News

Adam Wawrzynowicz, Managing Partner of W&W, led Panel no. VIII entitled, “The prospects of gas as a bridging fuel in the context of the current methane strategy and EU taxonomy” during the 25th GAZTERM 2022 Conference. The topic of the panelists’ talks was the issue of the status of natural gas as a bridge fuel in the face of tightening climate policy. The talks concerned new technologies in the energy sector, financing the decarbonisation of the gas industry, barriers faced by energy companies on the way to greening their activities and the so-called EU taxonomy.

The panelists included Artur Cieślik (PGNiG SA), Krzysztof Hnatio (Tauron Polska Energia S.A.), Jakub Pokrzywniak (WKB Law Firm) and Bartłomiej Mazurkiewicz (PGNiG Ventures sp. z. o.o.).

Adam Wawrzynowicz, managing partner of W&W, has been appointed President of the Court of Arbitration at the Chamber of Commerce of the Gas Industry for a three-year term of office by a resolution of the Chamber’s Management Board.

The Court of Arbitration at the Chamber of Commerce of the Gas Industry was established as a result of the implementation of the decision of the General Meeting of Members of the Chamber of Commerce of the Gas Industry on 7 April 2009. It operates on the basis of the Statute and the Rules of Operation of the Court of Arbitration of the Chamber of Commerce of the Gas Industry. It brings together entrepreneurs and experts from various sectors, including energy, economic, civil, gas, and public procurement law.

An article by Marcel Krzanowski and Adam Wawrzynowicz was published in the March issue of “Przegląd Gazowniczy” entitled, “The European Commission has presented two important packages of legal changes regarding the gas industry”.

At the end of last year, the European Commission published long-awaited projects to decarbonise the gas sector. The presented reform provides answers to the questions posed so far about the future shape of the regulatory environment for the natural gas and hydrogen market.

The authors analyze the proposed changes presented in the article and identify areas requiring further work.

Adam Wawrzynowicz, managing partner of W&W, participated in a panel discussion during the symposium “Polish Green Deal – program for the gas industry”, which took place on January 14-16, 2022 in Zakopane. This year’s Symposium, periodically organized by the Chamber of Commerce for the Gas Industry, was devoted to the green transformation of the gas industry. Adam Wawrzynowicz introduced the participants to the assumptions of the proposed regulations for hydrogen and other renewable fuels, in particular the assumptions of the new gas package published by the European Commission in mid-December 2021.

Adam Wawrzynowicz and Marcel Krzanowski are the co-authors of an article for the December issue of ‘Przegląd Gazniczy’ entitled ” The involvement of the Chamber of Commerce for the Gas Industry in the development of the hydrogen and biogas sector”.

The authors discuss activities for the development of the biogas and biomethane sectors as well as the process for building strategy and drafting legislative change.

W&W lawyer, Marcel Krzanowski delivered a lecture on the administrative and legal options which can help in the fight against graffiti. The paper focused primarily on the difficulties faced by municipal government bodies and preservers and custodians of historic buildings in preventing and removing unwanted graffiti from the facades of private buildings. The author also cited examples of actions taken by the local government administration bodies that are responsible for policy to counteract the phenomena, and looked at solutions utilised by legislators in other countries that can serve as models in this regard. The greatest interest in the audience was aroused by the topic of cooperation between communal governments and local street artists.

W&W lawyer, Marcel Krzanowski had the opportunity to take part in the VIII National Seminar on ‘The Law for the Protection of Historic Buildings’ in Lubostroń, as organised for young scientists, doctoral students and students of Professor Jan Pruszyński. His lecture focused on the installation of photovoltaic installations by the owners of historic buildings. The issues raised by Marcel were appreciated by the organizers.

Adam Wawrzynowicz, managing partner of W&W, took part in a discussion panel during a conference running alongside the 11th edition of the EXPO-GAS Gas Technology Fair. The event took place on September 15-16, 2021.

The main topic of the conference was Green Gas and Adam Wawrzynowicz took part in a panel which focused on the technological conditions for the gas market. He, in particular, drew attention to the key legislative challenges for the development of the hydrogen market in Poland. The panelists also included: prof. Wojciech Suwała (AGH University of Science and Technology), Tobiasz Adamczewski (Forum Energii), Artur Cieślik (vice-president of PGNiG SA), prof. Andrzej Osiadacz (Warsaw University of Technology), dr hab. Grzegorz Tchorek (University of Warsaw), Dariusz Koc (KAPE National Energy Conservation Agency S.A.).

The 24th GAZTERM Conference took place from August 29 – September 1, 2021, , during which W&W’s managing partner, Adam Wawrzynowicz acted as the moderator for the discussion panel. The topics of the panel included the prospects for green gas in Poland against the background of international experiences. Planned legislative change aimed at increasing the use of renewable gas, in particular hydrogen and biomethane, were also  discussed. The panelists included, among others: Artur Cieślik (vice-president of PGNIG), prof. Jacek Dach (University of Life Sciences in Poznań), Piotr Korytkowski (President of Konin), dr Jacek Jaworski (INiG), Paweł Turowski (BBN), dr hab. Jakub Pokrzywniak (WKB) and Paweł Stańczak (Ukraine GTS Operator).

The June issue of Przegląd Gazniczy (Gas Review) published an article by Adam Wawrzynowicz and Tomasz Brzeziński entitled, ‘The prospects for natural gas as a transformative fuel in the context of the EU Taxonomy’.

One of the assumptions of the European Green Deal adopted in 2019 is to reduce the emissions of the gas sector, which is to take place, inter alia, by increasing aid for development work in the field of low-emitting gases. The criteria for investors and financial institutions to assess whether specific investments applying for financing are environmentally sustainable are indicated in the so-called “EU taxonomy”, namely Regulation (EU) 2020/852 on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment.

The article deals with the prospects for the development of natural gas in the context of the aforementioned regulation and the further EU actions announced in connection with the regulation.