site.btaEnvironment Minister Says National Recovery Plan Has No Express Provision to Close Coal-fuelled Power Plants

During a hearing by the parliamentary Environment Committee here on Thursday, Environment Minister Borislav Sandov said that the National Recovery and Resilience Plan does not contain an express provision for the closure of coal-fuelled power plants. Instead, a reference year has been laid down for an end of coal-powered energy by 2038. Sandov described the reference year as "far away," noting that in his personal view, this will happen much earlier driven by market conditions. Sandov was answering a question from an MP of the opposition GERB-UDF parliamentary group.

The Environment Minister confirmed that Bulgaria has assumed a commitment in the Plan to reduce to 40 per cent the harmful emissions by 2026. Sandov noted that this will not necessarily happen through the closure of coal plants. In his words, coal plants work with reduced capacity during certain months in the year anyway. He believes that a 40 per cent reduction of harmful emissions is feasible, noting that he does not expect this to cause "damage jobs-wise".