In October 2026 Romania applied the EU sustainable-finance framework, whose reporting rules were narrowed in 2025 and 2026, and the EU taxonomy still had no criteria for crop or livestock farming. Green loans were 6.1% of bank loans to firms in March 2026, and the government issued its first sovereign green bond, €2 billion, in February 2024. As amended in February 2026, the CAP Strategic Plan 2023–2027 reserves €4.53 billion of EU funds for eco-schemes and for environmental and climate measures in rural development.
7.1
What is in force
EU rules apply directly. As an EU member, Romania applies the Taxonomy Regulation (in force since July 2020), the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (applicable since March 2021) and the European Green Bond Standard (applicable since December 2024) without national transposition123. The Climate Delegated Act of 2021 postponed screening criteria for agriculture, and the delegated acts checked in October 2026 contain no criteria for crop or livestock production, while afforestation and forest management are covered4. A Commission act applicable from January 2026 excludes exposures to companies outside the sustainability-reporting regime from the denominator of banks' green asset ratio5. The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) was transposed by a Finance Ministry order published on 26 January 2024 and, for banks, by a BNR order published on 30 May 20246. EU directives of April 2025 and February 2026 postponed the later reporting waves and limited mandatory reporting to companies with more than 1,000 employees and more than €450 million turnover, with transposition of the second directive due by 19 March 202778. For banks, the amended Capital Requirements Directive (CRD6) requires ESG risk management and transition plans from 11 January 2026, detailed in EBA guidelines, but no Romanian transposing measure was listed in the EU database on 20 October 20269106.
Climate risk monitoring by the central bank, 2021–2026. A 2021 recommendation of the National Committee for Macroprudential Oversight asked the BNR to build a climate-risk dashboard for banks, run and publish annual climate stress tests and record green loans in the Central Credit Register11. In its 2024 dashboard the BNR put bank exposure to firms in drought-vulnerable sectors (agriculture and utilities) in counties with medium or high drought risk at 7% of exposures to companies, and the corresponding figure for flood risk at 19%12. Bank loans to companies in climate-relevant brown sectors were RON 86.6 billion at the end of March 2026, about US$19.5 billion at the end-March rate (own calculation) and 49.4% of bank loans to non-financial corporations1314. Green loans rose from 2.9% of bank loans to firms in September 2024 to 6.1% in March 2026, about half of them for green buildings1213. The green asset ratio of Romanian banks was about 1% in December 2024, against 7.2% in the EU, although the EBA data covered two Romanian banks, about half of the sector15. The June 2026 Financial Stability Report states that the BNR's solvency stress test does not quantify climate risk13.
Green bonds and lending lines. The Ministry of Finance adopted a Green Bond Framework aligned with the ICMA Green Bond Principles in December 202316. It issued a €2 billion twelve-year green Eurobond in February 2024, about US$2.16 billion at the 2024 average rate (own calculation), and a JPY 33 billion Samurai green bond in October 2024171614. The allocation report could not be opened, so the share of proceeds used for agriculture is not known. The World Bank approved a US$650 million Fiscal Management and Green Growth loan in July 2024, which supported the framework reform1817. Electrica's €500 million bond of July 2025 was described by the EIB as Romania's first corporate green bond19. In February 2024 Deutsche Leasing Romania committed €439 million of new lending under an EIB Group securitisation, nearly 30% of it for climate action and environmental sustainability, with farmers expected to benefit in particular, and in December 2025 the EIB signed €25 million with Agricover Credit for micro agricultural businesses2021.
EU funds for green farming. The CAP Strategic Plan 2023–2027, last amended on 18 February 2026, has a public budget of €15.83 billion (about US$18.4 billion at the end-August 2026 rate, own calculation), of which €2.45 billion is reserved for eco-schemes and €2.08 billion of rural development funds for environmental and climate objectives222314. Organic farming covered 6.16% of utilised agricultural area in 2024, against 1.77% in 201524. The Modernisation Fund had confirmed €7.41 billion of tranches for Romania by March 2026 (own calculation), including €300 million for solar and wind capacity for agri-food firms and €8.3 million for the Sarichioi irrigation system25. The recovery and resilience plan, costed at €20.11 billion after the revision adopted on 5 August 2026 according to Commission Implementing Decision C(2026) 7018 (€21.41 billion after the November 2025 revision), had targets of 18,000 ha of afforestation and 49 manure and agricultural-waste systems due in the second quarter of 2026 but no farm irrigation investment, and the four payments announced by the Commission up to June 2025 totalled €8.46 billion (own calculation)2627282930313233.
