The fifth edition of the Climate Change Summit, an annual event highlighting energy security, access to resources, and economic competitiveness in Romania and beyond, brought over 2,000 participants to Bucharest on October 14.
Under the theme “The Infrastructures of the Future,” the event, connected international perspectives with Romania’s and the region’s economic and social challenges. In particular, discussions at this edition of the Summit tackled the green transition, energy security, access to water and food, and Romania’s ability to respond to climate risks.
At the opening of Climate Change Summit 2026, Romanian president Nicușor Dan delivered a message highlighting the event’s role in connecting public institutions, researchers, the business community, and civil society. He also emphasized the importance of integrating nature protection into development decisions and collaborating with civil society, mentioning the Bucharest–Ilfov Green Belt, Roșia Montană, the conservation of the Lake Techirghiol area, and support for wildlife rehabilitation centers.
The third edition of the “State of the Climate 2026” report for Romania, prepared by InfoClima researchers, was presented at the Climate Change Summit. Topics covered include vulnerabilities in the energy system, the effects of heatwaves on health, and the role of emissions reductions in limiting the intensification of extreme heat.
The effects of heat are also reflected in public health: according to the report, approximately 2,879 deaths in Romania were attributed to heat during June–September 2025.
According to the same report, since 2007, Romania has had an interministerial plan of measures for heatwave periods, but it does not have a heat-and-health action plan in line with the World Health Organization’s approach, including mortality surveillance, registers of vulnerable people, and an assessment of measures.
Issues addressed
Discussions on the Blue Stage – Global Perspective and Green Stage – Regional Impact addressed the relationship between climate, the economy, and geopolitics, infrastructure financing, resource use, and Romania’s potential in advanced green technologies.
Gianpiero Nacci, Managing Director, Climate Strategy and Delivery at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, presented the institution’s perspective on financing the transition in Central and Eastern Europe: “Mobilizing human capital is essential to driving the transition.”
Gareth Stapleton, associate researcher and climate ambassador at the University of Reading, analyzed the obstacles preventing climate finance from reaching the project implementation stage.
Investments in natural capital were discussed by Manon Mura, Associate Director, Investor Relations UK & Europe at New Forests.
During the discussion on the Green Stage, Iuliana Tiba, Director of Environmental, Social and Positive Impact Financing at BRD, highlighted demand for financing energy efficiency and renewable energy, while Nacci and Mura discussed the risks and opportunities associated with investments.
Meanwhile, Jennifer Gilberg, head of Bayer’s Crop Science division in Romania, Bulgaria, and the Republic of Moldova, and Managing Director of Bayer Romania, addressed agriculture’s dual responsibility: producing food and responding to climate change.
International guests also included Juliette Lassman, an OECD policy analyst specializing in water governance and the circular economy; Esteban Arriaga Miranda, CEO of the European Food Banks Federation (FEBA); and Boyana Achovski, CEO of ATMIX and former Secretary General of Gas Infrastructure Europe.
The 2026 edition also explored how competition for resources, scientific progress, and technological innovation are transforming the European economy. André Månberger of Lund University and Jiayi Zhou, a researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, discussed critical raw material security and new geopolitical dependencies.
At the same time, experts from research, the business community, and public institutions analyzed Romania’s potential to develop advanced green technologies and turn research results into competitive solutions. The agenda also included perspectives on human longevity, through a presentation by João Pedro de Magalhães of the University of Birmingham on the impact of extreme environmental conditions on health and lifespan.
Climate Change Summit becomes Change Summit in 2027
The fifth edition also marked the beginning of a new stage: starting in 2027, Climate Change Summit will become Change Summit, expanding discussions from climate challenges to a broader range of transformations shaping the future of the economy and society.
According to the organizers, climate change, technological progress, geopolitical tensions, demographic developments, and economic transformations can no longer be understood separately.
Change Summit will explore eight major forces shaping the future: AI and technology, geopolitical transformations, climate action, the economy of the next decade, people and society, the cities of the future, science that changes the world, and leadership in an unstable world.
Climate will remain a central component of the platform, alongside new perspectives on competitiveness, technology, science, and the future of society.
The first edition of Change Summit will take place on October 27, 2027, under the theme “Understanding the Forces Shaping Our Future.”