Ministers, scientists, economic experts and environmentalists participated in the special conference dedicated to Bulgaria’s preparation for the United Nations Forum in Glasgow, "The road to COP 26, the choice of Bulgaria" which was held today in Sofia.
In a few weeks, Heads of State or Government, political representatives and experts will meet in the United Kingdom at a major world forum this year - the United Nations International Climate Summit COP 26, under the joint chairmanship of the United Kingdom and Italy. Countries, including Bulgaria, must use the meeting in Glasgow to make clear commitments to limit global warming and to serve the planet for future generations. The respect of commitments has particular importance, it is important for Bulgaria as the country intends to reach the European targets for achieving climate neutrality by 2050 and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the next 10 years (by 2030) at least 55% of the 1990 emission level.
Prompted by this motivation, MOVE.BG together with the UK and Italian embassies organized a special conference dedicated to Bulgaria’s preparation for the UN International Climate Summit. The forum "The Road to COP 26: the Choice for Bulgaria" brought together ministers, students, economic experts and environmentalists including Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Pekanov.
The conference comes a few months after the publication of the UN climate report, which warned that climate change could become irreversible if the necessary measures are not taken to limit global warming, while an analysis by the BBC with scientists from Oxford and Berkeley showed that Eastern Europe is one of the regions most affected by global warming.
Ambassador Giuseppina Zarra, Italian ambassador to Bulgaria, shared: "As we restore the health of our economies, we need to invest in the health of our planet and put people and nature at the center of the political agenda. We consider it essential to promote the commitment of the younger generation and to channel youth mobilization in a positive way, as they will have the future of our planet. As Margaret Mead says, "Never doubt that a small group of conscientious and committed citizens can change the world. In truth it is the only thing that has always happened"".
All the Ambassador’s intervention is available here.
Rob Dixon, UK Ambassador to Bulgaria said: "Over the past 30 years, the UK has halved its emissions and the economy has grown by 75%, creating nearly half a million green jobs. In 2012, almost half of our electricity came from coal and now - less than two percent. Despite the challenges, I believe that Bulgaria can also adopt and achieve more ambitious targets and concrete plans for clean growth. I hope that in today’s debate we will outline how this can happen".
Sasha Bezuhanova, founder of MOVE.BG, shared: "Together with the embassies of the United Kingdom and Italy, the co-organizers of COP26, we are holding today’s round table to give more weight in Bulgaria’s public agenda to the issue of the climate crisis and the possible contribution of our country to its solution. The theme of climate is present in the public debate mainly through the social dimension of the closure of mines in the Maritza East complex. The commitments formally accepted within the European process do not have an integrated, shared and publicly supported national plan of our country for the achievement of the objectives of decarbonisation of Europe. I believe that today’s event will become a catalyst for a clear Programme on the climate of our country".
How is Bulgaria preparing for COP 26?
You can see what was shared by Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Pekanov, the representative of the Ministry of the Environment, as well as scientists and representatives of Bulgarian companies, in the file with quotes here and full registration of the conference "Road to CS 26: the choice of Bulgaria" is available here. The photos of the event are available at the link.
The event was also attended by Dr. Michele de Nigris, Director of Sustainable Development and Energy Sources at Research on the Energy System. His speech, in English, is available here.
COP 26 is a Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The forum, organized by Great Britain in partnership with Italy, is part of a conference under the new UNFCCC Protocol after the Kyoto Protocol: it is the Paris Climate Agreement, which aims to limit global warming to 2 degrees by 2050 and fighting for 1,5 degrees by the end of the century.
