In a Nutshell

• Romania is committed to the EU’s climate neutrality goal by 2050, emphasising the LULUCF sector’s role in balancing emissions, aiming for removals from this sector to be 14% higher in 2050 compared to 1990 levels. 
• The National Forest Strategy 2030 advocates for afforestation of 2 million hectares and the increasing use of wood products to boost CO₂ absorption, contributing to climate neutrality. This is further supported by the new Forestry Code (Law 331/2024), which implements major reforms in the sector, including obligations to ensure forest regeneration and improved information systems for forest management.
• Industrial carbon removal readiness is indicated by the transposition of the CCS Directive via the Emergency Government Ordinance 64/2011, although international CO₂ transport protocols remain unratified. 
• National research bodies have been mandated to develop advanced monitoring and reporting mechanisms for the LULUCF sector, yet specific initiatives or direct support mechanisms for carbon removal innovations have not yet been set out. 

Role for carbon removal in national climate policy

In its updated Integrated National and Climate Plan (NECP), Romania sets a goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2045 and negative emissions by 2050, with forest absorption exceeding emissions. This national target reaches beyond the European Union’s target of climate neutrality by 2050. While Romania is committed to the EU’s legally binding climate neutrality goal by 2050, its more ambitious national targets for 2045 are only set out in strategies and plans, lacking the force of legally binding national law. Carbon removal’s role is laid out in Romania’s Long Term Strategy (LTS), which states that the land-use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector must balance out all emissions from all other sectors. To achieve this target, the strategy states that removals from the LULUCF sector should be 14% larger in 2050 compared with 1990. Agricultural land currently covers 62% and forests 28% of Romania.  

Romania’s draft updated 2021-2030 Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) does not include a separate section on carbon removals and instead references both removals and reductions in the same sections. It forecasts that residual greenhouse gas emissions will amount to about 3MtCO₂ in 2050. The plan states that Romania will have to maintain a balance between the use of forestry resources, which are cited as ensuring removals, and the extension of agricultural holdings, for example, to ensure food security. Furthermore, the LULUCF sector will be used to compensate for residual emissions in 2050. The plan also lays out broad measures on how this goal will be achieved, such as promoting carbon sequestration in agriculture and expanding forested areas, as well as reducing forest fire risks. Forests act as the main carbon sink in Romania.  

According to the NECP, Romania aims for an 87% removals increase in 2030 , projecting a total removal of 46.8 mtCO eq. This far exceeds the country’s legally binding EU LULUCF target of removing 25.6 mtCO eq. The long-term goal is to achieve a 96% net GHG emission reduction by 2040 and a 105% reduction by 2050 (compared to 1990 levels), resulting in net negative emissions.

Regarding carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), the draft updated NECP describes that both employing such technologies, as well as setting an obligation for CO₂ injection and storage for the oil and gas industry,  are key parts of the toolbox for reaching net neutrality. The plan sets an aspirational target for capturing at least 50% of emissions by 2050 from the mineral industry, which includes cement. However, CCUS is relatively absent from policy plans, and CO₂ storage permitting is inefficiently scattered across multiple entities. 

Relevant legal frameworks

The National Forest Strategy 2030 sets out an aspirational target of afforesting two million hectares, as well as protecting existing forests and maintaining them as carbon sinks. Furthermore, there is a goal for the sector to contribute to the climate neutrality target by improving the use of wood and wood products to stimulate an increase in absorbed CO₂ stocks. The updated NECP includes two measures aligned with this strategy: the afforestation of an additional 65,000 hectares of forest area by 2030 and 350 hectares of urban areas.

While carbon removals beyond those planned to be delivered in the LULUCF sector are not laid out, there is the potential to store captured CO₂ from direct air capture (DAC) or bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) processes. Romania has adopted the CCS Directive in its national law through its Emergency Government Ordinance 64/2011, which establishes the legal groundwork for CO₂ storage activities. No exploration permits for CO₂ storage have yet been delivered, partly due to the permitting process being inefficient. Internationally, the country has yet to ratify an amendment to the London Protocol to allow the international transport of CO₂ for under-seabed geological storage.  

Support for R&D and Innovation

Romania acknowledges the role of scientific research and technological innovation in achieving its climate goals. This acknowledgement is evidenced by the responsibilities bestowed on national research institutes for developing advanced monitoring and reporting mechanisms within the LULUCF sector. However, detailed initiatives or programmes supporting direct R&D in carbon removal technologies are not explicitly outlined, with only 6% of the climate-related expenditure in Romania’s Recovery and Resilience Plan allocated to “Green R&D, skills and jobs”. Two CCUS projects were proposed as part of Romania’s Resilience and Recovery Plan. Their status, however, is unclear. 

On the horizon

The updated NECP highlights the need to develop inter-ministerial working groups to make the CO₂ storage permitting process more efficient and integrated.

An important aspect related to the European Commission’s recommendation is the LULUCF target for 2030, which requires an additional 2,380 kt CO₂ in sinks compared to the 2016-2018 average. While new afforestation measures are projected to improve sinks, they are currently expected to fall short of the 2030 target by 4%.

The NECP also envisions a reduction in biomass consumption, with biomass stoves being replaced by clean heat pumps, to further preserve LULUCF absorptions and improve air quality.