Post-event interview with Paul Domjan and Réka Szemerkényi

Earlier this month, Enoda’s Policy & Global Affairs team were invited to join a panel at the 2023 Economic Forum in Karpacz, Poland, hosted by Réka Szemerkényi.

Paul Domjan discussed how the green transition will impact Poland’s energy security after the war in Ukraine, and Anna Bazley moderated the panel.

Following the event, Anna sat down with Réka and Paul to delve further into the main topics of the conference.

Anna Bazley: Réka, Paul, thanks for taking the time to speak with me following your panel discussion at Karpacz earlier today. First of all, I’d love to understand how you first met?

Réka Szemerkényi: This question really takes us back to the issue that is a passion and a life-long interest to both of us: energy security. We met working in this field at a time when the challenges were really about how to “move out” of the energy yokes of the 20th century, especially visible in Central Eastern Europe’s exposure and dependence on Russian natural gas imports. We are both in the same professional interest today. Only now we face the question of how to “move in” to the 21st century and its opportunities, when one of the biggest questions is that of the green transition - again, energy security - only in a wholly new technological and geostrategic environment.

Despite working in different countries, and experiencing very different challenges, Paul and I have almost run parallel courses. I am extremely happy to be able to work with people of high professional knowledge and insight, who are not just colleagues, but also friends, and remain friends over decades.

Paul Domjan: Thank you, Réka. For me, one of the really interesting things about working with you is that both of us have been on the energy transformation journey long before it was at the forefront of global conversations.

I don’t remember when exactly we met each other, but it must have been in the early 2000s: Réka was National Security Advisor to the Hungarian Prime Minister, and I was Energy Security Advisor to the NATO Commander and both in and out of government we were part of what, at the time, was a very small European energy security policy community.

When I came to NATO from Shell, I rapidly realised how much more fragile the electricity system is than the oil and gas system, but also how the energy transition could deliver durable energy security if that fragility were addressed. At Enoda, we are finally solving that problem, and I’m grateful to have allies, like Amb Szemerkényi, who viscerally understand the importance of solving these problems.

AB: Réka, tell us why you decided to host a panel at Karpacz 2023, entitled 'How will the Green Transition Impact Poland's Energy Security'?

RS: I had been invited to speak at the Karpacz conference in a panel on CEE energy security and whether this region of the world can take a leadership role in shaping Europe’s energy policy. As I was preparing for that panel, I realised that while that is an important question, there is another one that fascinates me greatly: how the classical energy security threats (dependence on one import source), shift over to the sphere of a wholly new energy security trilemma, emerging from the green transition, and start shaping our future. I realised through discussions with Paul that we have a great group of expert friends who have valuable pieces to this puzzle. When I proposed it to the organisers, I got a very positive reaction to do a new panel on this right away.

AB: Can you summarise your key takeaway from the panel?

RS: The panel discussion was really rich in thoughts and insights. To me, maybe the key takeaway was to see how important it is to have a multi-disciplinary approach, if we want to get to meaningful solutions and a real forward-looking policy that uses all the possibilities that new technology can offer and will continue to produce.

PD: I left the panel feeling optimistic and energised about the future. We have the resources to solve the energy security problem, and I see clear commitment in Poland, as in many countries, to do so. Those resources, as Réka mentions, are interdisciplinary. In the past, we focused on natural resources for energy security. Now human resources, technology innovation and foresightful policy are equally important. The panel showed that energy security can best be assured when these different approaches reinforce one another.

AB: What are the tangible steps Poland can take to increase energy security?

RS: Poland has just closed a chapter in its history by walking a remarkable path: the country proved herself to be able to take tough decisions, commit the necessary resources, remain consistent despite all challenges, and thus to become a leader of change. This is truly impressive. But if Poland wants to remain relevant in shaping the future as well, it will have to set its eyes on the new challenges coming from the energy transition. Looking at new technologies, and finding effective and efficient ways to incorporate them into the country’s energy infrastructure will be key.  

PD: I completely agree with Réka about the challenges that Poland faces. However, I think that our panel showed that Poland is well-positioned to meet those challenges. Prof Krzysztof Bledowski reviewed the energy policies of the two main parties, and while there are differences in emphasis (top-down vs distributed) and speed of decarbonisation, the overall theme was that both parties prioritise energy security and see renewables and new technology as the route to deliver them. Whichever party wins the next election, we can expect Poland to continue to seek to make the investments that are necessary to transition and secure its energy system. One of the key steps that the next government can take will be to ensure that Polish policy continues to be technology agnostic: encouraging innovation by defining problems for technology to solve, rather than picking winners, which can stifle innovation.

AB: I’d love to take a look at the broader conference theme: New Values for the Old Continent – Europe on the Threshold of Change. What was the highlight for you both?

RS: The gathering of inspiring people, top experts and thought leaders make a conference good. It is people that define conferences - the speakers and participants, who bring in new insights, new ideas, and make great discussion, in the various panels and in the breaks. Meeting such people is the highlight for me. 

PD: Absolutely - the people are definitely the highlight, and it’s incredible to see how the event has grown over the 15 years since I first attended. As Chief Policy and Global Affairs Officer at Enoda, I spend much of my life traveling the world and engaging in fascinating dialogues with energy policymakers and thought leaders. Karpacz is truly a unique event and a real asset for Poland because it isn’t just an Economic Forum: it’s a cultural forum, an international relations forum, an energy transition forum, an urban planning forum, and much more. I wish that more countries had an event that brought together thinkers and thought leaders from such a wide variety of backgrounds. It’s this interdisciplinary interaction that makes Karpacz unique.

AB: What next steps are you looking forward to, following Karpacz?

RS: In our panel discussion I had the feeling that we really put our finger on the pulse of the future: we have started to investigate an issue that has so much to add to solving some of the most strategic challenges of the 21st century. For next steps: I want to explore in detail the issues that we have started to highlight and I want to bring these issues and even more, this way of thinking, to the top decision-makers and energy policy people of Central-Eastern Europe. They have the deepest experience of what it is to be dependent in the energy sector. But of course we must be mindful that the energy trilemma must be solved at a European level. So get ready: we need to have many more such discussions!

PD: Réka is right to highlight the importance of international coordination at a senior level in these areas. I feel that one of the biggest, and most underappreciated obstacles to international coordination in these areas is ensuring that policymakers and the wider public develop a good understand of the how energy security and energy transition challenges have changed. In the first phase of the energy transition, policy was focused on whether renewables could be scaled up cost effectively. We’ve now shown that they can be, and the scale of deployment is tremendous. However, this gives rise to a whole new set of problems around ensuring that an electricity system that was based on dispatchable fossil-fuel generation can remain stable and affordable as fossil fuels are replaced by renewables and electrification of heat and transport means that electricity will account for a much larger scale of total energy consumption. Energy security will take a very different shape in this system than it did in the old one, and international cooperation needs to be based on a strong understanding of these new challenges.