The Secretariat participates in the Conference on the Polish National Policy on Natural Resources
(Picture Source: The Polish Ministry of the Environment)
On 13 June in Gdańsk, Poland, the Secretariat participated in a conference featuring high-level officers from the Polish Ministry of the Environment and the Polish Geological Institute, as well as representatives of academia and the private sector operating in the fields of geology and natural resources. A panel discussion to which a representative of the UNECE Sustainable Energy Division, Mr. Michal Drabik, was invited focused on premises of a reform of the Polish Geological Service, which is being prepared by the Polish Authorities. The Secretariat recalled the success of the International Centre of Excellence on Coal Mine Methane that was established in Poland in 2017 and operates under the auspices of the UNECE Group of Experts on Coal Mine Methane, highlighted the benefits of cooperating with UNECE, and identified a great potential for further collaboration between Poland and the Sustainable Energy Division in the fields of resource classification, coal mine methane, and geothermal energy.
There is an interest and a will on the part of the Polish Government to make the country`s system of classification of natural resources compatible with United Nations Framework Classification of resources (UNFC). There is also a potential for tightening cooperation between Poland and UNECE in the field of geothermal energy, which has recently gained much attention in the country.