Energy in general will continue to become an increasingly expensive product because we must begin to own its unsustainable use in the last 50-60 years, Corneliu Bodea, chairman of the Romanian Energy Centre (CRE) and CEO of Adrem, tells AGERPRES for its "New energy technologies" project.

"We've been talking so much about resilience in recent years, and I think that's good, because we're living times of development that are coming at us with a surplus of instability and difficult prediction. In such times, increasing resilience is essential and should be a mandatory chapter in financial reporting for certain areas of activity that can have such a large impact on industry and people in general. In fact, risk analysis and treatment have already become a reporting chapter, and I consider an extension to what the resilience of systems and organisations means to be a correct measure," Bodea pointed out.

In his opinion, energy in general will continue to become an increasingly expensive product because we must begin to own its unsustainable use in the last 50-60 years. It is not an easy thing to accept as long as energy is at the basis of the construction of so many prices for products essential to life, but it is a reality that must be taken seriously.

"Also at the time of writing, we are a few days after exceeding this year as well the consumption of renewable resources, and we live on debt, as experts have very suggestively calculated. This time that we are exceeding the Earth's capacity to sustain our consumption is falling closer to half of every year, and we are borrowing more and more from some descendants who will not necessarily agree to pay our debts. The main form of responsibility would be to get involved in the aspects related to the sustainability of our actions and especially to the efficiency of energy consumption. The European Union is allocating serious funds for that, both forge and household consumers," added Bodea.

The economic pressure on hiking energy prices in the EU is mainly generated by CO2 taxation and is likely to encourage investment in both energy efficiency and renewable technologies. The sustainability of this mechanism can prove problematic for economies where the standard of living is lower and where the profitability of the economy is marginal.

"Romania is such an economy and I believe that the concern to manage the alleviation of energy poverty and compensate vulnerable consumers should be a priority together with endorsing support schemes for energy efficiency for companies and industrial consumers. Simple and efficient schemes, with pragmatic action and smart management can be quickly developed in a dialogue with industry and trade associations. The lack of such swift action will generate political tension and thus deter decision-makers from taking decisive steps towards taking up negotiated climate-neutrality targets. It seems that we still have time, but 2024 is a year of four rounds of elections and the campaign will start soon. Ideally, until then, we should have implemented solid support and development schemes that would mitigate the impact of energy prices, while ensuring a new level of energy development for Romania," Bodea added. AGERPRES (RO - author: Florentina Cernat, editor: Nicoleta Gherasi; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Cristina Zaharia)