Research background: Social and economic development involves a broad spectrum of social, economic and spatial phenomena. The multi-faceted nature of regional development arises directly from the fact that it is shaped by multiple factors. Current discourse emphasises the role of endogenous factors, which indicate the specific nature and the distinctive features of the given territory. Mobilising the endogenous potential ensures stable regional development dynamics. At the moment, one of the fundamental economic problems are the increasing differences in the development of specific regions. Purpose of the article: The purpose of this study is to assess the differentiation of the social and economic level development of Polish Voivodeships, applying the selected assessment methods for the years 2010 and 2015, draw up a rank list of regional units according to their development levels, and identify the groups of Voivodeships sharing similar development levels. The indicators used in this study, characterising the level of the social and economic development, have been systematised according to the following areas: demographics and labour market, regional entrepreneurship, local economy structure, innovation and research & development activities, technical infrastructure, social infrastructure, and the condition and protection of the natural environment. Methods: The level of the social and economic development of Polish Voivodeships was assessed using Zdzisław Hellwig’s development pattern method, which made it possible to rank them according to the level of development of Polish Voivodeship. The methodology is supplemented by Ward’s agglomerative clustering method, which made it possible to distinguish other Voivodeships according to the analysed phenomenon. The Voivodeship clustering method used Jenks' natural breaks classification method. Findings & Value added: Pursuing the research aims, the authors focused in particular on clear spatial differences. Through the analysis we were able to identify the changes in the social and economic development processes of the Polish regions. The Voivodeships were divided into groups according to their development level: the highest, high, low and the lowest.

Climate and energy policies are the key areas of the European Union’s development aspirations in the international arena. The European Green Deal sets ambitious new goals in this respect, emphasizing clean energy. The development of the energy sector, relying chiefly on renewable sources, is one of the conditions for the EU to transition to energies that do not produce waste that pollutes or is otherwise harmful to the Earth and human health. This paper assesses the development of renewable sources of energy in the EU and identifies challenges to the realization of the EU’s energy priorities. An analysis of renewable sources of energy in the EU in 2012 and 2020 is the prime method. The generation of primary energy from renewable sources, the share of energy from renewable sources in the final energy consumption, the structure of energy generation from renewable sources, and the share of energy from renewable sources in the energy used by the transport sector are discussed. Secondary data are employed, made available by Eurostat and Statistics Poland. To reach the objective of the study, Z. Hellwig’s taxonomic method is applied to assess the development of renewable energy sources (RES). Cluster analysis (Ward’s agglomerative clustering method) is additionally used for separation of objects and member states that are similar with regard to the phenomenon reviewed. Particular attention is paid to the challenges that societies and economies face in view of the assumptions of the EU’s new Green Deal, which envisages a balancing of CO2 emissions and absorption. This analysis discovers varied progress on the development of RES in the member states, posing a threat to the European community’s aspirations.

The economic development of Poland and its regions results from a complex interaction of many factors, which include regional innovation policy. The task of regional innovation policy is to identify and develop smart specialisations, which may offer an opportunity of building up sustained competitive advantage of Poland’s provinces. The identification of regional specialisations for the needs of regional policy carried out by Poland’s provinces is a complex process. It must be placed within the context of all other processes of territorial development. To formulate specialisations, it is necessary to perform a thorough analysis of regional economic structures, taking into account both resources of a given region and possibilities of generating revenue. One of the methods used to identify potential regional specialisations is the Krugman dissimilarity index. In the paper, it is employed to analyse dissimilarities between economic structures of Poland’s regions.

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