E N E R G Y
For years, Romanian natural resources have been systematically exploited for the sake of promoting an industrial development with no regard to limits and costs in terms of environmental damage. The former governmental regime developed a highly industrialized economy, based on energy intensive industries, leading to high levels of energy consumption per unit of GDP. Even now, while this situation is readily acknowledged, the solutions generally focus on increasing production output rather than promoting energy conservation principles. As a consequence Romania has reached considerably high levels of energy intensity - at least twice as much as in the OECD countries - which contributes greatly to the environmental pollution in Romania.
This project identifies the current energy use status as well as the needs and opportunities for advancing energy efficiency, essentially creating a matrix for matching problems, solutions and funds. A team of Romanian and international experts in environmental economics, legislation and energy efficiency issues, under the management of REC Romania, conducted a six-month study among 500 actors in Romania including industry and consulting companies; the research and academic sector, environmental protection agencies; NGOs; donors and investors.
The resulting study is structured in three parts, the first one offering basic country information concerning geography, economy, administration, history and energy status, as well as details on the key actors, existing programs and policy instruments and the current legal framework. The second part is an investigation by sectors, including an analysis of the needs and opportunities as they were expressed by each target group. Finally, the third part reveals the main barriers to energy efficiency financing and concludes by offering recommendations to potential investors.
By establishing a baseline for future improvements in energy conservation and combining the viewpoints of a range of stakeholders, the study represents an important step in promoting energy efficiency in Romania.
The situation proved to differ from one sector to another. Within the private sector, most industries are not interested in research and development programs, but are rather oriented toward hardware investment and still favor government subsidies. Managers for the most part are not able to assess their interests correctly because they are not aware of existing opportunities. Current national technical curriculum does not adequately cover the most recent innovations and development and therefore training activities on energy management and financing energy efficiency should be a top priority.
From the research sector, feedback from institutes and universities identified four main problems hindering the promotion of energy efficiency: poor infrastructure, the lack of energy strategies for industrial sectors and large energy consumers, limited access to information, and the lack of international cooperation and financial support. Many of the responding institutions offered technical expertise for demonstration projects and consulting to address these problems. There was particular interest in training courses, information exchange programs and in setting up an energy efficiency research center.
Romanian NGOs proved to be more aware of and active in energy efficiency issues. Sixty-nine environmental NGOs participated in the final stage of the study and 71% of them have been involved in energy conservation projects. NGO respondents noted that the same financial and information problems affect their activities but also remarked on difficulties with the existing legal and fiscal regulations, infrastructure and the lack of dialogue with the public authorities, revealing the great need for assistance in capacity building and international cooperation.
Donors and funders are mainly looking at increasing capabilities within Romanian organizations and institutions, the development of an appropriate legislative framework and methods for easier access to information required for investment decisionmaking.
Finally, the local environmental authorities paid the least attention to the study. From 41 Environmental Protection Agencies (EPA) approached by the team, only 24 responded. Among them 9 were not interested to be involved in energy efficiency related activities. From the EPAsŐ point of view special attention must be given to demonstration projects such as Energy Efficiency Centers, technologies and investments which have less negative impact on the environment.
The final study will be completed later this year.
