Adam Gula, Polish Ecological Club & Polish Foundation for Energy Efficiency

Poland was the first country in the former communist bloc, which initiated radical political and economic reforms. This is, perhaps, why our experience should be considered as instructive in the present time of historic transition in Eastern and Central Europe.

It is amusing for environmental activists, who once opposed the communist regime on the environmental grounds, to observe that it may take more time to have success stories now, than it took in some cases under the old rule or in the early, honeymoon days of the new system. For example, the campaign which led to the spectacular environmental success in 1981 which was the decision to close the aluminum plant near Krakow in southern Poland, took merely several months. The deliberations on whether the nuclear power plant project near Gdansk should be abandoned cancelled. It was easier then to have such achievements, as we all didn't like the communist heritage - and the notion of unemployment had been known only from the textbooks about the capitalist system. Moreover, recession, which may last, and fascination with the western consumption-minded life-style will hamper fast progress in near future. Therefore, it will take some time before we have new success stories after 50 years of mindless devastation of the environment by communist governments.

This is why, some campaigns or efforts, which are by no means spectacular, and which may bring results only in several time. Let me give one example. Polish industries (and economy at large) are on average 3-5 times less energy efficient when compared with the Western European standards. Since energy production in Poland is dominantly based on burning coal, this means more pollution, more burden on our shattered economy and smaller chances of economic and environmental recovery. increasing energy efficiency is, therefore, both an economic and environmental priority for Poland. To achieve this, one has first to convince the cadres of engineers, manegers and decision-makers that SAVED ENERGY is as good as PRODUCED ENERGY and that producing LESS energy can be profitable for the economy. It is not always an easy task, if one considers the 45 years of the "production-for-production" doctrine in the then communist countries.

The success story in Poland is that this work has been done, or rather, nearly done - notably due to the work of the Polish Foundation for Energy Efficiency which has persistently lobbied for accepting this new philosophy, since it has been established in April 1991. At many meetings and seminars the people who decide or influence Poland's energy policies have been mostly convinced that Integrated Resource Approach, Demand Side Management or Least Coast Planning make sense for the Country. The Polish Power Grid Company has committed itself to develop a Least" Coast Plan for the power sector. Several municipalities, notably Bielko-Biala (180,000 inhabitants) embarked on similar programs for their heating systems. When implemented and disseminated, these pilot projects will become a real success story for the whole country.