Bulgaria now has a national goal of climate neutrality by 2050

With their publication today, important changes to the Climate Change Mitigation Act (CCMA) come into force, which the Climate Coalition - Bulgaria (CCB) has been advocating for in recent years. The adopted changes include setting a common long-term national goal to achieve climate neutrality and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, in line with the provisions of the Paris Agreement and the European Climate Law. Following the changes, the CCMA provides for the long-term national goal to be taken into account in the preparation of strategic documents, measures, and activities to limit climate change and ensure a just transition at the national, regional, and local levels for all sectors of the national economy. Another important change is the introduction of a long-term national strategy to mitigate climate change in order to achieve the overall long-term national goal of climate neutrality.

At EU level, the commitment to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 is part of the European Green Deal and is enshrined in the European Climate Law, which obliges all Member States to work towards this common goal. As part of the CCB's advocacy efforts, institutional and legal analyses were prepared by experts from WWF and BlueLink, which identified the need for conceptual changes to the CCMA to respond to the EU's efforts to achieve carbon neutrality. As a result of these analyses, the CCB presented the Ministry of Environment and Water and members of parliament with principled and specific proposals for amendments to the Climate Change Mitigation Act. Two of the proposals included the long-term goal of climate neutrality, as well as the development and implementation of a long-term national strategy to mitigate climate change.

Other important proposals that are not reflected in the new version of the CCMA are the introduction of an interim climate target to reduce net emissions by at least 90% by 2040, as well as the creation of a national scientific council on climate under the Council of Ministers, rather than under the Ministry of Environment and Water. This council was to be given expanded functions - to provide independent expert and scientific input into the process of preparing, implementing, reporting, and evaluating policies related to climate change mitigation and adaptation to its effects.

"These legislative changes are an achievement not only for Bulgaria but also for the entire civil climate community in Europe. At a time when we are seeing a retreat from the strategic priorities for a fair and sustainable transition to a low-carbon economy and climate neutrality in the world and in Europe, Bulgaria is moving in the right direction with these changes," commented Plamen Peev, senior legal expert at BlueLink. Of course, there is a lot of work still to be done to ensure that this legal framework promotes better socio-economic development for Bulgaria, which is not at the expense of nature and the climate. We expect the government and parliament to listen to our constructive proposals in the future and to seek us out as an equal partner, Peev added.

Changes in the CCMA accomplish one of the primary advocacy priorities of CCB. The coalition's advocacy has been supported by the European Climate Foundation and BlueLink since 2021. WWF and individual experts have been instrumental in shaping the advocacy goals during 2021-2022, with cobtribution by all CCB members. Read more about the advocacy actions of CCB at:

https://www.bluelink.net/novini/blulink-i-wwf-balgariya-s-preporaki-za-p...
https://www.bluelink.net/novini/koalitsiya-za-klimata-balgariya-nastoyav...
https://www.bluelink.net/stanovishta/balgarskiyat-zakon-za-klimata-tryab...
https://www.bluelink.net/novini/za-efektiven-zakon-sreshtu-izmenenieto-n...