The European Commission calls on Romania to establish a functional air quality monitoring network. The European Commission decided to send a reasoned opinion to Romania for systemically failing to monitor air pollution as required by EU legislation on ambient air quality (Directive 2004/107/EC and Directive 2008/50/EC).
Romania should have a body that regulates the ESG field (environment, social, and governance), and the ministries should prepare sustainability reports, says Călin Ionescu, CEO of Sphera Franchise Group. Although there is an obligation to publish the ESG report for all companies with over 500 employees, apart from multinationals, most do not publish it because there is no sanction.
The inspectors from the Romanian Water Administration issued fines of almost €100,000 following checks made at the ballast stations, finding that in some cases the operators were illegally exploiting tens of hectares of land. In these cases, the institutions with attributions in the field will also be notified. Controls were organized in the Argeș-Vedea, Banat, and Mureș hydrographic basins, discovering irregularities in 12 companies with profile activity.
The European Parliament supports sustainable and sustainable products, without ecological misinformation. The EP specifies that general and unproven claims related to the environment should be prohibited and that the lifetime of products should not be limited from the design stage. The European Parliament also specifies that a product should be able to work well even with spare parts and consumables manufactured by a different manufacturer.
The government approved the "Neutral Romania 2050" scenario, for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The Minister of the Environment, Tanczos Barna, says that the chosen option is a terminal through which Romania assumed that economic development will be practically decoupled from the increase in emissions.
The Minister of the Environment, Tanczos Barna, says that every day he travels with an electric car in Bucharest. He says that he supports the purchase of electric cars through the Rabla Plus Program, run by the Environment Fund Administration (AFM), and this year the authorities are considering a program that supports the purchase of electric minibusses.
The EU and Norway have established a Green Alliance to strengthen their joint climate action, environmental protection efforts, and cooperation on the clean energy and industrial transition. Both sides reiterate their commitment to their respective 2030 targets of at least 55% greenhouse gas emission reductions compared to 1990, and to achieving climate neutrality at the latest by 2050.
EU countries on Tuesday gave the final approval to the biggest revamp to date of Europe's carbon market, which is set to make it more costly to pollute and sharpen the 27-member bloc's main tool for cutting carbon dioxide emissions. The world's first major carbon trading system has since 2005 forced power plants and factories to buy permits when they emit CO2 and has cut emissions from those sectors by 43%.
Romania has committed to reducing net carbon emissions from agriculture by 51% compared to 1990 by 2050, according to the long-term strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions of Romania, carried out by the Government. Also, 5% of the energy requirement in agriculture will be provided by the manure transformed into biogas.
The European Parliament adopts new law to fight global deforestation. An area larger than the EU was lost to deforestation between 1990 and 2020, with EU consumption causing around 10% of losses. The new law is the key to the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss.
The EP adopts key laws to achieve the 2030 climate goal. Free allowances under the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) will be phased out in 2026. GHG emissions in the ETS sectors must be cut by 62% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels.
G7 ministers finish two days of meetings on Japan's climate, energy, and environmental policy. The G7 countries set the urgent need to reduce global GHG emissions by around 43 percent by 2030. The members pledged to increase offshore wind capacity by 150 GW by 2030 collectively and solar capacity to more than 1TW.
Investors prefer sustainability to be measured in the case of commercial buildings too. Therefore new detailed rules will be elaborated and a so-called green passport for properties will be introduced, international law firm Baker McKenzie and CBRE reported after a special roundtable discussion in Budapest.
The European Commission announces a new Regulation for the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure (AFIR) sets mandatory deployment targets for electric recharging and hydrogen refueling infrastructure for the road sector, for shore-side electricity supply in maritime and inland waterway ports, and for electricity supply to stationary aircraft. This is a landmark agreement that will enable the transition to zero-emission transport and contribute to our target of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030.
The European Commission on Wednesday unveiled the proposed “Directive on Green Claims,” a new set of rules requiring companies to substantiate and verify their environmental claims and labels, aimed at protecting consumers from greenwashing. Under the proposal, consumers will have more clarity, stronger reassurance that when something is sold as green, it actually is green, and better quality information to choose environment-friendly products and services.
The European Commission presented the centerpieces of a strategy on Thursday to ensure its industry can compete with the United States and China in making clean tech products and accessing raw materials required for the green transition. Global investment in the green transition is set to triple by 2030 from $1 trillion last year.
The European Parliament adopts a new carbon sink goal that increases the EU 2030 climate ambition. The new law raises the EU carbon sink target for the land use and forestry sector, which should reduce greenhouse gases in the EU in 2030 by up to 57% compared to 1990.
The European Parliament and the European Council reached a new agreement on reforming and consolidating the EU Directive on energy efficiency. The agreement sets an EU energy efficiency target of 11.7% for 2030 and requires EU member states to collectively ensure a further reduction in final and primary energy consumption.
Tichilesti City Hall in Brăila County was fined RON 20,000 (€ 4,000) by the Environmental Guard, after the commissioners discovered household waste illegally stored on an area of over 1,500 sqm. Also, a van transporting waste resulting from the dismantling of end-of-life vehicles was fined RON 15,000 (€ 3,000).
The Romanian Government approved today, at the proposal of the Ministry of Development, Public Works and Administration, new regulations for sustainable development and to reduce the seismic risk of buildings.
The Romanian Government approved an agreement for the implementation of the provisions of the Espoo Convention. A joint Commission on environmental impact assessment in a cross-border context will be established, consisting of four members for each party.
Braşov City Hall has blocked the activity of the Stejeris lime factory, which was operating in a residential area of the municipality because there are numerous petitions regarding the pollution in the area. This is the third company forced to relocate its activity, following the actions of the City Hall.
The European Parliament has approved including REPowerEU measures in national plans to be more independent from Russian fossil fuels, speed up the green transition and tackle energy poverty.
The European Parliament has approved the new CO2 emissions reduction targets for new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, part of the “Fit for 55” package.
Lidl Romania aims to contribute to the development of sustainable local agriculture by promoting organic farming and regenerative farming practices, which contribute to soil health and biodiversity conservation.
The EU has emerged as a global leader in green finance, having issued over €65 billion in NextGenerationEU (NGEU) Green Bonds since 2020.
Roeslein & Associates, a leading engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services company, announced the opening of its new European Design Center in Krakow, Poland.
The global energy transition, projected to cost €190 trillion by 2050, could see cost reductions of nearly 25% through the use of de-risking instruments.
The Romanian Ministry of Energy launched a grant program funded by the Modernization Fund.
