To meet its commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2050, Romania needs to focus on a few major areas such as energy, transport, industry, the residential sector and agriculture. Offsetting measures such as afforestation will also be needed. Based on a World Bank report and with the support of the World Bank, the government has started work on the Green Industrial Plan for Romania, in line with Green Deal Industrial Plan.
The document is to be finalised by mid-2025, said Florin Spătaru, State Counsellor at the Prime Minister’s Chancellery, at the high-level conference “The Romanian chemical industry’s transition path to the green economy”.
The basic concept of this initiative is based on the Green Deal concept, but also takes into account industry and the main economic sectors. There is a need for a coherent set of policies integrating all measures, which otherwise may seem like single and disparate initiatives, explained Florin Spătaru.
The plan will be structured in several chapters that will address 1. competitiveness policies, 2. efficiency of greenhouse gas emissions, 3. adoption of green technologies, 4. assessment of current legislation to prevent and combat the effects of climate change, 5. opportunities for Romanian industry, market players and potential investors, and 6. assessment of resilience in terms of finance and climate shocks.
In the coming period, a government team will collect information not only from within the government or ministries, but also with the National Statistics Institute and industry. “It is essential to identify how we produce, what the actual results are and what the levels of greenhouse gas emissions are,” argued the state councillor.
“Romania needs an engine for growth, and in the long term this cannot be consumption, but production”, Florin Spătaru stressed. In the current context, three directions appear essential: industrialisation, defence and exploitation of mineral resources. According to the State Counsellor, Romania has succeeded in putting the idea of processing raw materials on the European agenda, a concept now integrated into regulations such as the European Critical Raw Materials Act.
In addition to partnerships with third countries, Europe has the capacity to exploit, process and recover a good part of the raw materials used in production chains, Florin Spătaru said, insisting on the development potential for Romania in these sectors.