First corporate green bond, Electrica (€500 m)19Market
Jan 2026
CRD6 ESG rules, EBA guidelines and taxonomy simplification apply9105Law
Feb 2026
Omnibus directive limits sustainability reporting to companies with over 1,000 employees8Law
Jul 2026
BNR reports that its solvency stress test excludes climate risk13Finance
Green loans in bank portfolios
Green or climate-purpose loans as % of bank loans to each sector, September 2024 to March 2026 (BNR)
Date
Non-financial corporations (%)
Households (%)
Sep 2024
2.9
5.7
Mar 2025
4
7
Sep 2025
–
9
Mar 2026
6.1
7.3
Source: BNR — Stock of green loans as a share of the stock of bank loans to the sector. September 2024 from the 2024 climate risk dashboard (RON 5.7 billion to firms, about RON 10 billion to households)12. March 2025 from the June 2025 Financial Stability Report (RON 8 billion to firms, RON 12.8 billion to households), which rounds both shares to whole percentages35. The December 2025 report gives 5% of bank financing to firms without a reference date, so no September 2025 point is shown for firms. It dates the household figure (9%, loans with a climate purpose, in whole percentages) to September 202515. March 2026 from the June 2026 report13. The household series is not fully comparable over time, as the BNR describes it as green loans (2024–2025), loans with a climate purpose (September 2025) and sustainable loans (March 2026). The BNR does not publish a breakdown for agriculture in these reports.
Weight of climate-relevant brown companies
Brown non-financial corporations as % of all non-financial corporations, two BNR editions
Indicator
FSR June 2025 (accounts mid-2024, loans March 2025) (%)
FSR June 2026 (accounts mid-2025, loans March 2026) (%)
Gross value added
40.3
36.8
Total assets
45.9
44
Employees
32.2
30.2
Bank loans received
50.8
49.4
Source: BNR — The BNR classes as brown the non-financial corporations active in climate-relevant sectors exposed to transition risk. Bank loans to these companies were RON 85.2 billion at end-March 2025 and RON 86.6 billion at end-March 2026, about US$19.5 billion at the IMF end-of-March 2026 rate of RON 4.4463 per US$ (own calculation)351314. The December 2025 report put brown exposures at more than half of bank exposures to firms, against 63% in the EU (December 2024)15.
EU Taxonomy RegulationRegulation (EU) 2020/852Adopted 18 Jun 2020, OJ L 198 of 22 Jun 2020, in force 12 Jul 2020, applies from 1 Jan 2022 (climate objectives) and 1 Jan 2023 (other objectives)
Sets six environmental objectives and the conditions for an economic activity to count as environmentally sustainable, namely a substantial contribution to one objective, no significant harm to the others and minimum safeguards. Article 8 obliges undertakings under sustainability reporting to disclose the taxonomy-aligned share of their turnover, capital and operating expenditure, and banks report a green asset ratio. The Climate Delegated Act 2021/2139 postponed technical screening criteria for agriculture, and neither it nor the Environmental Delegated Act 2023/2486 contains criteria for crop or livestock production, while afforestation and forest management are covered.14
Recent changes: Supplemented by Delegated Regulations 2021/2139 (in force 29 Dec 2021), 2021/2178 on disclosures and 2023/2486, and simplified by Delegated Regulation 2026/73 from 1 Jan 202645.
Taxonomy disclosures simplification actCommission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/73Adopted 4 Jul 2025, OJ L 2026/73 of 8 Jan 2026, in force 28 Jan 2026, applies from 1 Jan 2026
Allows undertakings to leave out of the taxonomy assessment activities below 10% of turnover, capital expenditure or operating expenditure, and banks to leave out exposures below 10% of the relevant assets. From 2026 exposures to undertakings that are not obliged to publish sustainability information under the Accounting Directive are excluded from the denominator of banks' key performance indicators, including the green asset ratio. Undertakings could still apply the earlier rules for financial year 2025.5
Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR)Regulation (EU) 2019/2088Adopted 27 Nov 2019, OJ L 317 of 9 Dec 2019, in force 29 Dec 2019, applies from 10 Mar 2021
Requires financial market participants and financial advisers to disclose how they integrate sustainability risks and consider adverse sustainability impacts, and sets product-level disclosures for financial products that promote environmental or social characteristics or have sustainable investment as their objective. The Taxonomy Regulation added taxonomy disclosures for such products.21
Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)Directive (EU) 2022/2464Adopted 14 Dec 2022, OJ L 322 of 16 Dec 2022, in force 5 Jan 2023, transposition due 6 Jul 2024
Replaced non-financial reporting with sustainability reporting under European standards, covering the undertaking's own operations and its value chain, with limited assurance. As adopted it applied from financial year 2024 to large public-interest entities with more than 500 employees, from 2025 to other large undertakings and from 2026 to listed SMEs. Romania transposed it through Finance Ministry Order 85/2024 for companies and BNR Order 1/2024 for banks, with Financial Supervisory Authority norms for non-bank financial entities.346
Recent changes: Dates postponed by Directive 2025/794 and scope reduced by Directive 2026/47078.
