The three-day series of debates at the Katowice MCK venue featured numerous experts from Poland and around the world, business representatives, local government officials and politicians.
As every year, the program of the Congress did not lack important and most current topics related to the economy. There were many opportunities for discussions, including ones that are important from the point of view of Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa. Tomasz Cudny took part in the debate on the regulation of the European Parliament and the Council on the reduction of methane emissions.
“Thanks to the tremendous commitment of MEPs, the Ministry of State Assets and coal companies, the provisions of the proposed methane regulation have been relaxed. This is our joint success, because the draft regulation on methane emission limits from 2021 was too restrictive and virtually impossible to achieve with current technologies," stressed Tomasz Cudny, President of the JSW Management Board.
It is worth recalling that coking coal is recognized by the European Union as a strategic raw material. At the same time, the EU methane regulation is hitting mines that produce it.
“This is a decision-making duality, because on the one hand JSW is the only producer of coking coal in Europe, which is included in the EU's list of strategic raw materials, and, on the other hand, there are attempts to limit its production through the desire to introduce restrictive regulations limiting methane emissions. We spend a lot of time explaining that coal is not a homogeneous concept, that without coking coal there is no steel, and without steel there is no development of civilization. Our coal is needed by society, and those who wanted to limit its production through the provisions in the draft methane regulation seem to have forgotten this.Let's take care of what we have, because we are practically the only company in Europe that produces this raw material," Mr. Cudny pointed out.
The energy transition needs steel, and therefore coking coal - this is also one of the conclusions of the coal debate, which was attended by Sebastian Bartos, Vice-President of the JSW Management Board for Sales. He pointed out that the current situation favors coking coal.
“This is a time for coking coal like never before. We will have our place in this market. As JSW we want to be an active participant in this green transition, as we inherently are and will be on an even larger scale in the future," said Sebastian Bartos, noting that we are currently experiencing an economic revolution.
“The prospects for the coking coal producer are, have been and will be even broader than before. New technologies need steel.In fact, the elimination of CO2 is linked to the provision of electricity from renewable sources, meaning that these sources must first be created. JSW's role will be significant and crucial in this process," Mr. Bartos stressed.
The European Economic Congress is one of the largest meetings of the world of business, science and politics in this part of Europe. This year's edition featured 170 sessions with more than 1,200 panelists, 11,000 stationary participants and 650 media representatives.
