Energy poverty is a problem that affects all member states of the European Union to a varying degree, including Poland, where about 9% of the population is at risk of energy poverty. The article aims to show the changes in energy poverty in Poland in 2010–2018. The specific goal, however, is to evaluate government measures aimed at reducing energy poverty through investments based on renewable energy sources. To present changes in the level of energy poverty in 2010–2018, the authors proposed a new synthetic measure that unifies several different measures used by researchers and allows for a comprehensive assessment of this phenomenon. The conducted research showed that in 2010–2018 there was a slow but visible decrease in the level of energy poverty in Poland. In addition, the article indicates investments in renewable energy sources that may have a positive impact on reducing the scale of energy poverty in Poland. The programs implemented with national and EU public funds, which finance investments in renewable energy sources in Poland, are also presented.

Article concerns economic and energy efficiency of agriculture in European Union countries. The study period concerned 2016. For analysis and presentation of materials, descriptive, tabular and graphic methods and the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method – CCR (Charnes, Cooper and Rhodes) model focused on input-oriented minimisation were used. An assessment of the socio-economic development of the EU countries was made using the following measures: Human Development Index (HDI) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita (USD per inhabitant). Modern agriculture depends on industrial energy sources and as the socio-economic development changes into more and more energy-intensive production technologies. After presenting the introduction and review of the literature, the economic and energy efficiency of agriculture in the EU countries in 2016 was examined, which was at a high level – the DEA reached 0.67. Then, the correlation between the socio-economic development of countries and their economic and energy efficiency was analysed. It was also found that along with socio-economic development in the EU countries, the economic and energy efficiency of agriculture is increasing.

Organic farming is one of the basic elements of constant and sustainable development of rural areas. It is the highest form of protection of the natural environment in the field of agriculture. The aim of the article is to present the development of organic farming in Poland, which became particularly important after joining the European Union. Poland strives to increase this type of production, the more so because it has considerable predispositions and favourable conditions. Organic farming in Poland shows quite large regional variations, resulting largely from natural conditions. The largest number of organic farms in 2016 occurred in the Warmińsko-Mazurskie and Podlaskie Voivodeships, and the smallest in the Opolskie and Śląskie Voivodships. The analysis uses data from the Central Statistical Office (GUS) and the Main Inspectorate of Agricultural and Food Quality (GIJHARS).

Climate change and negative environmental effects are results of a simplified understanding of management processes, i.e., assuming economic effects as the basis for development, without taking into account external costs. Economically efficient facilities are not always environmentally efficient. Due to the existing conflict of economic and environmental goals, it seems necessary to look for measures that would include both economic and environmental elements in their structure. The above doubts were the main reasons for undertaking this research. One of the important sectors of the economy accepted for research, where energy is an essential factor of production, is agriculture. Agricultural production is very diversified both in terms of inputs and final products. Depending on the production direction, the processes of conversion of energy accumulated in inputs into energy accumulated in commodity products have different natures and relationships. Taking into account the importance of agriculture in the national economy and the current environmental needs of the world, the types of farms generating energy surplus and those in which the surplus is the least cost-consuming were indicated. The research used the economic and energy efficiency index, which makes it possible to jointly assess technical and economic efficiency. Assuming the need to produce food with low energy consumption and a positive energy balance, it is reasonable to develop a support system for those farms showing the highest economic and energy efficiency indicators.

This article aimed to identify actions to improve energy efficiency in households. A household’s energy efficiency is aimed at obtaining the same or more services with lower energy input. The article presents energy consumption in households in Poland according to Statistics Poland and then discusses the results of the survey, where respondents were asked how they improve their energy efficiency. Improving households’ energy efficiency has gained importance due to increased energy prices in recent years. The most common methods of improving energy efficiency in a household include energy-saving devices and LED lighting, thermal modernization of the building, replacement of the heating system, and changing habits. The results were presented using the documentation and comparative methods. The article uses data from Statistics Poland and surveys conducted among 1112 representatives of households in Poland.