site.btaClimate Policy Competition Underestimated in Bulgaria, Environment Minister Says

Environment and Water Minister Julian Popov holds that climate policies and their implications are a matter of very strong competition, but this is not generally understood in Bulgaria, which is evidenced by the protests of coal miners and energy workers. "If Bulgaria applied a sensible approach from the beginning of the EU green policy, which was launched before the country joined the EU, there would be no protests on the highways and no one would think that there was a problem in the energy sector," Popov argued, speaking at a roundtable on "EU Regulations on Zero Emissions".

He recalled that in 2005 it became clear that greenhouse gas emissions would cost a lot, he said, adding: "Bulgaria now has to pay for its delay with regard to green policies. What the protesters want is to make the government support something that has already happened."