• Globally, new technologies - solar and wind, are displacing old technologies and beating them on the market

“What we need to do is to provide a clear regulatory environment so as to attract new investments,” thus Minister Julian Popov outlined the direction for Bulgarian green transition at the Government Meets Business conference by Capital newspaper that brought together key representatives of the executive and senior management of the largest companies in Bulgaria for the 17th consecutive year to discuss visions for improvement of the the investment climate and the competitiveness of the counrty.

Under the theme "Bulgaria and the Green Transition: Challenges and Government Vision", Minister Julian Popov, together with Deputy Minister of Energy Krasimir Nenov, presented the prospects of the green deal and the link between climate goals and economic development to an audience of 250 in attendance, as well as a broad online audience.

The public dialogue wrongly focuses on whether we will or will not close the coal plants, the Minister of Environment and Water said. "It is market factors that will decide how this production will shrink. It is very important that we come to this realization 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 social media and whether someone expresses distrust in the institutions in Bulgaria.  At the global level, new technologies are coming - solar and wind, which are replacing old technologies and beating them on the market," said Julian Popov during the discussion.

As a palpable and very good achievement, he expressed praise for the fact that since the beginning of its term in office the government opposed the fragmentation of the Maritsa Basin region in order to preserve it as a good investment destination.

Asked whether we are not losing sight of the bigger idea of the green transition by focusing our attention on specific problems, such as the work of miners, Minister Popov pointed out that in the transition process to green energy several thousand jobs will open up, "which are not just secured, they are inevitable". At the same time, on a global level, green energy is attracting 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 carbon neutral, as is the case in Plovdiv, because every industry, every international company is highly committed to reducing its carbon footprint because of the global requirements for carbon neutrality, which are becoming increasingly stricter," concluded Minister Julian Popov.

The Government Meets Business conference was also attended by Prime Minister acad. Nikolay Denkov, Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel, the Ministers of Innovation Milena Stoicheva, of Economy Bogdan Bogdanov, the Deputy Minister of Finance Georgi Klisurski, political scientist Ivan Krastev, prof. Luke Van Gool and prof. Martin Vechev from the Bulgarian Institute of Artificial Intelligence INSAIT and others.