The European Commission is strongly criticizing the Romanian authorities for the draft of the Integrated National Plan for Energy and Climate Change 2023-2030 – PNIESC (revised form), according to some Commission documents. Romania has been accused of submitting the draft on October 31, 2023, three months late, leaving authorities in Brussels “with limited time to prepare their assessment” and make recommendations. The Commission is also not satisfied with the targets presented by Romania, such as those related to renewable energy, which also confirms the lack of policies and measures necessary for a green transition.

Criticism of the Commission, very briefly

• Regarding renewable energy, the PNIESC draft lacks information on the measures Romania plans to take
• There are no forecasts regarding the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon absorption
• The document lacks ambitious goals and policies for energy storage
• There are no specific goals and financial measures to support research and innovation in the field of clean energy technologies
• No specific measures on climate change and energy, nor sources of funding, are presented

Within six months, until June 30, 2024, the PNIESC must reach its final form, during which the Romanian authorities, especially the Ministry of Energy, must clarify the aspects required by the European Commission and take into account the recommendations.

The PNIESC project addresses the revised energy and climate targets recently agreed under the Fit to 55 package and the REPowerEU plan.

We will remind you that in November, Romanian energy market players were surprised to discover that the PNIESC project is on the European Commission’s website, despite the fact that the document was not publicly discussed in Romania.

Romania proposes 34% renewables by 2030, European Commission demands at least 41%

According to a document sent to the European Commission, by 2030, Romania’s goal is to achieve at least 34% of renewable energy in final gross energy consumption.

This target is not to the liking of the Commission, which requires “to raise the ambition for the share of renewable energy sources to at least 41%”. This is in the context of the European Union’s mandatory renewable energy target of at least 42.5% in 2030, and a collective effort to raise it even to 45%.

The commission also asks the Romanian authorities to develop detailed policies and measures on how they intend to increase the use of renewable energy sources. The authorities in Brussels clearly state that there is a lack of information about the measures that will be taken in the Romanian project for renewable energy.

It also calls for a long-term plan for the implementation of renewable energy technologies for the next 10 years, with a view to 2040. The Commission also asks Romania to include an indicative target for innovation in renewable energy technologies by 2030. .

Romania has not demonstrated how it will reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Regarding the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, according to the Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR), the project does not provide evidence and projections to demonstrate that Romania is on track to meet its national reduction target of 12.7% in 2030 compared to from the 2005 level.

According to Romania’s projections presented in March 2023, there is a gap of more than 17.1 percentage points, indicating the need for more ambitious action on climate change.

It is unlikely that the existing policies and measures described in the draft will be sufficient to achieve Romania’s objective under the National Land Use Plan for Land Use Change and Forest Management (LMPC).

The draft also does not clearly define the way to increase the contribution of the land sector to the global consolidated goal of the EU on climate change.

Under these conditions, in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the Commission asks Romania to establish clear additional policies and measures, including in the fields of transport, energy and agriculture. It also requests the establishment of specific measures to achieve the national LULUCF target and the identification of funding sources, including European funds.

There are no carbon capture measures and no commitment to phase out coal

The European Commission also notes that in terms of carbon capture and storage (CCS), the plan does not specify the annual CO2 emissions that can be captured, nor the geological capacity to store carbon dioxide. There are no details on the transportation of carbon dioxide.

Romania intends to phase out the use of coal in energy production, but there is no clear time frame, especially beyond 2025, or information on mine closures. Additionally, the plan contains no commitments or measures to phase out fossil fuel or energy subsidies.

The Commission asks Romania to determine the amount of carbon dioxide emissions that can be sequestered annually by 2030, including sources. It also requires details on how the captured carbon dioxide will be transported.

Energy efficiency – some good, some bad

From the point of view of energy efficiency, the project is comprehensive and informative. However, the requirements of Directive (EU) 2023/1791 on energy efficiency were only partially taken into account, especially when determining the national contribution to final energy consumption in 2030. However, they were not taken into account when reducing energy consumption in public institutions and in the repair of public buildings.

The national contribution to achieving energy efficiency goals for 2030 is 23.2 million t.e. by final energy consumption and 31.4 million t.e. by the consumption of primary energy, which corresponds to the EU goals.

However, for the buildings, the project does not involve increasing the ambitions for the long-term renovation strategy. The long-term reconstruction strategy envisages a reduction of final energy consumption by 9% by 2030 and by 65% ​​by 2050. These unchanged benchmarks for energy consumption in buildings until 2030 are not consistent with an overall increase in national energy efficiency ambitions.

The PNIESC project includes several measures that Romania intends to take to address energy efficiency in the building sector. However, data on energy savings that will be obtained as a result of the application of measures are also not presented. On the plus side, the policies and measures presented are backed up by funding sources, and in some cases there are also details of available budgets.

Romania has no clear targets for energy storage

In terms of energy security, the project sets goals and policies to improve the supply of gas, electricity and oil. In the gas sector in particular, the plan focuses on improving the transportation network, including cross-border connections, and envisages stable production by 2030. The plan envisages an increase in gas consumption after the construction of new gas-fired power plants.

In the electricity sector, the project emphasizes the promotion of renewable sources and emphasizes the importance of improving relations with neighboring countries for the flexibility of the energy system. But short-term goals for energy storage are not ambitious. The plan does not include a long-term strategy or clear storage goals.

As for the internal energy market, the plan is not ambitious in defining goals and measures related to increasing the flexibility of the energy system.

Under these conditions, the Commission requires strengthening the sustainability of the energy system, in particular by setting targets for the implementation of energy storage measures. It also requires clear targets to encourage reductions in gas consumption, as well as detailed measures to achieve these targets.

Regarding energy poverty, the project provides an overview of existing policies and measures to protect vulnerable energy consumers. However, the plan does not contain a specific target for reducing energy poverty, and the only reference to the number of energy poor households is EU statistics on income and living conditions.

There is a lack of research and innovation

The project lacks specific measures and objectives to support research and innovation in the field of clean energy technologies. The draft does not contain a specific plan for prioritization in conjunction with energy sector-specific research and innovation funding targets for 2030 and 2050.

The plan does not include information on the investments required to produce key components and equipment for clean technologies.

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