site.btaDeputy PM Pekanov: It Is Hard to Reduce Harmful Emissions without Closing Power Units

Reducing harmful emissions without closing power units is hard to achieve in the present environment, there is no clear mechanism how to make that happen, Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Pekanov said on bTV on Sunday. He was commenting on Bulgaria’s commitment to the EU under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) to close down its coal-fired power plants. 

In his words, it will be very hard to reduce emissions in Bulgaria this year and the next, because coal-fired plants are profitable at the moment. In addition to generating huge profits that return to the State, they contribute to the region’s energy security. However, the European Green Deal continues to be relevant. According to Pekanov, Bulgaria should seek a middle position and more realistic commitments.

He also said that many jobs will be lost but these should be provided in new, more lasting industries. Renegotiating the NRRP is a long process that will block the resources under the next installments, he noted, adding that no country has done that thus far.

Pekanov recalled that the NRRP has been public since April 2022. In the field of decarbonisation, Bulgaria has committed to each year reduce by 10% the harmful emissions from its coal-fired power plants. The NRRP was signed by the regular government of Kiril Petkov. “Those were the hardest talks with the European Commission, we failed to unite over some agreements with the European Commission on decarbonisation. They wanted clear and exact commitments, and we could not make such,” the Deputy PM explained.