Order on sustainability reportingOrder of the Minister of Finance No. 85/202412 Jan 2024 (Monitorul Oficial No. 75 of 26 Jan 2024)
Ordinul ministrului finanțelor nr. 85/2024 pentru reglementarea aspectelor referitoare la raportarea privind durabilitatea
Transposes the CSRD into the accounting regulations approved by Order 1802/2014 by adding chapters on sustainability reporting in the management report, with definitions taken from the SFDR and a requirement for assurance by an independent provider. The obligations apply in phases by category of entity.366
Recent changes: Order of the Minister of Finance No. 1421/2025 on the dates from which certain sustainability reporting requirements apply (Monitorul Oficial No. 786 of 22 Aug 2025) transposes the 2025 postponement6.
Omnibus I directive on sustainability reporting and due diligenceDirective (EU) 2026/470 (with Directive (EU) 2025/794)Adopted 24 Feb 2026, OJ L 2026/470 of 26 Feb 2026, in force 18 Mar 2026, transposition due 19 Mar 2027
Directive 2025/794 of 14 April 2025 (in force 17 Apr 2025) first moved the second and third CSRD waves to financial years 2027 and 2028. Directive 2026/470 then limits mandatory reporting to undertakings and groups with more than 1,000 employees and more than €450 million net turnover, removes listed SMEs from scope and lets Member States exempt smaller first-wave reporters for 2025 and 2026. Value-chain undertakings with up to 1,000 employees become protected undertakings that may refuse requests going beyond the voluntary standard, and reporters may rely on their self-declaration. No Romanian transposition measure had been notified by 20 October 2026.786
European Green Bond StandardRegulation (EU) 2023/2631Adopted 22 Nov 2023, OJ L 2023/2631 of 30 Nov 2023, in force 20 Dec 2023, applies from 21 Dec 2024
Creates a voluntary 'European Green Bond' (EuGB) label for bonds whose proceeds go to taxonomy-aligned activities, with external review by registered reviewers supervised by ESMA, and optional disclosure templates for other bonds marketed as environmentally sustainable. Romania's 2024 sovereign green bonds were issued under a national framework aligned with the ICMA Green Bond Principles.316
ESG risk rules for banks (CRD6 and CRR3)Directive (EU) 2024/1619 and Regulation (EU) 2024/1623Both adopted 31 May 2024, OJ L of 19 Jun 2024, in force 9 Jul 2024. CRR3 applies mostly from 1 Jan 2025, CRD6 transposition due 10 Jan 2026 and application from 11 Jan 2026
New Article 87a of the Capital Requirements Directive requires banks to identify, measure, manage and monitor ESG risks over horizons of at least ten years, to test their resilience to ESG factors starting with climate, and to prepare plans with quantifiable targets that supervisors assess in the supervisory review and evaluation process. CRR3 extends ESG risk disclosures beyond large listed institutions as defined in the CRR, with annual disclosure for small and non-complex non-listed institutions. No Romanian measure transposing CRD6 was listed in the EU transposition database on 20 October 2026.9376
EBA Guidelines on the management of ESG risksEBA/GL/2025/01Published 9 Jan 2025, apply from 11 Jan 2026 (small and non-complex institutions at the latest from 11 Jan 2027)
Issued under Article 87a(5) of the CRD. They set minimum standards for how banks identify, measure, manage and monitor ESG risks and specify the content of the plans banks must prepare to address financial risks from the transition to climate neutrality by 2050.10
Macroprudential recommendation on supporting green financeNCMO Recommendation No. R/6/20212021 (day of adoption not stated on the NCMO page)
Recomandarea CNSM nr. R/6/2021 privind sprijinirea finanțării verzi
Issued by the National Committee for Macroprudential Oversight after a working group on green finance. It asked the BNR and the Financial Supervisory Authority to issue recommendations on a prudent approach to climate risk by the end of 2021, the Government to set up a group to compile a Sovereign Green Bond Framework by May 2022, and the BNR to build a climate-risk dashboard for banks, run and publish annual climate stress tests and record green loans in the Central Credit Register using the EU taxonomy. The BNR's dashboard cites the recommendation, and its June 2026 stability report states that the solvency stress test does not yet quantify climate risk.111213
