The capital is becoming increasingly vulnerable to heat waves and therefore urgently needs a climate resilience strategy, claim representatives of the Bucharest Community Foundation.
“Climate changes in recent years are increasingly putting Romania under intense thermal stress, and Bucharest is becoming increasingly vulnerable to heat waves, which lead to urban heat islands amplified by the density of buildings, excessive asphalting and lack of vegetation, but also to storms or other phenomena, as indicated by the State of the Environment in Bucharest 2025 report produced by the Bucharest Community Foundation. The summer of 2024 was the warmest in history in the Capital, with an average temperature of 27.43 degrees Celsius, 5.97 degrees Celsius higher than the average for the period from 1980 to last year, and differences between the center and the periphery of even up to 8 degrees Celsius. The number of hours of high thermal stress increased significantly, by almost 18.7 in 2024 alone compared to the average of the last 10 years, and in the summer of this year it reached at least 500, according to estimates based on ClimExRo data. Extreme climate phenomena are already affecting public health, infrastructure and the local economy and require urgent interventions for adaptation and resilience”, a press release from the Foundation, quoted by Agerpres, states.
In this context, the Environmental Platform for Bucharest, the strategic program developed by the Bucharest Community Foundation, supports the development of a climate resilience strategy for the Capital and invests 500,000 lei, in partnership with Orange Romania, in a new round of financing for projects that create real solutions to the challenges related to climate change.
To date, through special funding rounds and initiatives, the program has supported a total of 58 environmental projects, worth almost 15 million lei.
“Adapting to climate change is becoming a matter of urban survival, not just the environment. Through the Environmental Platform for Bucharest, we bring together people, resources and ideas to transform scientific data into concrete actions. Bucharest is already a climate hotspot, but it can also become a laboratory for urban innovation. Together with Orange Romania, we are building a collaborative ecosystem, made up of civic organizations, the private sector and local administration, through which we can transform Bucharest from a vulnerable space into one prepared for the future, healthier and more resilient, a good city to live in”, believes Alina Kasprovschi, executive director of the Bucharest Community Foundation, quoted in the press release.
For her part, the Minister of Environment, Waters and Forests, Diana Buzoianu, emphasized the idea that climate resilience is a priority for the ministry she leads and must also be a priority in terms of providing technical support for public projects of civil society, such as, for example, a public competition to support the creativity and innovation of public pilot projects.
“In terms of the measures that need to be taken, the ambitions should be, among others, to have more green spaces, not just to ensure the survival of the existing ones, and to manage water resources correctly, more efficiently and responsibly. The measures that are needed now are not necessarily popular now, but they are important measures that will bring real benefits in 20 years. This is where the role of civil society and citizens comes in. I do not believe that there is a stronger mechanism than the consolidation of the civic community, which demands authentic and responsible public policies in the common interest. We must understand that, in order for Bucharest to offer similar conditions of climate and environmental resilience as we see in other European cities, tough measures are needed so that our children can live here, in 30 years, in the same or better conditions,” said Buzoianu, at the “Climate-Resilient Bucharest” event, organized on Wednesday by the Bucharest Community Foundation.
In order to concretely support projects that can reduce the capital’s vulnerability to climate change, the Environmental Platform for Bucharest, with the support of Orange Romania, has launched a new funding round dedicated to climate resilience, with a total budget of 500,000 lei.
Between three and five projects will be funded in this session, divided into two priority areas. Area I – dedicated to strategic interventions for the city, aims to finance up to 250,000 lei for a project that proposes solutions for the regeneration of large-scale natural spaces in Bucharest and the metropolitan area, through pilot projects replicable by local authorities; Area II – supports the transformation of public spaces in Bucharest, from small parks and squares to institutional courtyards or transport stations, into climate refuges for the community, through 2-4 projects financed with a total budget of 250,000 lei.
“Interventions may include green and blue solutions, such as plantings, shaded areas, cooling systems, hydration points or urban mini-forests, aimed at reducing the effects of heat waves and increasing the city’s resilience. Projects will be evaluated annually, and the best performing ones may benefit from additional funding for a period of up to three years,” the Foundation states.
The call for projects started on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, and registrations are open until January 11, 2026. The selected projects will be announced in February 2026, while their implementation will take place between March 2026 and February 2027. At the same time, information sessions for potential applicants will take place online, on November 25, December 3 and December 16, 2025.
“The previous round of funding supported two projects with an impact on the Capital’s climate resilience. Dâmbovița Apa Dulce: Timpuri Noi Pier, created by Nod Makerspace, revitalized an abandoned space on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, the Timpuri Noi section, as part of a broad process of transforming the Dâmbovița River into key areas in Bucharest. The pier has thus become an experiment in urban and climate resilience in the heart of Bucharest, a corridor green-blue and a source of coolness for Bucharest, being today an open public place, accessible to all, with floating pontoons, relaxation areas and a ramp that allows access to the water for people with disabilities or Paralympic athletes”, notes the cited source,
Also, the second funded project, carried out by the Bucharest Natural Park Association – Climate Resilience in the Youth Park – focused on expanding the interventions in the Youth Park to increase climate resilience, urban biodiversity and local community involvement.
Thus, the project pursues three main directions of action: sustainable management of rainwater by arranging rain gardens, as a solution for reducing puddles, protecting infrastructure and valorizing water for vegetation; increasing the resilience of mature trees through pilot interventions for the conservation of valuable trees in biological decline and replanting; ecological education and encouraging volunteerism by organizing community activities such as planting, gardening workshops, setting up rain gardens, making shelters for fauna and installing artificial nests.
The Environmental Platform for Bucharest is a strategic program developed by the Bucharest Community Foundation and ING Bank Romania, launched in 2022, with the aim of transforming the environmental problems that people face into viable projects for Bucharest and Bucharest residents.
The Bucharest Community Foundation brings together donors, NGOs or initiative groups to develop strong and supportive communities, building donation mechanisms, funding funds or idea incubators for the city.