site.btaBulgaria Is Making Progress in Green Transition, Says Expert

Bulgaria is making progress in the green transition, Prof. Daniela Bobeva from the Economic Research Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences told journalists before the start of Tuesday's annual scientific conference Economic Development and Policies: Realities and Prospects. National and European Challenges of the Green Economy Transition. Bobeva said that financial institutions in Bulgaria have done extremely effective work of in terms of the fulfillment of commitments. In addition, there is a private sector in Bulgaria that very quickly is turning towards green projects and self-financing.

Bobeva  added that according to some indicators, Bulgaria is in a much better condition compared to Central European countries. She gave as an example the protected areas and the reduction of carbon emissions compared to 1990. This country is the worst in terms of indicators in the circular economy and waste, where Bulgaria lags behind most countries. "I think that with some quick and effective measures we will overcome the lack in this area", commented Bobeva.

Prof. Bobeva added that Bulgaria has made great progress in the last two years in the construction of renewable energy sources, only that the prices have collapsed and now a large part of the photovoltaics are not working or have difficulties in repaying their loans. "This is a defect of the too fast transition – it formed some bubbles in different sectors of the economy", said Bobeva. She recommended rethinking not only the way, but also the speed with which reforms are made.

The big deficit is that technology lags behind ambition. "Where is the hydrogen, where are the batteries?" asked Bobeva.