City of Brașov

Founded in 1235, Brașov is a city situated in the Transylvania region of Romania. Known for its beautiful sights as well as its climate policy actions, the city is surnamed the Green Capital of Romania. Since 2001, Brașov is proudly battling and cooperating with the Energy Cities network against climate change.

Fighting air pollution through energy revolution

In 2009, due to high pollution levels, the European Commission filed infringement proceedings against several cities in Romania, including Brașov. This came as a shock due to the fact that the city is surrounded by nature, making citizens think pollution could never be an issue.

To combat pollution, the city developed a Sustainable Energy Action Plan. It was also one of the first cities to sign the Covenant of Mayors. Brașov is now at the forefront of fighting climate change in Romania. Hosting the Green Cities Forum, it was the first Romanian city to pledge to reduce CO2 pollution by 55% before 2030 and reach climate neutrality by 2050.

Becoming the Green Capital of Romania

The city has taken several measures to become an eco-friendlier city, such as its Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan. The plan’s objectives are to promote public transportation, to enlarge the city’s cycling set-up and modernise its bus fleet. Therefore over 50% of the fleet is now electric or hybrid. The city is targeting to electrify 100% of its vehicles.

Moreover, the municipality is rehabilitating public buildings based on the multiannual energy modernization plan. In that extent, the city participated to the H2020 ABRACADABRA project. Today, Brașov is using 100% green energy and is heating its residential areas thanks to thermal energy.

Sources: European Commission’s online article ; website of the H2020 EU project Progress Heat ; Covenant of Mayors’ official website ; Romanian website of the Green Cities Forum ; ‘Green Mobility in Brasov’ article from Energy Cities ; news from the website of the H2020 EU project Cities of Tomorrow ; official city’s website