RRI Live!

Listen to Radio Romania International Live

Romania’s 10-year plan on energy and climate

The European Commission has examined Romania's energy plan

Romania’s 10-year plan on energy and climate
Romania’s 10-year plan on energy and climate

, 27.11.2020, 14:00

The European Commission has recently sent to Bucharest
an analysis of Romania’s National Plan on Energy and Climate Change, 2021-2030.
The analysis has identified several flaws, while the Commission has offered recommendations
to that end. Romania’s plan, which has come under close scrutiny as of late,
defines the way Romania will take action in the next decade, especially in the
field of energy, against the backdrop of a global climate crisis. Having
examined several chapters, the Brussels officials criticized the authors’ lack
of ambition, since the set targets they have come up with were below the standards recommended by the
European Union, even though those standards were a little bit higher as
compared with the standards set in the previous reports. Accordingly, as
regards renewable energy, the Commission has found out Romania continued to
maintain a low-level set target, standing at 3.7%, although the country’s
potential was bigger than that. Estimates have revealed that by 2030, Romania
could have reached a renewable energy level standing at 34%. Even if the plan
details the measures targeting the increased importance of green energy in the
fields of electricity, heating and transport, the European experts have pointed
to the fact that there was no clear-cut quantification of that.


Greenpeace Romania
climate and energy campaign coordinator, Vlad Catuna:


”Romania’s strategy in the field of
energy and climate basically focuses on fossil fuels and nuclear energy,
instead of focusing on green renewable sources of energy, given that Romania,
Europe and the whole world are facing the effects of climate change. And when I
say the effects of climate change, it is not only the melting of glaciers or
the rise of ocean water level that I have in mind, but what I do have in mind
are the effects we are beginning to feel also here, in Romania. And at that,
what we have in mind are the dried-up lakes of Nuntasi and Iezer or southern
Oltenia, where desertification is in full swing, if we take into account that
we had to cope with storms and heavy downpours in the summer, or the drought we
also had to cope with. For Romania, this year was one of the droughtiest ever
to have been reported for this country. Against this backdrop, where we have to
cope with such effects, Romania must come up with an ambitious plan, where
green energy should be prioritized at the expense of dirty energy. In effect,
when coal is still mentioned in Romania’s part of the energy mix, or when we
come up with projects prioritizing natural gas extraction in the Black Sea,
that means we have a very serious problem.”


The transition to green energy is not an easy process,
nor is it a cheap one. Everybody knows ecology is expensive and proof of that
is the price of the bio products on display on shelves in specialized shops.
Romania’s great advantage is that the European Union finances these
transformations, moreover, Romania has a good potential, mainly because of its
geographic position.

Vlad Catuna:


We have a tremendous potential
in terms of wind power, mention is being made of the offshore renewable energy
potential of the Black Sea, and we can also speak about a tremendous solar
energy potential in the southern part of the country. You’re quite right when
you say: yes, we need money and the good thing is that the European Commission,
through its European Green Deal, offers Romania large sums of money for this
kind of energy transition. We want it to be one from fossil fuels straight to
the green energy. It will be very expensive and very difficult for us to go
through an intermediary transition, through a kind of transition, where
initially, we rely on gas instead of passing straight to renewable green
energies. And that, because we ‘ve got time on our hands, we have the necessary
resources, we have financing from the European Commission and we have the
potential proper to implement such an energy transition.


With respect to another chapter, that of energy
efficiency, the European Commission has found out Romania has enhanced its
level of ambition regarding the national contribution to the 2030 community
objective, as compared to the plan project, with is most welcome. However, the
contributions to the primary energy consumption and the final energy
consumption are not at all ambitious. As for the positive side, the final plan
includes useful info on buildings, pointing to the intention of going beyond a
renovation rate standing at 3 or 4%. However, according to the European
officials, Romania has not as yet come up with a long-term renovation strategy.
The Commission also mentioned the fact that it encouraged measures regarding
the energy efficiency of the heating networks. Eventually, the plan does not
offer sufficient info on the quality of air and the interaction between the
quality of air and the atmospheric emissions policy. Yet there are also
examples of good practices, mainly due to the fact that the document includes
elements of the European Green Deal for agriculture, mainly through the
promotion of ecological farming and the limited use of fertilizers. Greenpeace
Romania climate and energy campaign coordinator, Vlad Catuna, sounded upbeat
about all that, stating things will no longer be as they are at present,
because the new European Climate Law will come up with much more ambitious set
targets. Once implemented, the law will compel the Romanian authorities to step
up the energy transition process, to renounce coal and gas and invest in green
energy.