CAP Strategic Plans Regulation (green architecture)Regulation (EU) 2021/2115Adopted 2 Dec 2021, OJ L 435 of 6 Dec 2021, in force 7 Dec 2021
Requires each Member State to reserve at least 25% of direct payments each year from 2023 to 2027 for eco-schemes (Article 97) and at least 35% of its EAFRD contribution for environmental, climate and animal-welfare objectives (Article 93). Romania's plan, approved on 7 December 2022 and last amended on 18 February 2026, reserves €2.45 billion (25%) for eco-schemes and €2.08 billion (41%) of rural development funds for environmental and climate objectives.382223
CRD6 applies from 11 Jan 2026, CRR3 from 1 Jan 2025
No Romanian CRD6 transposition measure listed in EUR-Lex on 20 Oct 20269376
EBA Guidelines on the management of ESG risks (EBA/GL/2025/01)
From 11 Jan 2026
Small and non-complex institutions at the latest from 11 Jan 202710
Sovereign Green Bond Framework (Ministry of Finance)
Dec 2023
€2 billion green Eurobond (Feb 2024) and JPY 33 billion Samurai green bond (Oct 2024) issued1617
CAP Strategic Plan 2023–2027
Approved 7 Dec 2022, fifth amendment 18 Feb 2026
€2.45 billion eco-schemes and €2.08 billion rural development funds reserved for environment and climate2223
Source: EUR-Lex · CNSM · BNR · EBA · JBIC · World Bank · European Commission — MO stands for Monitorul Oficial al României, Part I. Transposition data are the measures Romania notified to the Commission, as listed in the EU database of national transposition measures on 20 October 2026.
Ring-fenced CAP funding in Romania's Strategic Plan
EU funding reserved by objective, CAP Strategic Plan 2023–2027, € million (factsheet, February 2026 version)
Objective
EU funding reserved (€ m)
Eco-schemes under direct payments
2,447.4
Environmental and climate objectives under rural development
2,083.3
Complementary redistributive income support
978.7
LEADER
428.8
Young farmers
309.6
Source: European Commission · EUR-Lex · IMF ER — Eco-schemes are 25% of the direct-payments allocation and environmental and climate objectives 41% of the rural development allocation, against legal minima of 25% (Article 97) and 35% (Article 93) of Regulation (EU) 2021/21152338. The two green items total €4.53 billion, about US$5.25 billion at the IMF end-August 2026 rate of €0.8624 per US$ (own calculation)14. The plan's total public budget is €15.83 billion, of which €14.97 billion EU funds. These are allocations for 2023–2027, not payments.
Organic farming area
Area fully converted and under conversion, % of utilised agricultural area, Romania, 2015–2024 (Eurostat)
Year
Share of UAA (%)
2015
1.77
2016
1.67
2017
1.93
2018
2.43
2019
2.86
2020
3.59
2021
4.42
2022
5.08
2023
5.46
2024
6.16
Source: Eurostat — Utilised agricultural area excluding kitchen gardens. In hectares the organic area was 245,924 ha in 2015 and 781,397 ha in 2024, 3.2 times larger (own calculation)24. Eurostat last published an EU-27 share for 2020 (9.1%, estimate). Organic farming support under the CAP Strategic Plan is not shown separately in the Commission factsheet.
Modernisation Fund amounts confirmed for Romania
Confirmed or disbursed tranches by funding round year, € million, 2021 to March 2026
Year
Romania (€ m)
2021
23
2022
1,391.6
2023
2,169
2024
1,955.6
2025
1,237.1
2026
636.9
Source: Modernisation Fund · IMF ER — Sum of the 78 Romanian rows in the Modernisation Fund investment table, by the year in the MF reference number (own calculation). 2026 covers the March round only. Total €7.41 billion, about US$8.08 billion when each year is converted at the IMF annual average euro rate and 2026 at the end-August 2026 rate (own calculation)2514. The site shows €23.2 billion of disbursements to beneficiary Member States in total, while the Romanian rows give confirmed or disbursed tranche amounts, a different basis, so the two totals are not compared here. Rows relevant to agriculture are a scheme for solar and wind capacity for self-consumption by agri-food enterprises (four tranches, €300 million, 2023–2025) and the rehabilitation of the Sarichioi irrigation system in Tulcea County (€8.3 million, October 2025).
