Panel Va, dedicated to Green Reconstruction and Green Energy, was moderated by Mr. Corneliu Bodea, President of the Romanian Energy Center, who introduced the discussion on the profound transformations required for modernizing and decarbonizing energy infrastructure. The event featured H.E. Bogdan-Gruia Ivan, Romania’s Minister of Energy, as the keynote speaker, whose remarks provided the strategic framework of the panel. The speakers included Mr. George Agafiței, Head of the Sustainability and Institutional Affairs Department at PPC Group; Mr. Vitaliy Radchenko, Head of the Energy and Climate Change Department at CMS Ukraine; Mr. Nicolas Richard, CEO of Engie Romania; Mr. Gheorghe Ciubotaru, President of Electroalfa International; and Mr. Eduard Dumitrașcu, President of the Romanian Smart City Association. Each offered complementary perspectives on the intersection of digitalization, the green transition, and sustainable reconstruction.
In their interventions, the speakers emphasized that urban digitalization and energy regeneration initiatives—such as innovative city projects—had served as essential catalysts for modernizing local systems. They stressed that Ukraine should not be underestimated in terms of technological innovation, as its economic and administrative actors had demonstrated remarkable enthusiasm for adopting digital solutions, from artificial intelligence to network infrastructure optimization. Participants also explained that Ukraine was undergoing an intensive legislative reform and alignment with European standards, which created the conditions for more effective coordination between central and local authorities. This dynamic enabled not only the development of a modern energy market but also the implementation of joint projects with European states, with a focus on interconnection, grid balancing, and strengthening regional energy security.
The panel also highlighted the need to redefine the architecture of energy networks toward decentralization, flexibility, and increased interconnection capacity, in a context in which Ukraine was already operating on European frequencies and intensifying its electricity and gas exchanges with EU states. The speakers underlined that Ukraine’s green transition required not just infrastructural reconstruction but also the creation of a new culture of innovation, capable of harnessing cutting-edge technologies and attracting strategic investments. In this regard, cooperation between European and Ukrainian ecosystems was presented as a fundamental pillar of regional energy resilience. At the same time, green reconstruction was framed as a historic opportunity to build a more sustainable, digitalized, and European-integrated economy. The panel concluded that, despite existing challenges, close collaboration and coordinated investments were the only viable path toward an effective, future-oriented reconstruction.
