Dear Colleagues,

Since the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro (1992), a campaign to stabilize the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and to stop climate change has started. The assumptions of the climate policy are implemented through a reduction in energy production from conventional sources in favor of production utilizing renewable energy sources (RES) and increasing energy efficiency.

Over time, climate policy becomes more and more stringent, which means that some countries face the need to undergo accelerated energy transformation, which often involves a complete change in their energy mix.

In that case, the change of energy mix means the maximum limitation of energy production from conventional fuels (especially as coal and lignite) directly affects the functioning of mining enterprises. These enterprises, if they do not take immediate action related to the range of activities, will completely disappear in the near future, which will have a negative impact on the socioeconomic aspect. This effect will be stronger the more the energy mix of a given country is based on conventional sources.

With the inevitable increase in consumption, the energy intensity of the economy is constantly increasing. A fair transition for mining and energy companies should impact them equally because otherwise, it will simply be liquidation, not transition of these industries.

Energy companies must look for new opportunities of increasing their revenues. Assuming a constant value of energy production from fossil fuels, their share in the energy mix will naturally decrease, and the increased energy demand will be covered by RES, which will also increase their share in the energy mix.

The question is what will happen if the energy transition, which leads to the end of fossil fuel mining, does not slow down the development of countries, whose energy mix is largely based on conventional fuels. Does that represent a just and equitable energy transition? Is it a fair energy transition from the point of view of all Central and Eastern European countries? What new business models can be implemented by energy and mining companies so that they can exist on the market in a similar dimension?

Prof. Dr. Wojciech Nowak
Dr. Arkadiusz Kustra
Guest Editors

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• Energy transition toward renewable energy sources
• Fairy transition of energy and mining firms
• Diversification of activity under energy policy
• New business models of energy and mining
• companies
• Value chains in energy sector
• Sustainable energy economy