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The December issue of ‘Przegląd Gazniczy’ contained an article by Adam Wawrzynowicz on green alternatives to natural gas. The text is based on the observations of the experts who took part in the SESSION II panel “The future of gas industry – biomethane” during the 7th Congress of the Polish Gas Industry.

Biomethane is considered to be a green alternative to natural gas as it is classed as a decarbonised gas, and the production of biogas and biomethane has a great potential to reduce uncontrolled methane emissions from waste disposal. Poland can offer great development opportunities for the biogas industry, especially because of the possibility of achieving the National Index Target with the use of biomethane and, in addition, because of the EU policy aimed at introducing renewable gases into gas networks.

In his speech, the representative of the W&W law firm raised the issue of natural gas as a transformative fuel on the Polish road to a low-emission economy. W&W’s portal ‘Energia.edu.pl’ was privileged to be the media sponsors of the event.

The theme of this year’s edition was the European Green Deal in Poland.

During the two days of debates, the focus of discussion was on topics considered to be a challenge for the coming years, including the implementation of offshore wind energy, Polish decarbonization, the future of green hydrogen, the development of distributed energy, the role of gas as a bridge fuel for energy transformation, and financing mechanisms for investments aimed at achieving climate neutrality.

The participants of the panel in which Adam Wawrzynowicz spoke also included: Jerzy Kwieciński (President of PGNIG SA), Artur Zawartko (Vice President of Gaz-System SA), Ireneusz Krupa (President of PSG), Piotr Zawistowski (President of TGE), Antoni Bielewicz (Director of the European Climate Foundation in Poland).

Adam Wawrzynowicz and Tomasz Brzeziński co-authored an article entitled “The current state of the initiatives taken at the EU level to increase the EU climate target for 2030 and implement the European Green Deal.” It was published in the September issue of Przegląd Gazniczy No. 3 (67).

On March 4, 2020, the European Commission, acting in line with the principles of the European Green Deal, adopted a legislative proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework to achieve climate neutrality and amending Regulation (EU) 2018/2019 (European Climate Law) . The regulation provides for an assessment of the EU’s 2030 climate target in terms of its consistency with the 2050 climate neutrality target. As a result of the assessment, the Commission will develop a plan to increase the EU’s 2030 reduction target.

Achieving climate neutrality requires coordinated action across all EU policy areas. The article deals with the most important, from the perspective of the gas industry, initiatives on how to achieve increased the climate goals in the energy sector as recently published by the European Commission. Among the most important for the transformation of the gas sector are the strategies for methane and hydrogen, for energy systems integration, and for the revision of the provisions of the Energy Taxation Directive and the RED II Directive.

From March 14, 2020, the Regulation of the Minister of Health of March 13, 2020 applies with the declaration of an epidemic threat in the territory of the Republic of Poland.

Due to the limitations introduced by this regulation, as well as due to the actual situation resulting from the global COVID-19 pandemic, all commercial enterprises will face numerous difficulties and challenges in the near future. It is worth taking measures to protect your company now. We can provide you with support immediately and invite you to contact us. Based on our many years of experience in providing services to entities from both the public and private sectors, we offer legal advisory services for a comprehensive solution to any current problems in the functioning of your company or institution as well as support in the planning and carrying out of short and long term activities, in particular in the following fields:

Restructuring and bankruptcy

We will analyze your company’s financial liquidity and the risk to your income. At the same time, we will support you in creating an action plan for managing the company during the crisis and in possible restructuring proceedings. We also provide support in building a recovery strategy and a return to liquidity after the crisis.

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We will assess contractual risks related to the introduction of an epidemic threat, in particular in terms of the possibility of an early termination of a contract. We will analyze the possibilities for maintaining the continuity of the supply chain and supply security and we will support you in the process of renegotiating and optimizing contracts.

Labor law

We provide support in the implementation of remote working rules in accordance with applicable regulations and in the development of an emergency plan for the company in the fight against coronavirus. We will analyze employer/employee contracts and help introduce changes if required. We will also assess the legality of data obtained by the employer in connection with the threat of spreading the COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic in the workplace and the compliance of data processing on employees’ health with the provisions of the protection of personal data.

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We guarantee support at every stage of the ongoing public procurement procedures – from minor practical issues, such as the manner of carrying out opening bids, to strategic decisions, e.g. relating to the cancellation of the procedure. We will analyze the needs and the admissibility of changing the concluded public procurement contracts.

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We will analyze the admissibility of changing contracts concluded as a result of the application of the competition principle and we will assess the legal consequences of introducing a state of emergency epidemic for the sustainability of the project.

More information in the section: PRAWO NAPRAWCZE.

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The hydrogen economy, the use of hydrogen in the heating and gas industry, was the subject of debates during the symposium, “Hydrogen in the Gas Infrastructure”, organized by the Chamber of Commerce of the Gas Industry in Zakopane on 24-26 January. Adam Wawrzynowicz, the managing partner of W&W, participated as a panelist in the discussion on system solutions for the use of hydrogen in the energy sector with the emphasis on the latest and planned sector regulations. During the symposium, among others, the possibilities of using hydrogen in gas, heating or transport were discussed.