Webinar: 2025 - the most important year for Polish LPG?

In his introduction, Bartosz Kwiatkowski, Director General of POGP, presented the external context of events that will affect the Polish LPG sector in the coming years. The market is facing a series of planned regulatory changes as a consequence of the implementation of the European Green Deal policy strategy, which was intended to give the European Union a new identity and transform it "into a fair and prosperous society living in a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy that will achieve zero net greenhouse gas emissions in 2050 and in which economic growth will be decoupled from the use of natural resources. (...) The [Green Deal] also aims to protect, preserve and enhance the EU's natural capital and protect the health and well-being of its citizens from environmental risks and negative impacts."

The Russian invasion of Ukraine was a reminder of the neglected aspect of energy security in the Union's energy policy. The 2022 energy crisis and subsequent sanctions imposed on Russian energy carriers have increased the burden on EU citizens. Now, against the backdrop of rising costs of living for Europeans, including an increase in the percentage of EU27 citizens who say they can't afford thermal comfort for their homes, member governments are beginning to realize the political cost of a too rapid energy transition directly affecting citizens. There will be European elections in 2024, which are likely to bring another different composition of the European Parliament, more conservative and more cautious about the pace of the transition, and in the first half of 2025. Poland will assume the presidency of the Council of the European Union.

There are important changes ahead for the LPG sector, including in particular:

• To include the transport (autogas) and district heating sectors in the emissions trading system, as well as obligations to monitor and report_CO2 emissions;
• Implementation of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, which will bring new conditions for newly constructed residential buildings, and the new Ecodesign and Energy Labeling Regulation, which will tighten seasonal efficiency requirements for boilers.

Many of the planned laws are still under negotiation, but there is still time to influence the shape of their implementation. In 2025, we will know all the major decisions on the future of the LPG market in Europe.

Against the backdrop of the ongoing war in Ukraine, the future of energy imports from Russia remains unclear.

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In the second part of the event, Bartek Lachowski, project manager of the European LPG Congress at Liquid Gas Europe - the European LPG association - presented a model of the event, which will be held in Poland in 2025. The European LPG Congress is the largest industry event in Europe, comparable in scale to global LPG Week. The congress is held in a different European country each year - after the lifting of epidemic restrictions in 2022, it was held in Barcelona, where 100 companies and 1,400 guests showed up. In November 2023 in Rome, the Congress will be held jointly with LPG Week, organized by the World LPG Association, in 2024. - in a new and improved format, taking into account exhibitor requests - in Lyon, France, and in 2025 the event will come to Poland.

In the coming weeks, Liquid Gas Europe will announce which Polish city will be given the privilege of hosting the Congress. Importantly, however, representatives of the liquid gas industry will descend on Poland in the spring of 2025, at a time when the Polish government will have the tools to shape the agenda of the Council of the European Union. Never before has the Polish LPG industry had such exposure, which is why the Polish LPG Organization will support Liquid Gas Europe so that Polish companies get the best possible platform to showcase their competencies. POGP hopes that the Polish administration will join our efforts.

Bartek Lachowski briefly presented models of cooperation with Congress organizers and encouraged participants to contact him about the upcoming Congress.

All interested parties, including those who were unable to attend the live webinar, are invited to view the recording on POGP's Youtube channel.

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