Romania is warming rapidly, and the effects of climate change are already being felt in all parts of the country – from drought-stricken plains and overheated cities to energy infrastructure, which is increasingly stretched to support an electrified economy. The ‘State of Romania’s Climate 2025’ report, launched by a team of researchers and experts in key fields, provides the most comprehensive picture to date of how the country’s climate is changing and the directions needed to adapt.

Based on scientific data, the report documents an increase in average annual temperatures of more than 3°C since 1971-2000 – an accelerated warming that has made 2023 and 2024 the warmest years in the history of weather observations. With 49 scorching days in the summer of 2024 and a drought that lasted for 41 months, Romania is going through a new climatic reality where extremes are becoming the norm. Desertification has already affected more than half of the country’s surface area and violent phenomena – storms, torrential rain, hail – are multiplying and causing major economic losses.

In this context, “The State of the Climate Romania 2025” is not only an inventory of risks, but also a guide for action. Its chapters analyze in depth the effects on public health, agriculture, economy, urban environment and public policies. The central message is clear: adaptation is no longer optional but a condition for national resilience.

Energy and decarbonization: from obligation to opportunity

An extensive chapter of the report, signed by Dr. Radu Dudău, analyzes Romania’s progress in decarbonizing the energy sector – a key area for achieving climate neutrality. The energy sector is presented as the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, responsible for about 70% of the national total, but also the pivot of the modernization of the economy.

Romania has achieved a significant reduction in energy emissions, from 79.9 million tons of CO₂ equivalent in 2017 to 71.2 million tons in 2023, as fossil fuel use has decreased and the share of clean sources has increased. Today, 70% of primary energy still comes from coal, natural gas and oil, but the energy mix is changing rapidly: more than two-thirds of electricity produced in 2023 already comes from clean sources – nuclear, hydro, wind and solar

Romania’s progress in decarbonization

One of the most spectacular transformations is the prosumer revolution. In just six years, their installed capacity has reached 2,600 MW, almost equal to that of wind power plants (3,100 MW) and surpassing commercial photovoltaic parks. For the first time, citizens and small businesses are producing more solar energy than large companies. This marks the beginning of a new energy era, decentralized and participatory, but it also brings challenges: pressure on distribution grids, system imbalances and the urgent need for investment in smart grids and storage systems.

Romania’s target for 2030 – 1,200 MW/2,300 MWh of battery storage capacity, five times higher than the initial plan – shows the clear direction towards a flexible and digitalized system. If these investments materialize, Romania can build one of the cleanest energy mixes in Europe, based on renewables and nuclear.

The energy transition is essentially an electrification of the economy: buildings heated by heat pumps, transportation powered by electricity and industrial processes powered by clean energy. While electricity consumption will rise, total primary energy consumption will fall, thanks to the higher efficiency of electrical technologies.

Data Centers for Artificial Intelligence (CDIA)

The report also draws attention to new emerging challenges that may reshape the Romanian energy system architecture in the short term. One of these is the accelerated development of data centers for artificial intelligence (CDIA), an industry undergoing unprecedented global expansion and requiring huge consumption of continuous and reliable electricity. According to the International Energy Agency, the total energy consumption of data centers could reach 945 TWh globally – equivalent to Japan’s annual consumption – and Romania is preparing to enter this competition with large-scale projects.

The Black Sea AI Gigafactory initiative, proposed in 2025 by the Authority for the Digitalization of Romania in partnership with EuroHPC, aims to build two high-power data centers at Cernavodă and Doicești, totaling up to 1,500 MW, powered mainly by nuclear energy, respectively from the future SMR unit. This prospect confirms the interdependence between digitalization, energy security and the green transition: on the one hand, the growing demand for energy for digital infrastructures requires clean, stable and scalable sources; on the other hand, investments in nuclear and storage can benefit from long-term supply contracts with such industrial consumers.

In this regard, the report emphasizes that decarbonization should no longer be seen only as an obligation to comply with European regulations, but as a strategic opportunity for economic modernization. Investments in storage technologies, smart grids and renewables coupled with nuclear can transform Romania into a regional hub for clean energy and data. The energy transition thus becomes not only a pathway to reducing emissions, but also a platform for attracting investment, innovation and competitiveness, in an economy where clean energy and digital infrastructure reinforce each other, defining the new economy of the 21st century.

Energy storage

Energy storage occupies a central place in the analysis signed by Dr. Radu Dudău, being presented as the essential element without which the transition to a clean and flexible energy system cannot be achieved. As the share of renewable sources increases, storage capacities become indispensable for balancing the grid and ensuring continuity of supply. Romania started from almost symbolic levels – just 8 MW installed in 2023 – and reached 234.7 MW installed capacity and almost 400 MWh capacity in April 2025, with prospects to exceed 1,000 MWh by the end of the year. The official target set by the PNIESC 2024 is 1,200 MW and 2,300 MWh by 2030, five times more than the original plan. Batteries are not just a way of “storing” solar and wind energy, but provide critical technical services – frequency regulation, voltage control, balancing generation and consumption, system stability. Together with complementary technologies such as thermal storage (TES) or compressed air energy storage (CAES), they will enable Romania to turn surplus renewable energy into a strategic resource capable of supporting an increasingly clean and efficient energy mix

A useful resource

The State of the Climate Romania 2025 report is a reference resource: an up-to-date source of figures, trends and explanations. Beyond the data, it tells the story of a Romania caught between two worlds – that of climate risks and that of energy opportunities.

The launch of the report provided an opportunity for concrete discussions to set out the major themes shaping the next decade: adaptation of cities, water management, electrification of the economy and how today’s decisions will shape tomorrow’s climate.