Carbon Credit Investments in Romania

What are carbon credits and how can they be used?

Before making carbon credit investments in Romania, it helps to know that these credits were firstly introduced as a safety measure intended to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.  In the European Union, including Romania, these permits (emission allowances) are issued under the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS): most are sold at auction and some are allocated free of charge to operators, who use them to cover their emissions of carbon dioxide or other equivalent emissions. 

Technically speaking, each credit represents a certificate which entitles the right to emit one tonne of carbon dioxide or the mass of another greenhouse gas, with a carbon dioxide equivalent. In a very rudimentary hypothesis, anyone can imagine that certain sources can easily exceed the emission limits provided through the carbon credits, introducing in this manner the necessity to acquire a greater number of permits, used to cover their extra emissions.

Romania has taken part in the EU Emissions Trading System since its accession to the EU in 2007; the system is now in its fourth trading phase (2021–2030).

If you own a company, irrespective of size, that can benefit and apply, reach out to our Romanian lawyers for details.

Operators reducing their emissions gradually started to sell their surplus allowances.

The experts at our law firm in Romania can provide more details about the use of carbon credits and how to obtain them.

Is investing in carbon credits a business opportunity in Romania?

Apart from the classic situation, when an operator simply reduces emissions in order to save the allowances, there are several other ways of procurement of carbon incentives.

Probably the most debated cases refer to replacing the use of dirty fossil fuels with renewable energy and also capturing and storing the already released carbon in trees and other plants.

First example refers to renewable energy projects, such as wind farms, solar power parks, hydroelectric energy projects or production and use of biofuels. Renewable-energy and forestry projects in Romania do not generate EU ETS allowances, and since 2021 international project credits can no longer be used for compliance in the EU ETS. Such projects can sell credits only on the voluntary carbon market, under the certification standard chosen. Energy efficiency projects reduce the direct release of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.

Another option to generate offsets deals with the process of capturing and storing already released carbon in trees and other plants. In a more approachable terminology, it simply refers to the protection of existing forests or planting additional trees and plants. There are strict regulations, concerning the issuance of these types of certificates for this particular kind of financial initiative and the project can be validated only on precise conditions.

There is an explicit set of regulations related to the installations analysis and monitoring of the project itself but, once approved, this business plan may reveal a totally unexpected source of profit. Our Romanian lawyers can provide more details about these regulations.

It becomes obvious that the Romanian carbon credit investments domain can effectively be explored on one essential condition, and this refers to perfect understating of all legal aspects implied by the development process of a project intended to generate such incentives. Our lawyers in Romania can efficiently provide all judicial information regarding this topic, explaining every characteristic related to such an investment, and also suggesting important alternatives that might increase the overall value of the project.

Strategies in this department should be accurately evaluated and the project itself needs to be developed on a strong realistic basis. Darie & Manea, using the competent green energy lawyers in Romania, can deliver the necessary help and our team can assist you at every stage of the project.. For a free case consultation, call our Romanian law firm.