The Warsaw Wire Podcast

EU climate policy nobody cared about for two decades just became political flashpoint in Poland

Conservative Law and Justice (PiS), Poland's main opposition party, is campaigning on a pledge to scrap the EU’s emissions trading system (ETS), branding it “Brussels’ cash machine.” However, most of the ETS funds that were spent under PiS’s own government were largely used to support the state budget. Just 1.3% went toward projects that would actually reduce emissions and ease costs in the long term.In this episode of The Warsaw Wire, energy reporter Patryk Strzałkowski unpacks the ETS dispute that could shape the 2027 election.

How Poland is preparing its power grid for potential war with Russia | Louisa Naks, WSJ journalist

Poland is rethinking how it protects one of its most critical systems: the national power grid. As a NATO member bordering Ukraine and a key transit hub for Western military support, Poland has become increasingly concerned about hybrid threats - from drone incursions to sabotage of infrastructure.  In this episode of The Warsaw Wire, Alicja Ptak speaks with Louisa Naks of The Wall Street Journal about her recent reporting on how Poland’s grid operator, Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne (PSE), is preparing for the possibility of war, drawing lessons from attacks on energy infrastructure in Ukraine. Watch Louisa’s documentary here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np5EmxaSEYc [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np5EmxaSEYc]

Poland enters offshore wind and is catching up faster than anyone in Europe

Poland will launch its first offshore wind farms this year, a historic step for a country that still generates more than half of its electricity from coal.The shift is not just technological but geographic: the centre of gravity of Poland’s energy system is moving from the coal-heavy south to the cleaner north, where offshore wind projects - alongside a planned nuclear plant - are set to anchor a new phase of the transition.In this episode of The Warsaw Wire, Alicja Ptak speaks with Marianna Sobkiewicz from the Polish Economic Institute (PIE) about how Poland’s offshore market compares with Western Europe, why foreign partners dominate early projects, and whether offshore wind can truly transform Poland’s economy and energy security.Poland may be 30 years late to offshore wind, but that “fashionably late” entry means it can benefit from mature European technology, experienced international partners and proven financing models. Combined with the size of its economy, this has allowed Poland to scale up faster than most of its Baltic neighbours, accounting for nearly 40% of offshore capacity auctioned in Europe last year.If you want to learn more, read Marianna's recent report on changing ownership models in offshore wind in Europe, with a particular focus on the Baltic Sea and Poland:https://pie.net.pl/morska-energetyka-wiatrowa-moze-odpowiadac-za-nawet-21-proc-produkcji-energii-elektrycznej-w-polsce-w-2040-r/

What Poland’s energy transition can learn from Nobel-winning economics

In this episode of The Warsaw Wire, host Alicja Ptak, deputy editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland, speaks with Paweł Wiejski, climate and energy expert, about how insights from the recent winners of the so-called “Nobel Prize in economics” can be applied to Poland’s shift away from coal.Drawing on the work of economists Philippe Aghion, Peter Howitt and Joel Mokyr, the conversation explores why innovation, institutions and creative destruction matter so much for Poland's energy future.To learn more, read Paweł's recent article for Instytut Zielonej Gospodarki (Green Economy Institute) on the subject:https://www.izg.org.pl/instytucje-innowacje-nobel-transformacja/Other articles featured in the video:https://notesfrompoland.com/2025/12/15/polands-president-signs-bill-facilitating-coal-mine-closures-and-compensation-for-miners/https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/eu-relent-combustion-engines-ban-after-auto-industry-pressure-2025-12-16/https://notesfrompoland.com/2021/05/31/polish-government-and-miners-reach-coal-phaseout-deal-but-doubts-remain-over-eu-approval/Thumbnail image credit: Greenpeace Polska/Flickr.com (CC BY-ND 2.0), Daniel Eliashevsky/Pexels, Easy-Peasy.AI, Collage created by Alicja Ptak

FT journalist Raphael Minder explains his reporting on one of Poland’s fastest-rising cities

Poland is undergoing one of the most dynamic economic transformations in Europe. Ten of the EU’s 20 fastest-growing cities of the past 15 years are in Poland. Among them: Katowice. Located in the country’s south and long associated with coal and heavy industry, Katowice has rapidly reinvented itself as a hub for technology, gaming, and foreign investment, a shift increasingly recognised by international outlets, including the Financial Times. In this episode, we speak with the FT’s Central Europe correspondent, Raphael Minder, about why he chose to focus on Katowice’s transition in his recent story, what he learned while during his reporting , and how the city’s evolution reflects broader trends in Poland’s economy and energy transition. We also explore: Why Katowice stood out among Poland’s fastest-growing cities * His first visit to Katowice under the communist regime, and how the city has changed since * The new gaming and tech hub rising in former coal mines * Poland’s economic strengths, talent pool, and demographic challenges * How political continuity (or lack of it) shapes long-term development You can read Raphael's story here: https://www.ft.com/content/6c28ddd1-0326-4b93-8214-e62ae57643af