Uncertainty Shadows Future of Bulgaria’s Coal-Fueled Power Plants
If the resources of the European Commission's Just Transition Fund are increased, after 31 December, 2024, a green mechanism will be introduced rewarding the countries which have reduced industrial emissions of greenhouse gases. Bulgaria could gain access to 1.178 billion euro, but for its projects to be approved for grant funding they have to focus on economic diversification, restructuring or on creating new jobs supporting the transition to a circular and climate-neutral economy.
The EU's ambition of attaining a 55% sustained reduction of greenhouse gases by 2030 places Bulgaria in a difficult position, President Rumen Radev said before the European Council meeting in Brussels (24-25 May), and added that the country will insist on the introduction of measures to protect competitiveness and guarantee that the social cost of the green transition will be bearable.
It would be interesting to know how the 3 billion worth of investment in TurkStream and the 200 million for the State Oil Company is helping any of this, Ruslan Stefanov, director of the Economic Programme of the Centre for the Study of Democracy commented in an interview for the BNR.
"Such a problem exists and it needs long-term solutions, especially for the affected regions around the mining facilities. But it is also true that in the past 10-15 years - the time we have all known this transition to be taking place - this political priority has been declared in Europe and Bulgaria has put its signature to it. We have accepted these decisions, yet we are continuing to waste taxpayer money on projects that have no other aim than to serve the geopolitical interests of a third country - Russia - whose relations with the EU are extremely bad."
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