Appeal by the organizations of the chemical industry in Central and Eastern Europe regarding energy prices

Appeal by the organizations of the chemical industry in Central and Eastern Europe regarding energy prices

The chemical industry in Europe is one of the key elements of the economy. At present we are all facing challenges, related to the economic and energy crisis caused by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. A series of sanctions imposed by the European Union on Russia are forcing both the Polish and European chemical industries to face unknown challenges.
The chemical industry, as an energy-intensive sector, is severely affected by the ongoing energy crisis, which could have a serious impact on entire value chains, threatening the European - including Polish - industrial base and more broadly the availability of basic products. The products supplied by the chemical industry are not only key to the functioning of other industries, but - through their widespread use - also crucial to ensuring the security of, for example, the food security or the medical safety of society as a whole.

Proposed measures:
1. Capping energy prices as quickly as possible. The ceiling can be applied in different ways (cap inframarginal sources/subsidise natural gas price for electricity generation) and its the cost can be spread over time if necessary. The drop in energy prices will not only protect customers, but will also have a positive macroeconomic impact, as it will contribute to reducing the record caused by necessity to in crease products price due to high energy price.
2. Introducing motivational system for companies (large, medium size and small) to save natural gas by offering financial compensation in the form of auctions for voluntary reductions in consumption so that more natural gas is available for households, hospitals or schools etc. Implementation of schemes supporting short term interruptibility and demand response flexibility and critically providing support for longer term care and maintenance curtailments to increase the chance of survival of impacted operations.
3. Temporary suspension of trade with emission allowances (ETS) or capping their price to the level which does not support the dramatic increase of energy prices.
4. Approval of the program to help companies according to the temporary EU state support framework equaly over all EU, as it is a suitable additional support tool for especially small and medium-sized companies.
5. Intensification of support for the technological and climate transformation of industry, including the transition to alternative fuels. Subsidisation programmes to support investments related to energy efficiency reduction.
6. Temporary extension of the possibility to use fossil fuels (coal, fuel oil) for electricity generation. Modification of environmental rules and obligations.

Polish Chamber of Chemical Industry
Association of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industry of the Slovak Republic
Association of Chemical Industry of the Czech Republic
Hungarian Chemical Industry Association
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia