Europe sought to increase the flow of money into businesses that tackle climate change on Tuesday with the publication of European Commission guidelines on what qualifies an investment as environmentally friendly.
The European Union has agreed to substantial reductions of carbon emissions by 2030 and its executive wants the bloc to reduce them to zero by 2050 to help stop global warming, the rise of average worldwide temperatures, euronews.com informs.
In order to cut emissions by 2030, many sectors of the economy, such as manufacturing or energy, need an additional annual investment of EUR 180 billion and even more is needed to achieve zero emissions by 2050.
The Commission said the purpose of its 414-page report was to generate more investments or redirect existing funds and to help reach the emissions targets.
EC recommendations for Romania
The EC recommendation for Romania, issued on June 18, 2019 on the draft integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) of Romania covering the period 2021-2030. According to the European Commission report, Romania is to take action to:
- Significantly raise the level of ambition for 2030 to a renewable share of at least 34 % as Romania’s contribution to the Union’s 2030 target for renewable energy;
- Put forward detailed and quantified policies and measures that are in line with the obligations laid down in Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and Council8, to enable a timely and cost-effective achievement of this contribution;
- put in place measures to simplify the licensing and permitting procedures and provide additional details on the enabling frameworks for renewable self-consumption and renewable energy communities;
- Substantially increase the ambition for reducing both final and primary energy consumption in 2030 in view of the need to increase the level of efforts to reach the Union’s 2030 energy efficiency target;
- Specify the measures supporting the energy security objectives on diversification and reduction of energy dependency, in particular measures ensuring flexibility and a robust gas diversification strategy including relevant underlying infrastructure projects and the elimination of the undue restrictions to investments in gas production considering the regional potential of the reserves in the Black Sea;
- Define forward-looking objectives and targets concerning market integration, in particular measures to develop liquid and competitive wholesale and retail markets, both by fostering competition within the country and by eliminating barriers to cross-border trade, including export restrictions. Address the negative impact of wholesale price regulation and provide a clear outlook to ensure compliance of national legislation with Union law;
- Clarify the national objectives and funding targets in research, innovation and competitiveness, specifically related to the Energy Union, to be achieved between 2020 and 2030;
- Intensify regional cooperation with neighbouring Member States and within established regional cooperation frameworks such as the Central and South-Eastern Europe Energy Connectivity (CESEC) High Level Group including in gas and electricity infrastructure, renewables, energy efficiency and research, innovation and competitiveness, and taking into account common challenges and shared objectives;
- Extend its analysis of investment needs and risks provided for its Energy Strategy objectives, to a general overview of investment needs to reach the objectives of its integrated national energy and climate plan;
- List all energy subsidies, including in particular for fossil fuels, and actions undertaken as well as plans to phase them out;
- Include an analysis of the interactions with air quality and air emissions policy with the required information about the projected air pollutants emissions under the planned policies and measures;
- Integrate just and fair transition aspects better, notably by considering social and employment impacts, listing more concrete measures and timeframes to address energy poverty, as required by the Regulation (EU) 2018/1999. (excerpts from the EC report)