The final event of the "Transition Opportunities" project attracted significant interest

The international forum "Just Transition Opportunities Across Borders", which took place on September 25 in Sofia, aroused great interest in the public. The event, organized by Brand Media Bulgaria as part of the European project "Transition Opportunities", brought together leading European experts, local government representatives and business leaders under one roof. All of these people sought to find ways and offer working solutions to make the green energy transition in Bulgaria as just as possible for the regions affected by it.

During the conference, the contribution of the EU's Cohesion Policy, the Just Transition Fund and the Recovery Plan were further clarified - as these platforms have a central role in supporting the just transition to a climate-neutral economy.

The participants also presented a wide range of economic development opportunities in coal-dependent regions, while on-site attendees and online viewers learned more about the investment opportunities and policy challenges associated with the green transition.

The Green Deal

The Green Deal is not just political wishful thinking. That policy is not related to only to energy - although in Bulgaria the narrative only centers on coal - it is much broader," said the chairman of the Energy Management Institute, Slavtcho Neykov, who was the moderator of the event.

The Bulgarian expert is adamant that coal is going away, and this process is happening faster than we first thought, and the evidence for this is abundant.

According to him, we must make maximum efforts and decisions as a society so that this transition can be fair for everyone.

He recalled that the concept of the Green Deal was that "no one will be forgotten and left behind".

Yordanka Chobanova, head of the European Commission Representation in Bulgaria, also spoke at the event. She relayed the main message of the European Commission to Bulgaria regarding the energy transition and summarized it as a call for urgency.

We need decisive actions, now is the time for them. The country must engage all interested parties," added Chobanova.

According to her, "without any political commitment and activity, this thing (ed. note - the lack of commitment) puts Bulgaria's access to the vast European financial resources at serious risk."

Money for the Bulgarian mines

Bulgaria’s Deputy Minister of Energy Krasimir Nenov was also present at the event. He announced that over 250 million euros of the money from the Recovery and Sustainability Plan will be set aside for the land reclamation on the territories of the Bulgarian mines. Nenov told Economic.bg that these are separate funds from the 125 million euros per year approved by the National Assembly (the Bulgarian Parliament) for the reclamation of the state-owned Mini Maritsa Iztok.

The funds from Brussels will go to all three coal regions - Stara Zagora, Kyustendil and Pernik.

The understanding is that the distribution of this money by region will be done in a similar way as the money from the Just Transition Fund," specified Nenov.

This means that the largest part of the amount will be allocated to the largest coal region - Stara Zagora.

Promotion of national cooperation

The processes related to the energy transition in Bulgaria and the retraining of the workforce in the three coal regions must be accelerated. The European Union has provided enough funds for these transformation processes, but the country must still take advantage of them through expertise. Meanwhile, in addition to the national level, local governments are working to attract investors to new industries. These were the announcements made by the participants in the first panel of the international forum.

The theme of that panel, moderated by Slavtcho Neykov, was "Promoting national cooperation". It was attended by Ivaylo Stoyanov, head of the "Strategic Planning and Programming" department at the Bulgarian Ministry of Regional Development, Lyudmil Veselinov, regional governor of Pernik, Alexander Pandurski, regional governor of Kyustendil, Nikolay Dochev, deputy mayor of Kyustendil, and Stefan Krastev, deputy mayor of Pernik.

The second panel of the event was dedicated to international cooperation, with representatives from various countries and European organizations expressing their readiness to lend a hand to Bulgaria in its transition to greener energy.

“You are not alone, many regions face the same challenges," commented Elena Ferrario, Senior Thematic Manager at the Interreg Europe Policy Learning Platform.

George Kremlis, honorary director of the European Commission, ambassador of the European Public Law Organization in Bulgaria, member of the Board of Directors and director of the Circular Economy and Climate Institute, also promised neighborly support on the way to a low-carbon future.

I can't say that in Greece we are among the leaders in that field, but everyone learns on the go and only after you start doing something, you can find out where your weaknesses are. In Greece, we would be happy to share information about our experiences with you," Kremlis said.

Ivan Sergejev, Coordinator of the Just Transition Process at the Ministry of Finance of Estonia, highlighted another important element.

You need to have critical voice structures. For us it was the trade unions that helped us, as they also criticized us," Sergejev said.

The last presenter on the panel was Eng. Mihael Juric, Deputy Prefect of Sisak-Moslavina County in Croatia, who showed his region's experience with green transformation. This includes a carefully developed plan for a just energy transition together with the relevant ministry of that country.

The problems that the EU coal regions affected by the green transition face are similar, but their solutions are different. They are looking for solutions linked to their specific national characteristics and challenges. Ultimately though, a good strategy and proper communication are always required to overcome the stumbling blocks in the process. The participants in the second panel were united around this conclusion.

Optimal use of resources

During the last panel, several examples of successful transition initiatives in Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Spain (and also some opportunities in Bulgaria) were presented.

“Are we using the resources we have today as efficiently as possible?” asked Svetoslav Ivanov, executive director of Overgas Inc. His answer was an emphatic "no".

An example of a unique feature in Bulgaria is its gas distribution network, which can become a valuable solution today," he believes.

Prof. Mariusz Kruczek from the Central Mining Institute - a national research institute in Poland - shared how the transition process was happening in the largest coal-mining region in Europe - Silesia.

He argued that the biggest fear for the people living in the affected areas was the potential loss of jobs because the coal industry has been the traditional main source of livelihood.

We were looking for a way to deal with this problem, to make a transition, but also to give due to the mines and to this way of life," he said.

The Hungarian transition has also begun, and its effects were presented by Dr. Zsuzsa Piskoti-Kovács, head of the Coal Commission Secretariat in that country.

When we talk about just transition, we always see it as a big challenge, as a series of problems, but let's begin seeing it as a series of opportunities for all of us," she said.

Kovacs is adamant that if we cooperate, if we clearly distribute our responsibilities among the various participants in the transition, and if we maintain constant communication, we will overcome all these challenges and find the right path.

When it comes to the distribution of financial resources in the Czech Republic, the officials there have taken a different approach. They picked projects pre-selected and assessed at the regional level first.

The regions said what they wanted and what they needed, then sent the appropriate projects to the central administration and received funding - exactly the opposite of how things used to be done," commented Jiri Sterba, project manager for transformation and development SUAS GROUP.

Sterba emphasized that the Just Transition Fund is very important and a great opportunity, but it is sometimes overrated as well.

This was the final event of the "Transition Opportunities" project. In just one year, Brand Media Bulgaria, publisher of Economic.bg, organized six local events (two in each of the three coal regions in Bulgaria - Kyustendil, Pernik and Stara Zagora), one webinar and one international forum. 

Translated by Tzvetozar Vincent Iolov

Co-Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the Managing Authority. Neither the European Union nor the Managing Authority can be held responsible for them.