Agnieszka Skorupińska has joined the partner group at Baker McKenzie law firm and will be heading the sustainable development and energy transformation practice at the firm’s Warsaw office. This expansion of the firm’s team responds to the ongoing changes in the market and the needs of clients, who are seeking comprehensive support in matters of energy transformation and a broad spectrum of changes aimed at decarbonizing business and meeting requirements in areas such as the regulation of the circular economy and ESG reporting.
Agnieszka Skorupińska specializes in providing legal advice in project development for energy, industrial, and infrastructure projects. She is an expert in advisory services for the energy sector, environmental protection law, natural resources, and ESG regulations. She helps entrepreneurs in formulating and implementing decarbonization plans and achieving sustainable development objectives, and also in adapting their operations to other requirements arising from the European Green Deal, including those relating to the circular economy.
Agnieszka Skorupińska advises on the regulatory aspects of M&A/PE transactions and direct greenfield investments, focusing on sectors that are particularly environmentally demanding – energy, chemical, construction, food, packaging manufacturing, and waste disposal. She also represents clients in administrative and court proceedings in these areas. She helps implement fully sustainable development reporting regulations.
Sunny Mann, a partner from Baker McKenzie’s London office and head of the firm’s global International, Commercial and Trade practice, said, “Agnieszka Skorupińska’s unique combination of knowledge in energy, projects, and environmental protection law is exactly what our clients need to navigate the complex network of global regulations of the circular economy and implement energy transformation. Her joining the team emphasizes the firm’s global commitment to attracting outstanding talent to meet the growing demand for the implementation of decarbonization strategies and meeting increasingly complex regulatory requirements in the energy sector.”
The Vice-Chairwoman of the ESG Committee at the National Chamber of Commerce and a recently led Working Group on Taxonomy Application at the Ministry of Development and Technology, Agnieszka Skorupińska has actively participated in shaping sustainable development policy in Poland.
In 2023, Poland produced 163 TWh of energy, while consumption was around 168 TWh. Experts predict that by 2040, energy demand will increase to 215-231 TWh. According to ambitious forecasts by the Ministry of Climate and Environment, the share of coal in electricity production is expected to drop to 1% in 2040 from about 70% in 2020.
The rising demand for electricity in Poland requires a radical restructuring of electricity generation. It will be necessary to move away from fossil fuels toward zero and low-emission energy sources. Natural gas will play the role of transition fuel, but its significance may also continue after 2040.
The increase in renewable energy sources is supposed to be achieved through investments in wind, photovoltaic, nuclear, and gas power plants. The growing share of uncontrollable renewable sources such as wind and photovoltaic poses challenges to the power system, requiring expansion and adaptation of infrastructure and the use of stabilizing technologies such as energy storage, peak-pump power plants, nuclear, and gas.
Investment costs in the electricity sector could reach hundreds of billions of zlotys, of which 320-340 billion PLN relates to investment in electricity generation alone. The most advanced nuclear project is the construction of a power plant in Choczewo by PEJ in cooperation with the Westinghouse-Bechtel consortium, with the planned launch of the first block in 2035. The cost of the investment is at least 150 billion PLN.
Source: https://managerplus.pl/agnieszka-skorupinska-pokieruje-praktyka-zrownowazonego-rozwoju-i-transformacji-energetycznej-w-baker-mckenzie-84050