Romania’s Pathway to Climate Neutrality: Online Networking Event for Discussing Challenges and Opportunities
by Sofia Shabafrouz, GIZ/EUKI
As a member state of the European Union (EU), Romania aims to become climate neutral by 2050. But concrete plans on how decarbonisation will be achieved by mid-century are yet to be published by the country’s government in its long-term strategy (LTS) which is still pending.
Since the initial deadline of 1 January 2020, several key events have unfolded and a number of EU-level strategies have emerged: The European Green Deal and the Fit for 55 package have brought forth a whole new level of ambition for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction, while REPowerEU will accelerate the pace of the climate transition in the short to medium term, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Political commitments are not enough – the structural change that comes with the energy transition requires rigorous, evidence-based planning, a robust governance framework, dialogue, and cross-border collaboration between all stakeholders involved.
To facilitate exchange, the EUKI Academy is organising a high-level networking event for all Romanian EUKI projects, German and other European partners, and interested members of the public. It will be hosted by EUKI project partner Energy Policy Group (EPG), an independent, non-profit think-tank based in Bucharest that specialises in energy and climate policy, market analytics and energy strategy. The public online event, entitled ‘Romania’s pathway to climate neutrality’, will take place on Thursday, 23 March from 10:00 – 11:20 am CET. The programme will provide opportunity for dialogue between high-level Romanian, German and European Commission authorities and representatives of Romanian civil society. This will be followed by a meeting of members of the Romanian EUKI Community.
Kick-starting a public dialogue
The main purpose of the networking event is to kick-start a public dialogue on the steps Romania needs to take on the way to achieving climate neutrality. Representatives of civil society will have the chance not only to ask questions and make comments, but also to address the authorities and share their positions and recommendations with them.
The first part of the event involves a panel discussion open to the public, preceded by some brief welcoming addresses and introductory remarks on the topic by representatives of the EPG, the German Embassy in Bucharest, and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK). The discussion will encourage multiple viewpoints and discourse on the challenges and opportunities encountered. It will be followed by a question-and-answer session with the public.
See the list of speakers here and register for this event.
Strengthening cooperation between organisations
The second part of the event consists of a workshop for the Romanian EUKI Community, with the goal of identifying areas of common interest and synergies between ongoing EUKI projects and sharing and developing ideas for the envisaged implementation of Romania’s LTS. Moreover, it should lead to the preparation of a short statement setting out the community’s positions and recommendations on key issues that need to be addressed for Romania to achieve its climate goals. After introducing their work, the EUKI projects will come together in breakout rooms for discussions on different topics, facilitated in each case by an EPG moderator.
Read a summary by EPG here.