Fit for 55, ETS, CBAM and RED III in practice
Issues related to the energy transition of the chemical industry were discussed by Tomasz Duchniak, Senior Counsel and Legal Advisor at SK&S, in his presentation “Fit for 55 in practice – status and key elements of the ETS, CBAM and RED III revision”. He presented the main changes under the Fit for 55 package in areas particularly important for the chemical sector. The revision of the EU ETS means a reduction in the pool of free allowances, the extension of the system to maritime transport and the launch, from 2028, of ETS2 for buildings and road transport. This results in higher operating costs for energy-intensive companies.
Changes to CBAM were also discussed; following a review in 2025 it will apply only to importers exceeding a threshold of 50 tonnes per year. Despite this narrower quantitative scope, it maintains additional reporting obligations and a potential increase in raw material costs. The greatest regulatory complications concern the RED III Directive, whose implementation in Poland is delayed. The Directive exerts strong pressure on decarbonisation, increasing the share of renewable energy sources, developing green hydrogen and expanding reporting requirements. Overall, these measures increase the intensity of climate and environmental obligations but at the same time create new areas for investment in energy modernisation and technological transformation of the chemical industry.
The discussion was continued in the panel “The 2040 climate target and the transformation of the chemical industry”, moderated by Dr Łukasz Wyszomirski from SK&S. Participants included Łukasz Błoński from Orlen, Robert Jeszke from the Institute of Environmental Protection – National Research Institute, Piotr Mikusek from Grupa Azoty and Artur Jonczak from Getec. Experts pointed out that achieving the 2040 emission reduction target depends on the deployment of emission abatement technologies, including CCS/CCU and solutions based on biomass and direct air capture, as well as on ensuring stable and competitive energy prices and effective market protection mechanisms, including properly functioning ETS and CBAM.
Participants assessed that delivering the target will require substantial investment outlays, while access to EU and national funding remains limited, especially for companies from Central and Eastern Europe. It was noted that some EU legal requirements, such as obligations concerning RFNBO hydrogen, are practically unfeasible for Poland under current technological and cost conditions unless available flexibilities are used and the approach is revised. The need for more efficient public administration, the removal of procedural barriers and broad modernisation of the energy sector was also highlighted as a prerequisite for successful industrial transformation.
CCUS as a condition for maintaining industrial activity
Carbon capture, utilisation and storage technology was the focus of the expert discussion “From pilot projects to industrial scale – the development path of CCUS in Poland”, with the participation of Hubert Ficek, Head of the CCS Coordination Department at Orlen, and Marek Jagieła, Senior Business Development Manager in Sustainable Technology Solutions at Honeywell. The moderator was Marcin Przygudzki, Director of the Projects and Communications Division at the Polish Chamber of the Chemical Industry.
It was noted that CCUS is becoming not so much an optional, as a necessary tool for maintaining industrial activity under increasingly stringent climate policy. Projects in this area are being developed along the entire value chain, from capture through transport to storage and potential utilisation of CO2. Speakers pointed to the growing scale of such projects worldwide and their strategic importance for industry. They stressed that Poland has favourable geological conditions and potential for the development of CO2 storage infrastructure, but key barriers remain an incomplete regulatory framework, high investment costs and low levels of public acceptance. The need for urgent clarification of the legal framework, the launch of national financial support instruments to complement EU funds and broad public education was highlighted.
Energy security and regulatory simplification
The first day concluded with two expert briefings. The presentation by Przemysław Bryksa of KDCP, “Crude oil and fuels – securing the economy – regulatory requirements, facts and projections”, addressed Poland’s oil security. The speaker pointed to a critical point reached by the system: rising imports of crude oil and fuels and limited storage infrastructure are creating a structural gap between needs and capabilities. Current regulations on compulsory stocks do not reflect the scale of today’s challenges, and forecasts to 2035 indicate growing risks of insufficient security in the event of supply disruptions. Reforms of the stockholding model and investment in infrastructure are therefore necessary.
The second briefing was led by Daniel Chojnacki, Partner at DZP, in a presentation titled “Environmental simplifications in practice – what is changing in Brussels and what in Warsaw?”. He presented the main directions of environmental deregulation at EU and Polish level. He outlined the EU trend towards simplifying legislation under the Omnibus packages, including postponing the application dates of new CLP requirements, digitising information obligations and reducing the duplication of procedures. He also discussed planned changes to cosmetics and fertiliser regulations and upcoming deregulation proposals aimed at easing the burden on companies through more flexible provisions and extended transition periods. In the part devoted to the national perspective, government initiatives, business demands and key administrative barriers that continue to hamper investment and require simplification were discussed.
Action plan for European chemistry and REACH revision
The second day of the 6th Techco Forum began with the briefing “Action plan for the European chemical industry – review of milestones”, delivered by Otto Linher, Senior Expert in the REACH Unit, DG Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs at the European Commission. He presented the main assumptions of the action plan for the chemical industry, focusing on five strategic directions: strengthening the sector’s resilience, protecting the European market, ensuring energy supply and decarbonisation, lead markets and innovation, and regulatory simplification.
Linher stressed that the REACH revision must be accompanied by streamlined procedures, as the current authorisation and restriction processes are ineffective and lead to delays, making it difficult both to protect health and the environment and to run businesses. He also pointed to the excessive complexity of supply chain communication and the need to digitalise it.
The presentation introduced the roundtable “Sustainable chemistry – between protection, simplification and competitiveness of value chains”, with participants including, among others, Dr Eng. Anna Kozera-Szałkowska, Managing Director of Plastics Europe Polska, Otto Linher from the European Commission, Dr Adrianna Ogonowska from Wardyński & Partners, Dr Eng. Tomasz Olczak from Orlen, Piotr Paluch from Qemetica, Kinga Świerad from Basf Polska, Patrycja Twardochleb from PCC Rokita and Piotr Zabadała from the Ministry of Development and Technology. The moderator was Szymon Domagalski from the Advocacy and Legislation Division of PCCiP.
The discussion highlighted that the pace and scope of regulatory changes are currently not aligned with the needs and investment capacities of industry. A particular concern raised was the lack of a level playing field: EU companies bear high costs of compliance, supplier control and substance monitoring, while operators from outside the EU are not always subject to the same requirements. It was stressed that the REACH revision should preserve the existing level of health and environmental protection while at the same time helping to restore the competitiveness of European chemistry. Among the demands were the need for genuine simplifications, reduced bureaucracy, stable and unambiguous legislation and earlier disclosure of the scientific basis for planned restrictions.
Speakers underlined the importance of proportionality and uniform enforcement of regulations across the EU, as well as the need for coherent rules for chemical recycling and clear mass balance principles. It was noted that protecting the competitiveness of European industry requires partnership-based involvement of the sector and regulators from the early stages of the legislative process.
