​​Investment in technologies developed by startups in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) to reduce carbon emissions increased from $10.6 million in 2013 to $398 million in 2020, according to more than $502 million in the first half of 2021 year, according to the data. to the report Net Zero Future 50 – ECE edition, conducted by PwC and Wolves Summit.

The evolution is mainly due to the increase in the number of transactions worth more than 100 million dollars in sectors such as mobility and transport, industry, production and resource management, as a result of the ambitious goals of states and, implicitly, companies to reduce carbon emissions.

More than 80% of funding in Central and Eastern Europe last year was attracted by startups from Estonia and Lithuania, and about 55% was focused on the transport and mobility sector, such as electric vehicles, micromobility and other innovative transport models. are in the focus of attention of investors and consumers.

In Romania, two startups have attracted investments in technologies aimed at reducing carbon emissions, both working in the field of construction materials.

“Tech startups in Romania need support to develop and strengthen their ability to attract funding. The pandemic, as well as limited opportunities for early-stage business expansion, have slowed down the speed of development of this sector. Joint efforts between the public and private environments are still needed to encourage the development of start-ups so that they can strengthen their ability to attract funding that will have an impact both within organizations and at the community level. For a sustainable future, and to achieve our goal of reducing carbon emissions by 55% by 2030, it is essential that all actors – companies, authorities, NGOs or entrepreneurs – benefit from resources that enable them to develop policies and services to improve the quality of life in the medium and long term,” said Dinu Bumbeca, managing partner of PwC in Romania.

Central and Eastern Europe accounts for about 3.73% of total global greenhouse gas emissions, but attracts only 0.79% of global investment in climate technologies.

According to the report, Romania has one of the lowest greenhouse gas emissions, at 3% of total emissions in Central and Eastern Europe. Between 2013 and the first half of 2021, an estimated $1.75 billion was invested in climate technologies in CEE.

Other conclusions of the report

• The technological ecosystem of climate change in Central and Eastern Europe is in its infancy.
• 50 startups were included in the analysis, mostly from Poland (14) and Estonia (13). According to the fields of activity, most of them work in agriculture and food (12), energy (10), construction (9) and industry, production and resource management (9).
• Underfunded sectors from 2013 to the first half of 2021 are agriculture and food, which attracted just over 2% of total funding, followed by energy with approximately 1.3%.
• The report included the following countries: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Mongolia, Montenegro, Republic of Moldova, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan.