In the coming years, Romania has at its disposal unprecedented European funds of billions of euros for the transition to an energy sector with low emissions.
In a national first, energy poverty in small towns in Romania will be investigated. The Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD), the initiator of the Romanian Energy Poverty Observatory (ORSE), has started, for the first time in the country, a pilot research project on energy poverty in small urban areas, an area at the intersection between big cities and the countryside. The objectives of the research are to identify how energy poverty manifests itself in small towns, which are the main challenges, but also which are the important actors and the specific solutions to reduce this phenomenon.
Romania must invest in the rehabilitation of buildings and heating systems to reduce energy poverty, through REPowerEU, according to the Romanian Energy Poverty Observatory (ORSE) experts. The essence of the REPowerEU investments and reforms package is to reduce energy poverty and the effects of the crisis at the level of the European Union. Measures such as improving the insulation of buildings inhabited by vulnerable consumers and replacing their heating and cooling systems with modern types of equipment are the most effective way to tackle energy poverty.
The Annual Water Report, based on over 13.5 billion liters of monitored water usage across 5,370 properties in 36 countries, reveals that 67% of properties experience water leakage yearly. With rising water scarcity, increasing tariffs, aging infrastructure, and stricter regulations, property owners are under growing pressure to better understand their water consumption.
Romanian developer Iulius has launched Europe's largest private bioremediation project, investing €29 million to clean 38 hectares of contaminated land in downtown Constanța. The project will transform the former Oil Terminal platform into an integrated urban regeneration complex worth over €800 million.
The European Union is at risk of missing a key United Nations deadline for submitting updated climate targets, as internal disagreements among member states delay a final decision on emissions goals for 2040.
Solar power has rapidly risen to become Hungary's second-largest source of electricity, overtaking gas for the first time in 2024.
Poland has moved up 49 places in the Climate Risk Index 2025, underscoring the increasing impact of climate change on the real estate sector. Heatwaves, heavy rainfall, droughts and floods are becoming a regular challenge for property owners and investors, according to Cushman & Wakefield.
