Agent Green wins final Supreme Court ruling in the Răstolița case against Hidroelectrica

Agent Green press release

Agent Green wins final Supreme Court ruling in the Răstolița case against Hidroelectrica

Bucharest, 6 February 2025 – The High Court of Cassation and Justice (ICCJ) delivered its final ruling today in the case between Agent Green and Hidroelectrica concerning the removal of protected status from ROSCI0019 Călimani-Gurghiu for the Răstolița hydropower development. The aim of removing that status was to avoid the obligation to carry out an appropriate assessment and an environmental impact assessment. The Court ruled definitively in favour of Agent Green, which intervened in support of the Environment Ministry, whose representatives did not attend yesterday’s hearing.

“The law is clear on habitats and species, and the boundaries of protected areas cannot be moved with the stroke of a pen by transient politicians hostile to Europe and nature. By winning this case, we have ensured that our country avoids infringement proceedings that could have cost the state budget many millions of euros,” said Cătălina Rădulescu, Agent Green’s lawyer.

Răstolița VIDEO available for free use with credit to “Agent Green”.

In the proceedings, Hidroelectrica tried to remove the protected status of areas of European interest in the Călimani and Gurghiu mountains by annulling the ministerial order approving the list of proposed Natura 2000 protected areas of European interest. Hidroelectrica claims that the forest it wants cleared was included in the protected area by mistake. In fact, this forest is the most valuable in the area, being a habitat considered rare and a priority under EU law (code 91E0*): alluvial forests with Alnus glutinosa and Fraxinus excelsior — Alnopadion, Alnion incanae, Salicion albae.

The new European nature restoration law requires each Member State to restore at least 20% of its territory by 2030 and all ecosystems needing restoration by 2050. At least 25,000 km of watercourses must flow freely again.

“Hidroelectrica’s and the government’s attempt to clear mountains and concrete over watercourses to channel them into pipes is completely anti-European. It goes against the healing of nature, which has been abused for so long and needs educated politicians to recover. I believe politicians should focus on removing sediment from all Romania’s reservoirs, because that is where massive energy losses occur. They must also ban all logging on the slopes feeding the reservoirs to stop sediment from forestry operations. The cost of desilting is colossal, and I am appalled that Hidroelectrica, the Energy and Environment ministries and Romsilva are not cooperating in the national interest,” concluded Gabriel Păun, Agent Green’s president, who recently received the United Nations’ “Champion of the Earth” award.

Agent Green has repeatedly drawn attention to massive forest clearing in catchments feeding energy-producing reservoirs, without any measures being taken. Most recently, the organization’s representatives were at Vidraru just last week in the Făgăraș mountains, where illegal logging in primary forests has caused severe soil erosion that contributes significantly to the accelerated silting of Lake Vidraru.

Moreover, sediment in lakes is decomposing organic matter that generates methane emissions, a greenhouse gas 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

Press contact:
Cătălina Rădulescu, Agent Green’s lawyer, catalina@agentgreen.org, 0740161116