The Coming Years could be Quite Challenging for Polish Agriculture. This is Due to the European Emissions Trading System, which may Cause the Polish Agri-Food Industry to Lose Competition in the European Market to Producers from Countries with Lower Gas Emissions. Biogas Plants Offer Hope for Leveling the Playing Field, and Even Getting ahead of Competitors, while also Contributing to the Development of Energy Agriculture.
Agricultural biogas plants are just beginning their journey in our country. Currently, there are about 180 of them operating, but experts argue that Poland has the potential for many more, even several thousand such installations. It has been calculated that resources from agriculture and the agri-food industry would be sufficient to produce 8 billion m³ of biomethane, which would cover nearly half of today’s gas demand in our country. Currently, we use only a small fraction of the substrates available on farms for biogas production. This includes, among others, slurry, manure, straw, and silage.
Carbon Footprint Product Certification
It turns out that besides improving energy security by becoming independent from purchasing external resources such as natural gas, biogas plants producing electricity and biomethane can, thanks to their negative emissions, also increase the competitiveness of the Polish agri-food industry. The Agricultural Weekly reports this, while also indicating that carbon footprint certification of products can significantly reduce the impact of the livestock production sector in Poland.
– If we don’t invest in agricultural biogas and biomethane plants, we’ll have problems selling our products and getting them certified. If biogas technologies are developed, we’ll be in a privileged position because biogas produced from certain agricultural substrates has negative emissions. Such an installation will be treated under the ETS3 system as one that doesn’t cause emissions but reduces them – said Prof. Dr. Eng. Wojciech Czekała from Poznań University of Life Sciences, quoted in the Agricultural Weekly.
Poland with the Highest CO₂ Emissions in the EU
As reported by the Agricultural Weekly, in 2024 Poland, due to still generating a significant portion of its electricity from fossil fuels, had 728 grams of CO₂ equivalent per produced kWh. This was the highest result in the entire EU. In comparison, France was at the opposite end with a CO₂ equivalent of only 45 grams.
The EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) is a key EU climate policy tool aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions in industry and energy sectors. As part of the “Fit for 55” package, it is planned to launch from 2027 an expanded ETS 3 system (ETS II), which will cover fuels used in buildings and transport.
– If the ETS3 system comes into effect and products receive certificates based on carbon footprint, it won’t matter that we have clean facilities operating in a closed circuit. Electricity production with such an indicator as today will make Polish industry uncompetitive compared to other economies, which could have very unpleasant consequences. Therefore, we must take action to reduce emissions. Currently, these regulations don’t cover agriculture, but it’s better to be prepared – says Prof. Dr. Eng. Wojciech Czekała in the Agricultural Weekly.
