Laudable Intentions, Parochial Thinking: Climate Change, Global Warming and Clean Energy Concerns in Investment Decisions Regarding Renewable Energy Projects in Poland

Abstract

The issue of renewable energy is an important one in Poland. The Polish economy heavily relies on coal. Polish cities are among the most polluted in Europe. Therefore, there is a considerable societal support for renewable energy projects. Some people, however, keep having objections, e.g. to windfarms. This paper analyzes social costs and benefits identified by representatives of municipalities in whose territories renewable energy investments have been carried out and by representatives of companies investing in renewable energy projects. The data come from a series of surveys conducted in the period of 2013-18. It has been found out that municipalities and companies significantly differ in their identification of the key social costs and benefits related to renewable energy projects. They are alike in one aspect: such problems like climate change, global warming, energy security, air pollution, energy diversification, etc. are replaced in their thinking by more parochial concerns of land price shifts, social tensions, and others. The article finishes with discussion of reasons explaining why the Poles declare to be staunchly pro-environmental in general and at the same time turn out to be benefit-seeking when asked about particular solutions.

Keywords

• renewable energy investments
• social cost-benefit analysis
• local and global concerns about renewable energy projects
• wind energy projects in poland