Bogdan Tudorache

For the time being, there is no clear timetable for consultations on the Integrated National Plan in the field of Energy and Climate Change 2021-2030 (PNIESC), claims Greenpeace.

Now in project stage, the energy and climate plan 2021-2030 (PNIESC) should be sent in its final form to the European Commission by the end of the year, after internal consultations. The European forum has already issued in June a set of recommendations that penalize the lack of ambition and consistency of the plan.

“The current project does not present a concrete graph for the elimination of coal production and does not address the complicated situation of mono-industrial communities, dependent on fossil fuel processing. Delaying this approach reduces the chances of these communities (Jiu Valley, Oltenia Basin) to find alternative development solutions using European money. Also, the current project limits the renewable energy target in the energy mix to 27.9% by 2030, although the European Commission recommends a contribution of at least 34%,” says Greenpeace.

“As an interested party, we asked the Ministry of Energy for the consultation schedule for PNIESC, as well as information on organizing working groups and how to disseminate the plan to the general public. The response received confirms that there is not, at least for now, a clearly defined timetable for consulting the interested public,” says Alin Tanase, campaign coordinator at Greenpeace Romania.

The consultation process should include both dedicated meetings and the opportunity to submit written comments. The documents presented, as well as those resulting from the meetings, must be made public.

“We wish the episode from the previous consultations of the PNIESC draft, in December 2018, not to be repeated. The period for collecting observations was short, and the authorities did not take our requests into consideration. We consider that it is not enough for this essential document for Romania to be discussed only at a few events with limited participation, after the project has already been sent to the European Commission. We want to make sure that the Ministry of Energy takes these consultations seriously, gives them sufficient time and takes into account the opinions of citizens, civil society and other stakeholders. The energy future of the country and climate cannot be decided exclusively by the Ministry of Energy,” added Marian Mândru, campaign coordinator at Greenpeace Romania.