Romanian Support Centre for Climate Action - A hub of collaboration and innovation
Published: Mar 4, 2025 Reading time: 2 minutes Share: Share an articleThe Support Centre for Climate Action (SCCA) Timişoara will be an essential support point for local authorities, NGOs and other organisations interested in combating climate change. "We aim to facilitate collaboration between different local actors, offering technical expertise, adaptation solutions and access to resources for sustainable climate projects", explains Rareş Hălbac Cotoară Zamfir ELCA Project Director, Politehnica University of Timişoara.
Established within the Politehnica University Timişoara (UPT), the centre is a platform for the development of local strategies. It offers technical and methodological support for accessing environmental funds and implementing nature-based solutions.
Fieldwork: from documentation to implementation
Over the last year, Eugenia Grecu, a member of the ELCA project team, worked intensively to map the relevant stakeholders and to build sustainable partnerships based on teamwork with David Popescu, Cristina and Rares Halbac. "Together with my colleagues, we mapped stakeholders based on meetings with local authorities, NGOs, and public institutions to better understand the needs of the communities and to facilitate access to financing for sustainable development projects", she explains.
Among the recent achievements of the CSC are:
- Working sessions with the Local Action Group (LAG), where the challenges of local town halls in attracting European funds and developing effective climate policies were identified.
- Meetings with representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Agency for the Financing of Rural Investments to identify financing opportunities for sustainability projects
- Participating in workshops and academic events organised by UPT in order to integrate the latest scientific solutions into climate action strategies
- Realisation of a Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP), an essential document that structures the relations between SCCA and partners.
Challenges and perspectives
David Popescu, SCCA consultant, emphasises that, although there is an openness on the part of local authorities, the lack of specialised human resources and excessive bureaucracy remain major obstacles. "Only a few town halls have departments specialised in accessing European funds, and environmental strategies are often secondary in the plans of local administrations," he explains.
Despite these challenges, SCCA aims to become an engine of regional change. "We are working on the development of best practice guides, training sessions, and the creation of international partnerships to facilitate knowledge exchange and access to finance. The ELCA brings concrete solutions to environmental problems and creates a sustainable model of local involvement and action.
Our work does not stop here. The next years will be essential for the development and consolidation of the SCCA, and our objective is to transform this centre into a pillar of reference for regional climate policy", concludes David Popescu.
With a dedicated team and a well-structured plan, SCCA is poised to become a landmark in local climate action, providing a concrete example of active involvement in the fight against climate change.
