'Green' and renewable energy represents the answer to cybersecurity, Cristian Nacu, Senior Country Officer for Romania at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) told the Competitive Sustainability Summit in Bucharest on Thursday.
'The European Union has legislation and agreements that we have signed and which are still in force, and it is very difficult for us to change them, as long as the European Union itself is not changing. I think it would also be reckless on our part to ignore the fact that there are many funds allocated for such financing, if I were to mention only the Modernisation Fund. From the perspective of energy, especially in Europe, green and renewable energy is in fact the answer to energy security. So things are quite clear for our region from this point of view,' Nacu said.
He stressed, however, that certain past policies appear to have ignored science. He believes that engineers were most likely not consulted when it was said that there would be no more investment in gas or nuclear, because if they had been consulted, everyone would have known that you cannot rely solely on renewables without also having flexible gas investments, nuclear or hydro power to provide balance, as well as batteries to compensate for the cyclical nature of renewable energy.
'In recent years, there has certainly been a return to a certain degree of rationality, in the sense that some past policies seemed to ignore science. (...) There are indeed strategies that are being adjusted, in the sense that things will return to a rational path,' the IFC representative said.
On the other hand, Nacu noted that 'green' financing is becoming increasingly attractive.
'From the point of view of financing, I think things are quite clear. Green, climate and sustainable financing remains very attractive. There are many studies showing that it is much more attractive, for example, than conventional financing in terms of investor appetite, and here I am referring in particular to types of tradable bonds which generally have such themes: sustainability. These bonds are generally up to twice as attractive for investors as regular ones. Romania has done quite a lot in this area. I think that in recent years Romanian corporations, including banks, which have made a major contribution, have issued probably over five billion of such tradable bonds, the vast majority of them green,' the IFC representative stated.
According to the same source, of the total bonds issued, IFC subscribed to nearly 20%, demonstrating the institution's role as a catalyst for such financing and its effect in boosting confidence in these instruments.
The National Strategy for Sustainable Development 2030, the circular economy, and the role of technology and digitalisation in implementing sustainability policies are among the topics discussed at the 'Competitive Sustainability Summit - Strategy. Resilience. Growth. Community', organised in Bucharest on Thursday.
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