The carbon footprint can be reduced the fastest through the energy industry, former deputy prime minister and environment minister Borislav Sandov said at a Climate and Migration information day held in Sofia on Monday. It was organized by the Eco-Community Foundation and brought together experts and NGO representatives.
Sandov commented that it is the energy industry that causes a carbon imbalance and coal is believed to be the main culprit. Coal accounts for the largest share in energy production but it is also the least effective, he said. Carbon emissions must be reduced by 40% and to this end coal-fired power plants will start to be closed. In his view, Bulgaria will lose EU funding unless it makes this transition.
Under its Recovery and Resilience Plan, Bulgaria has committed to cut carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation by 40% by 2026.
Transport is the other sector which impacts climate change, according to Sandov, who believes that solutions should involve cutting the use of cars in everyday life. He added that electric vehicle purchases are not subsidized in Bulgaria.
Earlier in the day, Chief Assistant Professor Zornitsa Spasova from the Health Ministry’s National Centre of Public Health and Analyses talked about climate’s impact on human health. According to the World Health Organization, climate change is the greatest threat to human health in the 21st century. The health risks from hot weather include dehydration, rashes, cramps, heat exhaustion, heat stroke and death.
Associate Professor Lilia Bocheva of the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology gave a talk on climate change in Bulgaria. She said the last 30 years had seen a shift in climate zones, with changes in the direction of drier and warmer subtypes.
Bocheva said that “climate” refers to a multi-year statistical weather pattern characteristic of an area depending on its geographic location. A review of two climatic periods, 1991-2020 and 1961-1990, shows that there are temperature differences. After 2000, temperature anomalies increase.
A marked warming was registered in all seasons, especially in Northern Bulgaria Sofia Region and Mount Rila. Temperatures rose in the summer by up to 3 degrees Celsius in the regions along the Danube and in Northeastern Bulgaria.
There will be a general warming across Bulgaria until the end of the 21st century. This, however, does not exclude anomalous cold events of varying duration, Bocheva said. According to forecast models, there is a trend of decreasing precipitation and an increasing number of consecutive days without precipitation.
