Energy Policy Group

📌 Want to see the whole picture? Read the details in the report written by Ioana Vasiliu, Ana-Maria Niculicea and Luciana Miu on the EPG website: https://bit.ly/4deFF3b

🌍 Romania's Climate Future: Ambitious Goals, But Are We On Track? 🌱 National Energy and Climate Plans (NECP) are vital for advancing climate neutrality in the EU. Romania's aiming high with a 99% net emission reduction by 2050, aligning with the EU's climate goals. But is the latest NECP draft up to the challenge? EPG's recent report, Assessment of Romania's draft update NECP, identifies some key gaps: ❌ Lacks a holistic perspective and transparency. ❌ Misses enhanced objectives under key regulations. ❌ Fails in detailed sector-specific measures and renewable energy plans. ❌ Skips on critical long-term renovation strategies. ❌ No concrete support for innovation in renewable tech or climate adaptation. ❌ Overlooks impacts on social groups, health, and regional development. So, what can be done? The authors propose several recommendations: 1️⃣ Boost solar & wind targets, grid-scale storage, and smart grids. 2️⃣ Mandate heat pumps in renovations; increase renovation rates by 2% annually. 3️⃣ Upgrade airport infrastructure, create green shipping corridors, and implement low emission zones. 4️⃣ Promote afforestation, sustainable aviation fuels, and allocate R&D funds. 5️⃣ Ensure transparent governance and empower consumers. 6️⃣ Extend just transition measures and create green jobs programs. 7️⃣ Conduct a climate vulnerability analysis with performance indicators. 📝 This report was written as part of the Fostering Ambitious NECPs project, led by the Center for the Study of Democracy (Bulgaria) and funded by the European Climate Initiative (EUKI). The project, involving EPG, IBS - Institute for Structural Research (Poland), and the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture (Croatia), aims to critically assess NECPs in four Eastern European countries, provide recommendations for holistic and impactful NECPs, and to understand public perception of climate change mitigation measures—a crucial element for effective action towards net zero.

Agenda Uniunii Europene virează puternic către creșterea competitivității și industrializare. Această redefinire a priorităților europene nu înlocuiește, ci complementează obiectivele de decarbonizare și implementare cu succes a tranziției energetice și industriale. Am analizat într-un articolul în Libertatea noua agendă strategică a UE, prioritățile politice în noul mandat al Ursulei von der Leyen dar şi mult așteptatul raport al lui Mario Draghi. Care va fi rolul României în eforturile europene de stimulare a producției europene de tehnologii curate și materiale cu o amprentă redusă de carbon? https://lnkd.in/d5iVUNBv

🧊Cum răcorim locuința fără ca facturile să coste cât o vacanță? Aflați sfaturi de eficiență energetică de la Teodora Vasalca-Cimpoi în Doza de Energie a proiectului EPG România Eficientă.

♻️🔋During a regional webinar hosted by EPG under the #RENewLand project, Trinomics presented their in-depth analysis of the progress made in establishing Renewable Acceleration Areas #RRAs within three EU Member States. 📊The analysis presents case-studies of Portugal, Croatia and Czechia in their process to set up RAAs, bringing together relevant experiences of the three countries and, where appropriate, other Member States. 🔍Read the analysis on EPG’s website: https://lnkd.in/dp2F5VAz 💡Through this webinar and the presentation, RENewLand partners aimed to enhance the technical knowledge of key Bulgarian, Hungarian and Romanian stakeholders from central and local public authorities, the renewable energy sources (RES) industry, environmental NGOs, and academia. #RENewLand is a project funded by the European Climate Initiative (EUKI) and implemented by EPG together with WWF Bulgaria, WWF Magyarország, WWF-Romania and Centre for Energy Research.

Programul România Eficientă continuă. În cadrul componentei de informare și educare cu privire la eficiența energetică în clădiri, se pregătesc noi evenimente dedicate generației tinere și autorităților locale. Din punct de vedere al proiectelor de renovare energetică la standard nZEB a clădirilor unităților de învățământ public din România, au fost deja selectate următoarele două obiective care vor beneficia de investițiile oferite de OMV Petrom. Vă invităm să aflați mai multe detalii din declarația oferită de Radu Dudău, Directorul Energy Policy Group și coordonatorul programului România Eficientă.

