It was a pleasure to take part in the 11th edition of the #WarsawSecurityForum this week—the energy track continues to grow more impressive each year.
I had the opportunity to join a timely panel discussion on "Controlling Key Resources: Europe’s Role in the Geopolitics of the Green Transition," alongside Marc-Antoine Eyl-Mazzega, Sebastian Płóciennik, Sergey Lagodinsky, with Piotr Przybylo as moderator.
The topic couldn’t be more relevant, especially as I frequently hear the false narrative that the green transition merely shifts Europe’s dependency from imported fossil fuels to imported technologies.
From an energy security perspective, however, these dependencies are fundamentally different. Relying on technology imports—whether for solar panels or batteries—poses an economic challenge, but not an energy security risk. Not in the short term, at least. As someone aptly said: I’d much rather import solar panels every 20 years than gas every day.
Europe does face a competitiveness issue, as Mario Draghi's recent report points out. But we must acknowledge that the path to carbon neutrality will involve difficult trade-offs. Ideally, we want a rapid, cost-efficient energy transition that preserves all our industries and keeps consumers satisfied. The question remains: can we achieve it?
What’s clear is that we need to make the energy transition as cost-efficient as possible. To achieve this, our energy markets must be optimized for delivering that efficiency. One crucial step is introducing locational price signals in the electricity market. While we will get there eventually, dragging our feet will only slow the transition and increase costs for everyone.
Thanks to all for the engaging discussions. Looking forward to next year!
Michał Kurtyka Katarzyna Pisarska Dr. Markus Reichel Adam Guibourgé-Czetwertyński