The public dialogue wrongly focuses on whether or not we will close the coal plants, stressed Ecominister Julian Popov

Green energy is the inevitable direction of economic development, Ecominister Yulian Popov emphasized at the "Government meets business" forum.

Green energy is the inevitable direction of economic development, Ecominister Yulian Popov emphasized at the "Government meets business" forum. For the 17th year in a row, the forum brought together key representatives of the executive power and senior management of the largest companies operating in Bulgaria to present and discuss their visions for improving the country's investment climate and competitiveness.

The public dialogue wrongly focuses on whether we will close the coal plants or not - expressed the opinion of the Minister of Environment and Water. "It is the market factors that will decide how this production will shrink." It is very important to realize and manage this process and the direction in which we are moving. Because we are moving towards carbon neutrality, regardless of what is commented on in social media and whether someone expresses distrust towards the institutions in Bulgaria. At the global level, new technologies are coming - sun and wind, which are displacing the old technologies and beating them on the market," said Yulian Popov during the discussion.

"What we need to do is to ensure a clear regulatory environment through which to attract new investments" - this is how Minister Yulian Popov outlined the direction of the green transition in the country. In the topic "Bulgaria and the Green Transition: Challenges and Vision of the Government" in front of an audience of 250 present in the hall, as well as a wide audience online, Minister Yulian Popov together with the Deputy Minister of Energy Krasimir Nenov presented the prospects of the Green Deal and the link between climate goals and economic development.

As a real and very great achievement, he appreciated the fact that, right from the start of its work, the government opposed the fragmentation of the Mariski Basin region, in order to preserve it as a good investment destination.

When asked if we are not losing focus from the whole idea of the green transition by concentrating our attention only on specific problems such as the work of miners, Minister Popov pointed out that in the process of the transition to green energy several thousand jobs will be created, "which are not merely assured, they are inevitable'. At the same time, on a global level, green energy attracts the interest of investors, and this is the inevitable direction of economic development: "We can see how investment interest grows when we declare an industrial zone, like Plovdiv, to be carbon neutral, because every industry, every international a company is highly committed to its carbon footprint, because of the global requirements for carbon neutrality, which are becoming more and more strict," emphasized Minister Yulian Popov in conclusion.