Speaker of Bulgaria's Parliament: There should be compensation for the sectors that will be affected by the green transition

There should be compensation for the sectors that will be affected in the green transition, National Assembly Speaker, Rosen Zhelyazkov, said on November 24 during the conference "Bulgaria's Energy Strategy: a Plan for Energy Security".

"The institutions should not just develop plans for energy and climate policies, there needs to be a national consensus on where the funds from the Recovery Plan, from the Fair Transition Mechanism should be most wisely invested and how the funds from the national European budgets should be invested in such a way that there are compensations for those sectors where the prices will outstrip the incomes," the National Assembly Speaker said.

MPs, representatives of the executive, trade unions and experts participated in the conference "Bulgaria's Energy Strategy: a Plan for Energy Security". The organiser of the forum is MEP, Tsvetelina Penkova, from the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats. Bulgarian innovations in the field of renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainable practices as well as their application in industry and economy were presented to the participants.

"We should look at the future of Bulgarian energy as a civilizational choice. The green transition has far-reaching moral dimensions to achieve a better, fairer and more sustainable future. We politicians are also expressing our concern and we must take into account the concerns of those who are worried about the closure of coal-fired thermal power plants, the loss of jobs and rising energy prices," Zhelyazkov said.

"The long-term advantages and benefits of the green transition are undoubted, but we, the politicians, also express our concern and we have to take into account the concerns of those who are worried about the closure of the coal-fired power plants, the loss of jobs or the rise in energy prices," Rosen Zhelyazkov said.

"The difficulties and challenges should be shared and borne in solidarity. Europe cannot and should not afford to go through these gigantic changes without ensuring conditions for a fair transition," Zhelyazkov added.

According to him, Bulgaria's energy future is a topic of increasingly in-depth and critical discussions.

"When we talk about an energy strategy and an energy security plan, we have several key messages: achieving broad public consensus on the draft strategy for sustainable energy development in Bulgaria with a horizon to 2050; security of energy supply and grid infrastructure; sustainable use of local energy resources; decentralisation; energy efficiency; strong focus on new technologies, nuclear energy development, etc. One of the main challenges is the transition to low-carbon energy," he said.

According to Zhelyazkov, the National Recovery and Resileince Plan is important for the country. It concentrates nearly 60% of all financial resources for green transition and transformation measures in support of climate goals by 2026, explained the Parliament Speaker.

Images by Dessislava Kulelieva