Klaus Iohannis: Romania's energy security will increase through its accession to International Solar Alliance

Romania's energy security will increase due to the fact that our country joined the International Solar Alliance, president Klaus Iohannis declared on Sunday.Iohannis stated, at the event during which Romania joined the International Solar Alliance, that this shows the firm commitment of our country to become neutral from the point of view of carbon emissions and through the use of renewable energy sources.The president expressed his conviction that, by joining the International Solar Alliance, Romania will have a wider and deeper cooperation with India, the host of the Alliance Secretary, as well as with other countries interested in accelerating the mitigation of climate change."Romania aims to expand its solar energy production capacity and improve national access to solar electricity at affordable prices. Also, for this it is necessary to cooperate globally, through alliances like this one, in terms of financing, development technology and the consolidation of solar capacity. Joining this alliance will support Romania in implementing ambitious objectives regarding solar energy included in the Integrated National Plan in the field of Energy and Climate Change," declared Klaus Iohannis.He pointed out that, until 2030, Romania aims to install a solar energy capacity of over 8 gigawatts, representing 24% of the gross final consumption of electricity from renewable sources.According to the head of state, Romania's commitment to increase its installed capacity of solar energy is fully aligned with the European Union Strategy regarding solar energy and will contribute to implementing the Paris Agreement."Greater climate ambition also translates into more opportunities for the economy and our citizens. Romania intends to contribute to the global value chains of solar energy and increase its competitiveness in this industry by capitalizing on the current manufacturing capacities of Romania in related products. Romanian citizens are open and support new electricity generation technologies," said the head of state.He mentioned that by September, almost 97,000 prosumers had installed over 1.2 gigawatts of distributed energy sources connected to the grid, the overwhelming majority based on solar photovoltaic technology.Klaus Iohannis added that Romania hosts in Constanta the largest qualification center for jobs in the field of green energy in South-Eastern Europe. According to him, the center has already trained thousands of technicians from Romania and abroad, all working in the wind and solar industries, including former miners."We also plan to open new training centers and make them available to students from developing countries. I encourage you to work together and learn from each other's experiences to make the most of this valuable energy source, the sun! The International Solar Alliance is an excellent platform in this regard," he pointed out.President Klaus Iohannis is taking part, from Saturday to Monday, in the 28th Conference of States Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), which takes place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.