The Romania Eficienta Forum, organized by Energy Policy Group (EPG) with the support of OMV Petrom, on May 25, 2026, brought together experts in the fields of energy and construction, as well as representatives of national public authorities and civil society, in a constructive dialogue focused on the decarbonization of the building stock and the role of a just transition in achieving the climate goals set by European Union Member States for 2030.
At the opening of the conference, Radu Dudau, President of the Energy Policy Group (EPG), spoke about the contribution of the Romania Eficienta program to the development of a culture of energy efficiency at the national level, both through its informational component—which highlights the benefits for users and the necessary technical measures and behavioural changes—and through its practical component, which involves renovating public schools to nZEB standards. He also highlighted the three key topics on the Forum’s agenda: The National Building Renovation Plan (NBRP), sustainability and circularity in the built environment, and the controversial ETS2, the new European carbon tax system for the construction and transportation sectors.
OMV Petrom CEO Christina Verchere highlighted the importance of energy efficiency both as a supporter of the ‘Romania Eficienta’ program and as an active participant in the energy transition: “The cleanest and cheapest energy is the energy we don’t consume. The biggest opportunity for decarbonizing energy lies in how we use it more efficiently.” On the concrete involvement in the energy transition, Christina Verchere mentioned the company’s numerous projects, concluding: “We contribute to decarbonization by promoting an energy transition achieved at a realistic pace and through pragmatic solutions.”
This year, the Forum once again featured an online presentation by Bogdan Atanasiu, an expert from the European Commission (DG Energy), who discussed the latest developments regarding the implementation of the EPBD in member states, as well as the key steps ahead. He also addressed Romania’s status in the process of transposition and implementation of the EPBD, including meeting the deadlines for the submission of strategic documents such as the NBRP. At the same time, Bogdan Atanasiu emphasized the scale of the transformations generated by the EPBD and their impact beyond climate objectives: “EPBD is not just about sustainability, reducing energy consumption or cutting emissions and pollution. It also means more affordable housing, jobs and economic competitiveness. It means better buildings that consume less energy, result in lower utility bills, and reduce the financial burden on occupants, as well as their vulnerability to crises similar to those of recent years. At the same time, it contributes to security of supply, increases energy independence and reduces the need for grid investment, providing a more stable and flexible system.”
The first panel of the conference, dedicated to the development of the NBRP, combined institutional perspectives with technical expertise and comparative experience from the region. The discussion began with remarks from Anca Ginavar, Director at the Ministry of Development, Public Works, and Administration; Dragomir Tzanev, Executive Director of the Centre for Energy Efficiency EnEffect; and Alice Corovessi, Director of the Institute of Zero Energy Buildings, regarding the NBRP in Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece. This was followed by technical presentations by Catalin Lungu, President of the Order of Energy Auditors of Romania, who outlined the methodology used, and by Theodor Bratosin, a research associate at EPG, who addressed minimum energy performance standards and the local renovation plan developed as part of the REDESIGN project.
Starting from the state of transposition of the EPBD, the debate highlighted the common particularities of the three countries in terms of the existing built stock. The challenges identified included: the complexity of the legislative and regulatory framework; the aging building stock; the enormous investments required to meet renovation targets; dependence on public funds; and the lack of effective cooperation among institutional actors and administrations across multiple levels of government. Beyond the obstacles, the panel also highlighted what is perhaps the most important point: accelerating and improving the quality of renovations depends both on closer cooperation among neighbouring countries—through the exchange of experiences, best practices, and the development of a “common voice” at the regional level—and on genuine collaboration between central and local institutions, the private sector, and building owners.
The second panel, dedicated to circularity and sustainability in the built environment, addressed the challenges posed by the requirement to calculate the global warming potential (GWP) over the entire lifecycle of buildings: from developing a national calculation methodology and reporting to the European Commission, to integrating the indicator into building permits, using low-carbon construction materials, deep renovation, improving energy efficiency, and managing materials resulting from demolition. The discussion was attended by Raul Pop, State Secretary at the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Forests; Eugen Panescu, Vice President of the Architects’ Council of Europe (ACE); Mihai Moia, Executive Director of ROENEF; and Andrei Ceclan, President of the Romanian Society of Energy Auditors and Managers (SAMER), guests who, together, cover the entire value chain in the construction sector, from regulation and design to construction, renovation, and energy consumption monitoring.
From the calculation methodology and the implications of GWP, the discussion naturally shifted to the taxation of emissions from the building sector during the third panel, which focused on the role of ETS2 in ensuring affordable and energy-efficient housing.
Ruxandra Chirila, Director at the Ministry of Investments and European Projects; Laura Nazare, coordinator of Bankwatch Romania’s energy transition campaign; and Constantin Postoiu, Coordinator of the data analysis department at EPG, analysed the impact of the new mechanism on consumers and the challenges it poses in terms of energy vulnerability, the need to integrate data from multiple sources to proactively identify vulnerable populations, and the solutions offered by the Social Climate Fund to protect them.
A recording of the conference is available on the Romania Eficienta website: https://www.romania-eficienta.ro/romania-eficienta-forum-2026/
About Romania Eficienta
‘Romania Eficienta’ is a nation-wide private project carried out by Energy Policy Group (EPG) in partnership and with funding from OMV Petrom. The project started in the summer of 2019 and consists of carrying out a national program for the promotion of energy efficiency. ‘Romania Eficienta’ aims to support achieving Romania’s targets for 2030 in terms of reducing carbon emissions and increasing energy efficiency, both through information and education campaigns, and by carrying out concrete major renovation projects in public schools in different regions of the country. More details can be found on the website romania-eficienta.ro.
About Energy Policy Group
Energy Policy Group (EPG) is an independent, non-profit think-tank specializing in energy and climate policy, market analysis and energy strategy, founded in 2014. EPG contributes to a technologically advanced, sustainable and socially acceptable energy system. EPG also promotes long-term decarbonization policies and measures in all economic sectors: energy, buildings, transport, industry, agriculture.
About OMV Petrom
OMV Petrom is the largest integrated energy producer in Southeastern Europe, with an annual Group hydrocarbon production of approximately 38 million boe in 2025. The Group has a refining capacity of 4.5 million tons annually and operates an 860 MW high-efficiency gas-fired power plant. The Group is present on the oil products retail market in Romania and neighbouring countries through approximately 780 filling stations under two brands – OMV and Petrom.
OMV Petrom is listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, with a free float of 28.1%. At the end of 2025, Romanian shareholders held around 45% of the shares, of which the Romanian state owned 20.7%, while 24.4% were held by Romanian pension funds as well as other Romanian individuals and legal entities. OMV Aktiengesellschaft held 51.2% of OMV Petrom shares, with the remaining 3.7% owned by other foreign investors.
OMV Petrom is one of the largest contributors to the state budget, with over €48 billion in taxes and dividends paid between 2005 and 2025. During the same period, the company invested approximately €21 billion and allocated around €210 million to community development in Romania, focusing on environmental protection, education, health and local development. Their commitment to climate change mitigation is reflected in consistent efforts to reduce emissions, with the long-term goal of achieving net-zero emissions operations by 2050.