The European Green Pact and the National Plan for a Fair Transition were among the discussed topics.
On January 7th, 2021 the Chairman of the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) Radosvet Radev held a work meeting in BIA with the Executive Director of ContourGlobal Maritsa East 3 Krassimir Nenov. The meeting was also attended by the Secretary General of BIA Dobri Mitrev, Deputy Chairman Maria Mincheva, Director of the Clean Industry Center Iliana Pavlova and Silvia Todorova - Director of Entrepreneurship, as well as Nadia Sinigerska - Manager of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development in "ContourGlobal Maritsa East 3".
The attendees discussed topics related to the European Green Pact and the National Plan for a Fair Transition. The representatives of ContourGlobal Maritsa East 3 stressed the importance of a fair transition and the consideration of the integrated national plan "Energy-Climate". The company said it was important to clarify the possible place of natural gas in the smooth transition to a low-carbon economy. According to Krassimir Nenov, its use would guarantee the operation of the balancing capacities in our energy system and thus - its stability and flexibility. In addition, the use of natural gas would lead to four times less carbon emissions.
The ambiguities around the Green Pact are becoming more and more, and the deadline for implementation is getting shorter, so it is necessary to look for the experience of other countries. In this regard, as a first step, BIA proposed a meeting with Dutch companies to share good practices. The proposal comes as a result of a conversation held at the end of 2020 between Radosvet Radev and HE Bea tan Tuscher, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Bulgaria. The meeting is expected to take place at the end of January, and BIA will host it.
During today's meeting, the activities around the Territorial Plans for a Fair Transition of the three regions most affected by the transition to a low-carbon economy in Bulgaria (Stara Zagora, Kyustendil and Pernik) were also discussed. The deadline for the preparation of territorial plans of all regions is the end of September. Until then, the National Recovery and Sustainability Plan, which was presented to the public several times by Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev, is expected to be completed, and by the end of April the document will be submitted to the EC for prior approval.
During the conversation it became clear that representatives of the consulting company "Price Water House Coopers" have already contacted various stakeholders, and the process is expected to continue with meetings with local authorities and businesses in Stara Zagora and Haskovo, Sliven and Yambol. Discussions will be held with business representatives and the non-governmental sector, in which BIA will also participate also during January. ContourGlobal Maritsa East 3 informed that tomorrow they will submit the first package of documents with initial data for the purposes of the analysis of the consulting company.
"Today's meeting is not the first, but the next, in which I believe that we will be partners and look for ways to deal with the problems in the Bulgarian energy sector, because their solution is of mutual interest. It is for the benefit of business and society, "said Radosvet Radev at the end of the discussion.
