Minister Popov: After 2030, it will be impossible to use coal

Bulgaria is a leading country in the European Union (EU) in terms of the construction of solar power plants. We build them, finance them and our companies operate in Japan, Chile, Germany, Saudi Arabia, everywhere. Our companies are very well positioned, they build solar panels all over the world, they work on very interesting projects with wind and hydrogen for example. This was stated by the Minister of Environment and Water Julian Popov to BNT.

He recalled that after 2030 it will be absolutely impossible to use coal in Bulgaria.

The minister considered Bulgaria's participation at the climate conference in Dubai very successful, where our country had its own pavilion for the first time, with a delegation of 280 people, which, according to Popov, made an exceptional impression. The delegation consisted mainly of representatives of the industry in our country, which, according to the minister, is extremely modern. Bulgarian metallurgy is more modern than in Germany, the minister said.

Regarding the Belgian company that intends to invest in the production of batteries in our country, Popov said that we should develop exactly such industries for energy storage. The Maritsa - East coal region has the potential to generate revenues of 20-30 billion euros for the production and storage of energy, predicts Minister Popov, quoted by BTA. He assured that there will be no hazardous waste in the production of batteries. These are elements that are not dangerous in the production itself, he said. Battery recycling has not advanced enough because there is not such a big market, but technologies are advancing, Minister Popov explained.

With regard to waste management, Popov said that the problem is not sufficiently well resolved at the national level. We have not implemented all waste treatment systems to be able to reduce landfilling to 10% of total waste, said Popov. According to him, the whole cycle of recycling, of new use of old components will come into effect. It is very important to develop a good waste market, the minister added.

Regarding air quality, Popov said that the fines for major polluters are being raised. This week, with a decision of the Council of Ministers, we raised the general fines for environmental polluters. This was a decision that should have been made a long time ago, said Minister Popov. It was done in relation to inflation, because fines have not been increased since 2011. I will fight to raise the fines further, but they must be well divided to correspond to the damage that polluters do to the environment, explained the Minister of Ecology.

He also said that the air quality in Bulgaria is constantly improving. The European Commission filed a case against us, which we won because the air parameters are improving, Popov recalled and added that our country will not pay a fine. However, we need to improve the quality of the air a lot - more than the requirements of the European Union, stressed Minister Julian Popov.