Environmental NGO Bankwatch concerned about Romania expanding coal mine at cost of 100ha forest

Environmental NGO Bankwatch Romania criticised Romania’s plans to develop a mine operated by CE Oltenia coal and power group in Gorj county to a capacity of 8,000,000 tonnes/year of lignite.

“Deforestation and then burning lignite will have a double negative effect on the environment by increasing CO2 emissions and reducing the absorption capacities," said Alexandra Doroftei, coal campaigner at Bankwatch Romania.

The move is accompanied by a decision to postpone the decommissioning of 660 MW of coal units (Rovinari 3 and Turceni 7) from December 31, 2022, to October 30, 2023, the NGO also notes.

The decarbonisation law (334/2022) has already undergone substantial changes, positive and negative, before being passed, according to Bankwatch. The negative amendments prevail, however, according to the environmental NGO.

The purpose of the decarbonisation law is to establish the framework for reducing CO2 emissions in the energy sector, but the most recent changes have precisely the opposite effect, Bankwatch argues. Subsequently, it implies negative impacts on the progress of Romania’s national Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) and on the recovery plan at CE Oltenia that is being carried out under the supervision of European competition authorities.

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