site.btaEnvironment Minister and UNICEF Representative Discuss Children and Climate Action

Potential areas of cooperation between Bulgaria and UNICEF in the context of the Declaration on Children, Youth and Climate Action were discussed in Sofia between Environment and Water Minister Manol Genov and UNICEF Representative to Bulgaria Christina de Bruin, Genov's ministry reported on Tuesday.

De Bruin gave high marks for bilateral cooperation so far and reviewed UNICEF's work in Bulgaria, highlighting the priority areas under the Programme for Cooperation 2023-2027.

Genov welcomed the UN agency's commitment to matters of the environment and climate change on a national level with a focus on the health, development and well-being of children. He underscored the Environment and Water Ministry's active participation in various consultations and discussions in connection with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, centred on children's rights and the environment, with special emphasis on climate change.

The sides singled out the successful activities and initiatives conducted in the framework of the 28th and the 29th sessions of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Genov and de Bruin paid attention to joint work to fulfill the recommendations which the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child made to Bulgaria in 2024. They looked at ways for further engagement of children and young people in the making of decisions on climate control and environmental protection.