Romania is increasingly experiencing the accelerated effects of climate change, and the Capital is becoming more vulnerable to heat waves and intense thermal stress generated by extreme phenomena. There is an urgent need for concrete interventions to increase climate resilience. Through the Environmental Platform for Bucharest, the Bucharest Community Foundation and Orange Romania are investing up to half a million lei in a series of projects that build green infrastructure acting as a climate shield for the Capital, helping to mitigate the urban heat island effect and strengthen the city’s resilience.
The investments are part of the seventh funding round carried out under the strategic program Environmental Platform for Bucharest, which has so far supported a total of 58 projects developed by civic initiative groups and non-governmental organizations, with cumulative investments of approximately 15 million lei.
“Nature-based solutions that protect the city from strong meteorological contrasts are becoming critical infrastructure for climate resilience, with a major role in public health and quality of life. Through this new funding round, we are moving from debate to concrete and direct interventions, through urban prototypes with real potential, that can become replicable large-scale models. This way, we aim to transform vulnerabilities into response capacity and build, step by step, a city that is better to live in, more resilient and better prepared for the future”, says Alina Kasprovschi, Executive Director, Bucharest Community Foundation.
Strategic interventions to transform urban spaces into climate refuges
Public space redevelopment projects designed as climate refuges were selected following an evaluation process conducted by a jury of specialists in climatology, public policy and sustainability – Dr. Roxana Bojariu (National Meteorological Administration), Alina Kasprovschi (Bucharest Community Foundation), Mihail Belu (Orange Romania), Dr. Sorin Cebotari (InfoClima) and Bogdan Dragnea (Climate Neutrality Officer of the Municipality of Bucharest). The funded projects will be implemented within one year, by February 2027.
The initiative “OPEN COOLSPOT Campus Tei – urban cooling laboratory”, developed by the Climato Sfera Association, aims to create a climate refuge in an impermeable, vegetation-poor area highly exposed to heat in Bucharest’s Tei neighbourhood. The association plans to design and build an innovative vegetation pavilion conceived as natural cooling infrastructure. With a height of 3 meters and a footprint of up to 5 square meters, the structure will use plant evapotranspiration to generate natural cooling. The project, funded with 127,500 lei, will function as an urban prototype. The intervention will be monitored to measure its microclimatic impact, and its cooling effects and community benefits will be analyzed to support replication in other areas of the city.
The second funded project, “Filipescu-Cesianu Garden – climate refuge on Calea Victoriei”, aims to transform a space in the heart of the Capital into an urban refuge and a model of climate adaptation. Developed by Club Clorofila, the initiative seeks to revitalize and replace lost vegetation in the over 2,000-square-meter garden of the Filipescu-Cesianu House, part of the Bucharest Municipal Museum heritage, install a drinking water source and a rainwater collection system, and build a volunteer network for the long-term sustainable maintenance of the green space. With support of 127,269 lei, the project strengthens the Bucharest Municipal Museum’s capacity to manage climate adaptation of the space and creates a refuge accessible to the public in one of the city’s busiest areas.
Incubator to accelerate ideas into concrete solutions
In addition to the two funded projects, the Bucharest Community Foundation is introducing an incubation mechanism for several other initiatives currently at the idea stage but with high impact potential. These will receive initial funding for a three-month period to further develop the concept and plan the stages, costs and approvals needed to transform it into a high-impact project. Once viability and community benefits are confirmed, the projects may become eligible to move into the implementation phase with funding through the Environmental Platform for Bucharest.
One such early-stage initiative is “Cool Bucharest – network of urban micro-forests”, through which the Pădurea Copiilor Association aims to develop a network of 20 green micro-climate zones across the city. In the first stage, the organization receives 29,900 lei for incubation and planning of the first five micro-forests and may later become eligible for full funding of up to 125,000 lei. The association already has an agreement with the Environmental Directorate of the Bucharest City Hall, has previously collaborated successfully with the Administration of Lakes, Parks and Leisure Bucharest (ALPAB), and has created a nursery that functions as an educational, participatory and inclusive space. There, tree seeds collected by children from the city’s old parks during educational events grow into saplings that form urban micro-forests helping to combat the urban heat island effect.
At the same time, through the initiative “Climate-Cultural Refuge – library adapted to thermal extremes”, the Străzi pentru Oameni Association aims to transform the “Alexandru Odobescu” branch of the Bucharest Metropolitan Library into an urban climate refuge where city residents can shelter during extreme temperatures. The concept includes modernization of interior and exterior spaces, improvement of nearby green areas and organization of educational workshops. The association receives initial funding of 22,000 lei to consolidate the concept and may later become eligible for full funding of 104,600 lei.
Education for climate resilience through Digitaliada
In addition to funding initiatives aimed at increasing the Capital’s climate resilience, the involvement of the Bucharest Community Foundation and Orange Romania also includes an educational component. Together, the two organizations are launching the interactive digital course “Education for Sustainable Development – climate resilience, built environment and circular economy”, available on Orange Foundation’s Digitaliada platform. The course aims to raise awareness of climate challenges and increase community engagement in addressing them. Developed by the De-a Arhitectura Association and the ECOTECA Association, the course includes 20 educational resources organized into thematic modules dedicated to climate change, urban adaptation, carbon footprint reduction and civic engagement, designed for middle school students and accompanied by teaching materials for educators. The materials have so far been piloted in four schools in Bucharest and Ilfov.
“For Orange, sustainability means immediate utility for people and long-term education. Together with the Bucharest Community Foundation, we fund projects and ideas that bring shade, cooling and water into public spaces and can become replicable models across neighbourhoods. In addition, we complement investments in green infrastructure with technology and learning: through Digitaliada, we are launching an interactive digital course on climate resilience, the built environment and the circular economy, designed to prepare students and teachers to become part of the solution”, says Veronica Dogaru, Corporate Communications & CSR Director, Orange Romania.The Environmental Platform for Bucharest is a strategic program developed by the Bucharest Community Foundation and ING Bank Romania. Launched in 2021, the program brings together civil society specialists, academia, companies, activists, policymakers and public administration representatives to act in a coordinated manner to address the complex environmental issues affecting Bucharest. Through key pillars such as research, funding and collaboration, the Platform collects data and concrete examples to understand environmental challenges and solutions proposed by civil society, mobilizes financial resources to implement and scale them, and creates a collaborative framework between NGOs, private companies and public administration.
