Newly-formed CCI Bucharest lobbies for climate income in Romania

Posted by Cathy Orlando on November 1, 2023 in Blog

Radu and Marina at the Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania

Newly-formed CCI Bucharest lobbies for climate income in Romania

On August 17, 2022, Radu Grigorescu, a young man from Romania, reached out to Andrew Eyerly, the Conservative Outreach Director of Citizens’ Climate Lobby USA, inquiring about starting a chapter in Romania. Andrew connected Radu to Citizens’ Climate International. Over the following nine months, Radu actively participated in the monthly Global Check-In calls for group leaders, the weekly Citizens’ Climate Europe calls and gathered a team around him in Romania. He also contributed insightful Romanian perspectives to our April 2023 Talanoa Dialogues for Global Climate Ambition. On June 27, 2023, CCI Program Director Cathy Orlando officially launched the Bucharest chapter in Romania.

In early October 2023, volunteers from the CCI Bucharest chapter held a meeting with members of the Romanian Parliament to discuss the implementation of carbon pricing. Radu Grigorescu and Marina Daniluc, as featured above, noted in their Instagram Post,

“Although still in the early stages, we were pleasantly surprised by the productive dialogue we had and their openness to the idea of a climate income.” (Translated from Romanian to English by DeepL translator).

Later in the same month, they were invited to participate in the Climate Change Summit in Bucharest, which saw 1,700 in-person attendees and over 800,000 online viewers. The event was organized by the Social Innovation Solutions.

In the front row of this session at the Summit are CCI Romania leaders Sebastian Sirb and Radu Grigorescu. Image credit: Climate Change Summit on Instagram.

The summit featured the presence of mayors, representatives from the Romanian Government, Parliament, the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of the Environment, civil society and the business sector.

The central theme of the conversations was the development of a national climate strategy policy, with a focus on fostering collaboration and inclusivity with the Ministry, alongside an emphasis on green infrastructure. The Summit employed a Policy Lab Environment approach to ensure an inclusive and participatory process in shaping the national climate strategy, and it also delved into social aspects.

During the summit, CCI Bucharest volunteers shared insights on carbon pricing systems in Austria and Canada.

Following the event, the group inquired about how a small group like theirs could advance policy. In response, Cathy offered her insights, saying,

“I don’t think you need a critical mass. I think you need to find a champion politician and some top-level business umbrella groups that support your idea. Yes, of course, you will need public education.”

Connect with CCI Bucharest Romania