Recovery and resilience plan, plan value and payments
Item
Date
Amount (€ billion)
Estimated cost of the plan after the November 2025 revision
13 Nov 2025
21.41
Estimated cost of the plan after the revision adopted on 5 August 2026 according to C(2026) 7018 (grants 13.57, loans 6.54)
5 Aug 2026
20.11
Plan value shown on the Commission country page, the August 2026 plan (grants 13.6, loans 6.5)
Oct 2026
20.1
Pre-financing paid
2 Dec 2021
1.8
First payment (net of pre-financing)
27 Oct 2022
2.6
Second payment
29 Sep 2023
2.76
Third payment (net of pre-financing)
10 Jun 2025
1.3
Four payments announced by the Commission up to June 2025 (own calculation)
8.46
Fourth instalment of grants authorised, of which 2.25 payable after clearing 0.37 of pre-financing
18 Jun 2026
2.62
Source: Council of the EU · European Commission — Plan values are allocations and the payment rows are disbursements, kept separate. The Commission country page gave 39.1% of the plan for climate objectives in October 202640. The plan contains no investment in agricultural irrigation29. The fourth instalment row is an authorisation, the payment was not confirmed in the sources checked41. On 2 October 2026 Commission decisions C(2026) 7018 and C(2026) 7023 revised the third instalment, whose authorised amounts became €1,391.8 million of grants and €760.1 million of loans2742. The August 2026 cost is the sum of €13,566.1 million of grants and €6,540.8 million of loans26.
7.2
What it means for agricultural lenders
No taxonomy criteria for farming in 2026
The Climate Delegated Act postponed criteria for agriculture. From January 2026 banks exclude exposures to firms outside sustainability reporting from their green asset ratio, so loans to farms that do not report under the CSRD fall outside that ratio45.
Limits on value-chain data requests
Under Directive 2026/470 mandatory reporting applies to companies with more than 1,000 employees and €450 million turnover, and a supplier with up to 1,000 employees may refuse data requests beyond the voluntary standard. Romania must transpose it by 19 March 20278.
Farm emissions and bank risk management
Agriculture emitted 17.31 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2024, 18.1% of national emissions excluding land use (own calculation). Since January 2026 the CRD6 and the EBA guidelines require banks to measure ESG risks and prepare transition plans43910.
Drought exposure monitored, climate risk outside the 2026 stress test
The BNR's 2024 dashboard put bank exposure to drought-vulnerable sectors in medium and high drought-risk counties at 7% of exposures to firms. In June 2026 its solvency stress test did not quantify climate risk, and bank loans to agricultural companies had the highest NPL ratio of any sector, 9.8% in March 20261213.
Green lending was 6.1% of corporate loans in March 2026
About half financed green buildings, and the BNR publishes no figure for agriculture. The EIB-backed operations with Deutsche Leasing Romania (February 2024) and Agricover Credit (December 2025) were intended to finance, among other things, farm machinery, irrigation modernisation and micro agricultural businesses132044.
Public money for green farm investment
The CAP plan reserves €4.53 billion of EU funds for eco-schemes and environmental measures in 2023–2027, and the Modernisation Fund had confirmed €300 million for renewable energy in agri-food firms by October 20252325.
Green and climate finance lines relevant to agriculture
Line
Amount
Relevance to agriculture
CAP Strategic Plan 2023–2027, eco-schemes
€2,447.4 m EU funds (allocation)
Payments for practices beyond legal requirements, about €1.64 billion for agronomic practices on arable land and €245 million for farms up to 10 ha23
CAP Strategic Plan, rural development for environment and climate
Recovery and resilience plan, afforestation campaign
Target 18,000 ha by Q2 2026
New forests and reforestation in areas vulnerable to climate change2928
Recovery and resilience plan, manure and agricultural waste systems
Target 49 systems by Q2 2026 (August 2026 revision, 50 before)
44 communal systems, one composting system, four biogas systems2829
EIB loan to Agricover Credit (InvestEU)
€25 m signed 12 Dec 2025 (€50 m proposed)
Micro agricultural businesses, productivity and environmental sustainability2144
EIB Group securitisation with Deutsche Leasing Romania
€335 m (Feb 2024), €439 m new lending commitment
Nearly 30% for climate action and environmental sustainability, with a focus on harvesters, tractors, irrigation modernisation and no-tillage equipment20
Sovereign green Eurobond, 12 years
€2 bn (Feb 2024)
Allocation by category not verified in an official source17
World Bank Fiscal Management and Green Growth DPL (P181517)
US$650 m (approved 25 Jul 2024)
Budget support linked to the green bond framework reform1817
AI-assisted content, human-reviewed: This page was generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by a human editor. (last review: October 2026) Despite review, errors or outdated values may remain; please verify critical figures against the linked primary sources before relying on them. Nothing here is investment, legal or financial advice.
