Eight Romanian non-governmental organizations in the environmental area demanded a thorough revision of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan's Climate Change, Environment and Energy sections.

The NGOs ask for an "adequate, inclusive, and transparent" public consultation procedure. They believe that "the Government is stuck in the past, supports investments in fossil fuels, does not address the climate crisis or the decline of biodiversity," News.ro reported.

The signatory organizations consider that "the elaboration of the Plan was done in full violation of the principles of transparency and public participation in decision-making, behind closed doors, without consulting civil society and other stakeholders."

The plan misses the chance of the energy transition through investments in the production and storage of energy from renewable sources, although Romania's potential in this field is huge. It also misses the chance to invest strategically in the environment, given that Romania is the country with the highest biodiversity in the European Union, and a healthy environment mitigates the impacts of climate change that Romania is increasingly affected, the signatory organizations argue.

The National Recovery and Resilience Plan, developed by the Ministry of European Funds, was unveiled on November 26 in an event attended by president Klaus Iohannis, prime minister Ludovic Orban and Government members.

andrei@romania-insider.com

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