EPG is proud to announce it participated to the second General Assembly meeting of the DelHyVEHR project, in Vernon, France, between 2nd-3rd of July, 2024. As a partner responsible with drafting the commercialization roadmap for the Large-Scale Liquid Hydrogen Refuelling Station to be developed in the project, EPG is honored to be involved in such a high-stake project, alongside well-known companies in the European engineering landscape. Also, although not directly involved, EPG is supporting the European efforts for the development of independent and competitive access to space, mainly driven by #ArianeGroup. The European Vulcain 2.1 liquid rocket engine (visible in the background) is a testimony of the high level of competence of the European space industry. It is such a privilege for us to work with and learn from the best! #DelHyVEHR, #Hydrogen, #LH2, #HorizonEurope, #Ariane6

❓Should Romania establish an independent scientific advisory body on climate change? According to EPG’s latest commentary, it should. 🟢Independent scientific advisory bodies on climate change are consultative organisations with the crucial role of advising policymakers and ensuring that the policy process is guided by the latest scientific evidence. Over the time their role has evolved also into watchdog institutions, monitoring progress towards achieving climate goals, as well as acting as a bridge between policymakers and stakeholders. Romania needs to adopt an independent scientific advisory body to partially fill the gaps in its climate governance system. 📍Read the commentary written by Ana-Maria Niculicea on EPG’s website: https://lnkd.in/dgjMW_aJ 📍Or you may read it in Romanian on InfoClima.ro: https://lnkd.in/ef8f_p9a

☀️We ended the 2024 edition of EPG’s Summer School with valuable knowledge on energy and climate policy, as well as cherished memories. The last three days of our programme, which reached its seventh edition this year, mixed theory and practice for a better understanding of the green transition. EPG would like to thank our speakers for their eagerness to share their expertise with our participants: 🙌 Many thanks to Tsvetelina Kuzmanova for her presentation on sustainable finance! 🙌 Many thanks to Alexandru-Valeriu Binig for his presentation on energy market design! 🙌 Many thanks to Adrian Joyce for his presentation on energy efficiency in buildings! 🙌 Many thanks to Alessio Pastore for his presentation on electricity grids for a secure energy transition! 🙌 Many thanks to Alexandru Muresan for his presentation on digitalisation of the energy systems! 🙌 Many thanks to Christian Egenhofer & Mihnea Catuti  for their presentation on industrial decarbonisation and carbon markets! 🙌 Many thanks to Mihai Stoica for discussing and screening his documentary, Invisible Fronteers! 🙌 Many thanks to Sebastian-Petre ENACHE for his on-the-ground presentation of reskilling and upskilling at the RESS - Renewable Energy School of Skills. 🌀🔋The Summer School participants spent their last day in Romania visiting a Monsson wind park and a storage substation, which allowed them to experience the energy transition first hand. EPG would also like to thank EFdeN for hosting the 2024 cohort for a day as well as presenting us their self-sustainable homes in Bucharest! 🎓Last but not least, thank you to all our participants for attending the summer school! Your enthusiasm and eagerness to gain knowledge made the 2024 EPG Summer School into a fantastic edition! 

🎒✅The first two days of the EPG Summer School were full of knowledge regarding renewable energy, electricity and climate, with all topics being approached from a policy perspective. What amazing debates we have had in just two days! Many thanks are in order to our lecturers. 🙌Thank you, Radu Dudau, for your presentation on Global Energy Trends! 🙌Thank you, Alexandra-Maria Bocse, for your presentation on Global Climate Change Governance! 🙌Thank you, Carolina Novac, for your presentation on Energy Governance! 🙌Thank you, Andrei Covatariu, for your presentation on EU’s Path towards Climate Neutrality! 🙌Thank you, Elena Beianu, for your presentation on Key Trends and Challenges in Wind Energy! 🙌Thank you, Aimé Boscq, for your presentation on Key Trends and Challenges in Solar Energy! 🙌Thank you, Elena Giannakopoulou, for your presentation on the Future of the European Grids! 🙌And not last, thank you Bogdan Leu, for your presentation on the Romanian Power Grid as well as the visit to a high voltage substation! 🎯Day 3 of EPG’s Summer School has just started! We’ll be back with updates.