The price of EUA emission allowances returned to around 70.7 EUR on July 15, 2025, marking a 0.50% increase compared to the previous day. Over the past month, volatility has been moderate: the price fluctuated between 69 EUR and 73EUR, with a peak of 75 EUR in June.
In December 1989, Romania freed itself not only from a political regime but also from an economy based on heavy, polluting industry, massively reliant on coal and oil. For decades, factories and thermal power plants operated without environmental regulations, and CO₂ emissions were almost a byproduct of development. In the early 1990s, each Romanian generated over 9 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, in an energy landscape dominated by pollution and inefficiency.
Today, after 18 years as a member of the European Union, Romania has one of the lowest per capita emissions in the EU – around 3.7 tonnes of CO₂ per capita in 2023 as reported by the World Bank. This is a major decline, reflecting a profound transition that did not happen overnight but step by step, through economic, technological, and political changes. Official data shows that Romania’s total emissions have dropped by over 75% compared to 1990, reaching approximately 105 million tonnes CO₂ equivalent today, according to “EU Climate Action – Romania Fact-sheet”, 2022.
This reduction came from multiple directions. In the first years after the Revolution, the shutdown of energy-intensive plants in Hunedoara, Galați, Slatina, and Râmnicu Vâlcea led to economic decline, but also to a sudden drop in emissions. Some of these reductions were collateral effects of economic restructuring and massive population migration. Later, especially after joining the EU, Romania began adopting climate policies, based on regulations, financial incentives, and green investments.
Joining the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) in 2007 was a turning point. Large power plants and industrial facilities were required to pay for pollution, and this market mechanism began to have concrete effects. In parallel, new green energy capacities were deployed: wind farms in Dobrogea, solar projects in the south, and hydro power upgrades. Nuclear energy remained a stable anchor through the Cernavodă plant, and the share of renewable energy has consistently exceeded 20% in recent years.
EU funding has played a decisive role. Over 40% of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) investments are directed toward climate projects, while cohesion funds supported hundreds of projects for energy efficiency and sustainable infrastructure in cities both large and small. From thermal insulation of buildings to the expansion of electric transport, Romania has made clear, albeit uneven, progress toward climate modernization.
However, challenges remain. The transport sector still accounts for a significant share of domestic emissions, and in agriculture, GHG reduction measures are still fragmented. Public administration, especially at the local level, lacks the full capacity to track, report, and regulate emissions in a coherent way. There are major regional disparities, and climate data systems are still underdeveloped.
Romania has set ambitious targets in its official strategies: net emission reduction of 85% by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050, according to the updated “Integrated National Energy and Climate Change Plan (NECP)”, 2024. These objectives align with the European Green Deal, but require full mobilization: decarbonizing the energy system, electrifying transport, increasing carbon capture in forests and soils, and adapting agriculture to new climate realities.
What is worth highlighting, however, is that these climate transformations have not led to economic stagnation – on the contrary. In parallel with a sharp reduction in emissions, Romania’s GDP has increased more than fivefold since the year 2000. During the same period, millions of people rose out of poverty, cities were modernized, and the economy opened up to green investment, digitization, and technology. Romania has proven that ecological transition does not mean slowing down, but can go hand in hand with economic and social development.
Today, Romania offers a rare example in the European Union: a country that has drastically reduced emissions, lowered its carbon footprint per capita, yet at the same time managed to achieve economic growth and improve the living standard of its population. It is a lesson in balance, in the ability to turn constraint into opportunity, and in how an Eastern European country can become a credible player in the new European climate landscape.