(Translation by Eugen Nasta)






—–



Gala Green Report 2024
Green Planet Friday, 25 October 2024

Gala Green Report

The Gala Green Report is an initiative that aims to recognize and reward the local merits of companies, authorities and public figures in the fight...

Gala Green Report
Photo: pixabay.com
Green Planet Friday, 27 September 2024

Via Danubiana

Work is in progress, in Romania, for an ecotourism route, meant to provide the explorer with one-of-a-kind experiences, ranging from the natural and...

Via Danubiana
Artificially widened beaches in Romania
Green Planet Friday, 26 July 2024

Artificially widened beaches in Romania

Extensive works have been carried out on the Romanian Black Sea coast in the last ten years, to widen the beaches, after they suffered a slow but...

Artificially widened beaches in Romania
The Danube falcon Photo: Emil Todorov / sursa SOR
Green Planet Friday, 31 May 2024

Artificial nests for the Danube falcon

  A number of 60 artificial nests will be placed on high voltage poles in the south of the country this year, the Romanian Ornithological...

Artificial nests for the Danube falcon
Green Planet Friday, 26 April 2024

Noise pollution in Romania

Noise has increasingly become a challenge to modern societies, one that can cause serious health issues, such as heart and circulatory diseases,...

Noise pollution in Romania
Green Planet Friday, 29 March 2024

The Sustainable ’15-minute City’

People live more and more in cities, and this must be taken seriously into account when designing and managing them. The big metropolitan areas face...

The Sustainable ’15-minute City’
Green Planet Friday, 23 February 2024

Wood as a Resource to Reduce Carbon Emissions

Romania has all the resources – forests, wood, processing capacities, specialists and schools – to enter the leading platoon of countries...

Wood as a Resource to Reduce Carbon Emissions
Green Planet Friday, 26 January 2024

International climate events in a politically difficult year

The effects of global warming are alarming and the world needs to take urgent...

International climate events in a politically difficult year

Partners

Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român
Liga Studentilor Romani din Strainatate - LSRS Liga Studentilor Romani din Strainatate - LSRS
Modernism | The Leading Romanian Art Magazine Online Modernism | The Leading Romanian Art Magazine Online
Institului European din România Institului European din România
Institutul Francez din România – Bucureşti Institutul Francez din România – Bucureşti
Muzeul Național de Artă al României Muzeul Național de Artă al României
Le petit Journal Le petit Journal
Radio Prague International Radio Prague International
Muzeul Național de Istorie a României Muzeul Național de Istorie a României
ARCUB ARCUB
Radio Canada International Radio Canada International
Muzeul Național al Satului „Dimitrie Gusti” Muzeul Național al Satului „Dimitrie Gusti”
SWI swissinfo.ch SWI swissinfo.ch
UBB Radio ONLINE UBB Radio ONLINE
Strona główna - English Section - polskieradio.pl Strona główna - English Section - polskieradio.pl
creart - Centrul de Creație Artă și Tradiție al Municipiului Bucuresti creart - Centrul de Creație Artă și Tradiție al Municipiului Bucuresti
italradio italradio
Institutul Confucius Institutul Confucius
BUCPRESS - știri din Cernăuți BUCPRESS - știri din Cernăuți

Affiliates

Euranet Plus Euranet Plus
AIB | the trade association for international broadcasters AIB | the trade association for international broadcasters
Digital Radio Mondiale Digital Radio Mondiale
News and current affairs from Germany and around the world News and current affairs from Germany and around the world
Comunità radiotelevisiva italofona Comunità radiotelevisiva italofona

Providers

RADIOCOM RADIOCOM
Zeno Media - The Everything Audio Company Zeno Media - The Everything Audio Company