The Role of Renewable Energy in the Efforts to Combat Climate Change in the CEE-4 Countries

Paul Calanter (), Daniela Zisu () and Anca-Catalina Dragomir ()
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Paul Calanter: Institute for World Economy, Romanian Academy, 13 September Street, No. 13th, Bucharest, ROMANIA
Daniela Zisu: SC Cepstra Grup SRL, G-ral Dr. Emanoil Severin Street, No. 14th, Bucharest, ROMANIA
Anca-Catalina Dragomir: SC Cepstra Grup SRL, G-ral Dr. Emanoil Severin Street, No. 14th, Bucharest, ROMANIA

Global Economic Observer, 2026, vol. 14, issue 1, 22-30

Abstract: The European Union's strategic objective is to augment the proportion of renewable energy sources within its energy mix. This initiative is primarily driven by the need to address the pressing issue of climate change, with a secondary objective of maintaining its position as a global leader in high-performance technologies. As members of the European Union, the CEE-4 countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania) attach considerable importance to the development of this type of energy, setting ambitious targets and allocating substantial investment to this sector. The present article aims to analyse the latest trends in the renewable energy sector in the CEE-4 countries. In the initial section of the article, an extensive review of the pertinent literature was conducted. This entailed the examination of significant articles and studies within the field, with the objective of identifying existing gap in the available research. In the second part of the paper, a quantitative analysis was conducted that included four indicators related to renewable energy. The primary findings indicate that the CEE-4 countries demonstrate a commendable performance in terms of the proportion of renewable energy sources utilised, in comparison to the European Union average. This is particularly noteworthy when considering these countries' communist past and their relatively recent accession to the European Union. Furthermore, Romania is the CEE-4 country that ranks highest on three of the four indicators. Nevertheless, the full potential of renewable energy sources has yet to be realised. To address this issue, several measures must be taken. These include the improvement of support schemes for renewable energy sources, the construction of new facilities, particularly those dedicated to solar and wind power, and the modernisation of existing cogeneration plants.

Keywords: renewable energy; climate change; CEE-4 countries; policies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q42 Q48 Q49 Q54 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-06
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