The statement from Bulgarian Government said that it is also necessary to ensure a balanced and fair distribution of the benefits and disadvantages associated with the transition between the individual member states. The Government said that the country could approve the EU’s target to reduce CO2 emissions by 55 % by 2030, however it needs support through adequate compensation mechanisms in order to reach that goal.
Last month, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov proposed to work jointly with the EC towards developing a coal phase-out plan in order to meet the EU’s emission reduction targets. He said that Bulgaria greatly supports the fight against climate change, environmental protection, low-carbon emissions but at the same time it wants to find a plan, together with the EC, for the countries of central and eastern Europe whose energy sector are mainly coal-based. Bulgaria is one of those countries, as over 60 % of its electricity comes from coal-based generation. The European Commission said earlier that it has advised Bulgaria to include measures supporting the coal phase-out strategy in its National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) in order to ensure just transition from coal-based to more climate-friendly energy production. Bulgaria is one of four EU member states, along with Poland, Romania and Croatia, that have not planned any coal phase-out before 2030. Bulgaria’s NECP establishes a share of 27.09 % of energy from renewable sources as the country’s contribution to the EU’s renewable energy target for 2030. This contribution is adequate, as it matches the EU target of at least 27 % by 2030.
