site.bta"3 Billion Trees" EU Campaign Spreads into Bulgaria

European Commissioner Mariya Gabriel on Friday planted the first tree in Bulgaria under a European Green Deal campaign to plant at least 3 billion additional trees EU-wide by 2030. The campaign is aimed to limit the loss of biodiversity, promote adaptation to climate change and rally young people as well as others around the EU biodiversity strategy.

Gabriel, who is in charge of Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth in the European Commission, performed the ritual in a school in Blagoevgrad, where she paid a working visit to update students on the novelties related to the Erasmus+ Programme and opportunities under EU education and mobility initiatives.

She said: "Planting a tree is like starting a piece of eternity." She said the tree planted in the Blagoevgrad school symbolizes the pooling of efforts at the European and national level and the commitment to protect the planet together for the future generations. "With this initiative, we want to draw young people's attention to the fundamental challenges of the green transition and climate change."

The Bulgarian EU Commissioner noted that the education community can contribute a lot to Europe's green transition. "It is important to adapt our education systems to the environmental transition by reversing fragmentation and linking education, science and innovation," she said.