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The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by world leaders at the United Nations on 25 September 2015, sets out an ambitious action plan to improve the lives of people everywhere. On 14 February 2017, the Polish government adopted its Strategy for Responsible Development, which sets out over 700 actions to increase the income of Polish citizens and strengthen social, economic, environmental and territorial cohesion within the country. With its Strategy for Responsible Development, Poland has taken an important first step towards tackling all these issues. But achieving the SDGs will be a long journey with many hurdles, during which Poland will regularly have to adapt its strategies, actions plans and policy measures and refresh the commitment of all stakeholders. Exchanging experiences with other countries throughout the process on what works and what doesn’t can help the country successfully navigate this journey.

This report looks at the state of health in Poland.

As coastal area on the Baltic Sea in north-central Poland, Pomorskie faces unique challenges and opportunities associated with the transition to a green economy, a diversified economy, growing population and significant natural resources. This report focuses on the sustainable development of the oceans and coastlines surrounding the region, known as the blue economy. Based on an OECD survey designed to capture the needs and perceptions of local employers (mostly of small- and medium-sized enterprises [SME]), this report analyses the specific skills needed to support green growth in Pomorskie, and how related labour market and training programmes can be made more effective in supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy.  

This report presents evidence-based analysis on Poland’s higher education transformation process towards an innovative, interconnected and multidisciplinary entrepreneurial system, designed to empower its students and staff to demonstrate enterprise, innovation and creativity in teaching, research and societal engagement. Using the OECD-European Commission HEInnovate guidance for the entrepreneurial and innovative higher education institution, the report assesses strategies and practices for entrepreneurship and innovation in Poland’s higher education institutions and the systemic support provided by government. Higher education institutions play a critical role in Poland’s economy and innovation system, which is based on a strong and growing engagement agenda with industry and local communities, the emergence of new learning environments and strong multidisciplinary research teams. This report offers practical recommendations on how Poland can enhance and sustain the outcomes.

Coal dominates the power sector of Poland, where it is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions as well as a major employer. Whether coal continues to fuel the economy over the longer term will be one of the central issues addressed in an update to Poland’s long-term energy strategy, which is expected in 2017. The country’s new energy plan will prioritise long-term energy security, placing a strong emphasis on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, increasing energy efficiency and decarbonising the transport system. Nuclear power could play a significant role in the country’s energy supply. While the country has experienced strong growth in renewable energy over the past decade, the future looks uncertain. Given these possible changes, the new energy strategy will require significant investments to reduce the share of carbon-intensive power plants and increase the share of low-carbon energy. While Polish energy infrastructure has been modernised, further investments are needed to strengthen integration with neighbouring markets. In this context, this latest IEA review of the energy policies of Poland examines the present landscape and makes recommendations for further improvements – recommendations that are intended to guide the country towards a more secure and sustainable energy future.

The OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) conducts periodic reviews of the individual development co-operation efforts of DAC members. The policies and programmes of each member are critically examined approximately once every five years. This review assesses the performance of Poland, not just that of its development co-operation agency, and examines both policy and implementation. It takes an integrated, system-wide perspective on the development co-operation and humanitarian assistance activities of Poland.