualize the societal aspects of energy transformation and renewable energy expansion. Departing from a conceptualization of energy policy that treats society not as the object but its subject, we put forth five levels of RES influence on society.

Possible ‘Contributions’ of European Energy Intensive Industries to the Global Climate Agreement

The outcome of the climate negotiations in Warsaw in November 2013 was met with disappointment: by early 2015 all countries were asked to present their initial contributions to the climate agreement to be signed in Paris that same year. This new wording was considered to be a weakening of the final agreement: instead of a clear timeframe for the presentation of the mitigation commitments, countries were asked to come up with vaguely defined initial contributions. In this article we argue that far from being a threat to an ambitious climate agreement, contributions open new possibilities of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Above all, contributions can play a significant role in reducing CO2 emissions in two sectors that are steadily increasing their share of global emissions: steel and cement. Although the consumption of these two products is predicted to increase considerably in the future, available technologies allow only a limited reduction in emissions. One of the ways to significantly limit emissions from the steel and cement sectors is to invest in Research, Development and Deployment (RD&D) of ‘breakthrough technologies’ that could bring benefits in the future. Due to the long time span between the initial investment and the results they produce, such activities can only be conducted with strong support from the governments, which could consider them as their contribution to the future climate goals.

'Inverted' Principal-Agent as a New Tool to Explain the Implementation of the European Renewable Energy Policy

The Paper tries to explain the incomplete or lacking implementation of the European directives in the member states.