Last week, on the eve of instituting a tax on polluting cars entering the central area of Bucharest, the Mayor of Bucharest, Gabriela Firea, abandoned the so-called Oxygen Tax plan. Under the plan cars not meeting the Euro 3 criteria would be banned from the center of Bucharest, and overall…
In December, the European Union announced the European Green New Deal that is intended to greatly speed up the EU’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The new goal is for Europe to become Climate Neutral (no net greenhouse gas emissions) by 2050, and to reduce emissions by 55% by…
Bucharest, the Capitol of Romania, has passed a special tax, the Oxygen Vignette, aimed at cars not meeting the Euro 5 standard. Cars not meeting the Euro 3 standard will be completely banned from entering an area designated as Action Zone for Air Quality (ZACA) in the center of Bucharest,…
Cluj-Napoca, the second largest city in Romania, just announced a plan to require all new Taxi Licenses to be for electric taxi’s. The plan does not affect the current taxi licenses in Cluj, but new Taxi licenses that are planned to be granted during 2020. Currently there are 2469 taxi…
A few days ago Timisoara, a city in Western Romania, announced a plan to buy new “tramvaie” cars (light rail cars) that will carry battery packs giving 64 kilometers of autonomy in case of a power outage. While it is commendable that Timisoara hopes to keep their light rail system…
On Thursday the mayor of Bucharest signed 11 financing contracts, that have European Union backing, to purchase 80 streetcars and 100 electric buses. These new vehicles will be used to upgrade Bucharest’s overwhelmed public transit system. By being electric, the new vehicles are also expected to reduce air pollution in…
The other day I wrote about growth in electric car sales in Romania (up 165% from 2017 to 2018), and happened to include pictures from the Kaufland Barbu Văcărescu EV Charging location in Bucharest. Yesterday Kaufland held, at that same location what it calls the “Inauguration” of “the first fast…
Last week the Automotive Manufacturers and Importers Association of Romania monthly report of car sales showed a huge increase in sales of hybrid and all-electric cars in Romania. For the first 9 months of 2018 (Jan-Sep) such cars had a 2.6% market share versus a 1.9% market share in the…
Recently a big-box retailer in Romania, Kaufland, announced it would build a network of 10 fast charging stations across Romania. I take this as a cool sign of progress with electric vehicle adoption. While Western Europe has taken to electric vehicles in a big way, especially Norway, Netherlands and Germany, Eastern Europe…
Fracking for natural gas (gazelor de sist) is apparently coming back to Romania. During 2013 and 2014, Chevron started exploratory fracking operations in the region of Romania known as Moldova, while facing down intense anti-fracking protests. After several months during which Chevron managed to start drilling, completed an exploratory well, taking…
A year ago I made several posts about Chevron’s plans to begin fracking operations in Romania’s portion of Moldova. News surfaced on Friday that Chevron has relinquished interests in drilling frackable shale fields in Romania (and other countries), completely ending all of Chevron’s work on shale gas fracking in Eastern…
Allegations have resurfaced that Anti-Fracking activists in Europe are on Russia’s payroll, according to a NY Times news article. That article focuses on the anti-fracking protest focused on Pungesti Romania, which I’ve covered in-depth last winter. The claim is that if the anti-frackers are successful in banning fracking, they’re…
Last winter saw an intense fight in Romania over Chevron’s plan to drill exploratory hydraulic fracking wells near Pungesti. It’s now possible, according to Romania Prime Minister Victor Ponta, that it will all be for naught, that there are no natural gas riches to be had in Romania’s shale region.…
Good news for anti-fracking protesters in Romania: Chevron has announced on Tuesday that drilling activities have been completed, and that they’re now analyzing the rocks, and other data collected from the operations, to determine the potential for shale gas fracking in that region of Romania. The activist website, Frack Off…
President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Donald Tusk of Poland walk to a bilateral meeting after posing for photos at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister in Warsaw, Poland, June 3, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) President Obama just announced a massively great program to combat climate…
