Bulgaria

Bulgaria ratified the UNFCCC in 1995 and the Kyoto Protocol in 2002. It submitted its first National Communication to the UNFCCC in 1996, followed by communications in 2001, 2002, 2006, 2010 (resubmitted in response to declaration of non-compliance with the Kyoto Protocol in 2010) and 2013. The next communication to the UNFCCC is currently being prepared. Bulgaria, a country in transition, adopted 1988 as the base year for the implementation of the Protocol. For the second commitment period (2012-2020), it has committed to the joint EU “20-20-20” targets of the “climate and energy package”. Following the upwards revision of targets by the Third National Action Plan on Climate Change for the period 2013-2020, Bulgaria has committed to reduce its GHG emissions by at least 18.5% by 2020 (base year 2005), limit the growth in ‘non-ETS’ emissions to below 20% (base year 2005), source 20% of its gross final energy production and 16% of its gross final consumption from renewables by 2020, source 10% of final energy consumption in the transport sector from renewables, and increase energy efficiency by 25% by 2020 (base year 2005).

Bulgaria has met its international commitments for emissions reductions to date. From 1988 to 2011, emissions decreased by 45.8% (46.4% with LULUCF), exceeding the reductions target for the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol (8%, 2008-2012). The Government places climate change among its main priorities, although economic development remains the key priority as a country in transition. More than one-fifth of the labour force is employed on a minimum wage of EUR1 (USD1.25) per hour, with household income often dependent on the informal economy (almost 32% of GDP). This is why the majority of legislation related to climate change mitigation and adaptation does not go beyond implementation of EU legislation.

The Ministry of Environment and Water (MEOW) is responsible for the design and implementation of climate change policy and the Executive Environment Agency for the co-ordination of the National GHG Inventory. The Inter-Ministerial Committee on Climate Change (set up in 2000) and the Inter-ministerial Working Group for Development of the National Allocation Plan (set up in 2005) co-ordinate climate measures in key sectoral policies such as energy, households and services, industry, transport, agriculture, forestry and waste management. The following organisations support the climate change activities of the MOEW: Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Energy, Sustainable Energy Development Agency, Joint Implementation Steering Committee, Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the National Statistical Institute, the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, and a number of lower-level government offices.

The Climate Change Mitigation Act (2014) represents the key climate change mitigation legislation. It lays down the principles of the state policy in the climate sector, the procedures for issuing GHG emissions permits, the responsibilities for organising national inventories, the rules for operation of the emissions trading mechanism and procedures for financing green projects. Specific national targets concerning the Climate-Energy Package are contained in strategic documents, including Europe 2020: National Reform Programme (2014 update); National Development Programme: “Bulgaria 2020”; National Environmental Strategy 2009-2018; Third National Climate Change Action Plan 2013-2020; Energy Strategy of the Republic of Bulgaria until 2020; National Energy Efficiency Programme until 2015; National Long-term Programme for the Promotion of the Use of Renewable Energy Sources 2005-2015; National Programme for Promotion of the Biofuels Use in the Transport Sector 2008-2020; and National Strategy for Development of the Forestry Sector 2006-2015.

The principal objectives of climate-related policy are the development of a highly efficient and green energy sector and establishment of a single internal energy market, while overcoming high energy and carbon intensity of the economy and dependency on energy imports. Climate change mitigation measures are mainly financed from the state budget, the Enterprise for Managing Activities on Environmental Protection, the National Trust Eco Fund and the National Science fund. Other contributions come from EU Environmental Funds, Kyoto Protocol Joint Implementation Mechanism and Green Investment Scheme, and other international and bilateral agreements.

At the local level, municipalities are responsible for efficient production, supply and use of energy (e.g. energy savings through buildings renovation, energy efficient street lighting) and are mandated by the Energy Efficiency Act to prepare municipal energy efficiency plans. Although not leading directly to measurable reductions in emissions, the National Strategy for R&D Development 2020 (2009) defines energy, energy efficiency, and development of green and eco-technologies as the top scientific research priority. According to the 6^th National Communication to the UNFCCC, BGN90m (USD57.8m) is to be dedicated for their implementation.

Energy supply

The energy sector has the largest share in the national GHG emissions. The primary energy generation mix is dominated by coal (52.1%), followed by nuclear (34.4%), renewables 10.3% (fuels and waste 7.1%, electricity generation 2.8%, heat energy 0.4%), natural gas (2.9%), and oil (0.2%) (2011). However, domestic energy production does not match energy demand, of which more than 70% has to be met by imports, mostly from Russia.

The Ministries of Economy and of Energy are responsible for co-ordination of energy policy, assisted by the Sustainable Energy Development Agency (SEDA), the State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission, the Agency for Nuclear Regulation and the Ministry of Environment and Water. The policies and measures in the energy sector are based mainly on the Energy Strategy of Bulgaria until 2020, the National Long-term Programme for the Promotion of the Use of Renewable Energy Sources 2005-2015, the National Renewable Energy Action Plan and the National Long-Term Programme to Encourage the Use of Biomass for the Period 2008-2020. The main climate change mitigation target related to energy supply – 16% of energy from renewables in gross final consumption of energy by 2020 – has already been reached (16.4% in 2012). To ensure a more sustainable transition to low-carbon technologies without disproportionate impacts on electricity prices a new Energy Strategy of Bulgaria until 2030 is currently being developed.

To increase energy security, a number of projects have been implemented or are in progress, such as the underground Chiren Gas Storage facility with a capacity of about 450m m³/yr. However, the “South Stream” Project (a planned gas pipeline to transport Russian natural gas through the Black Sea to Bulgaria and other EU states) has been cancelled so new options are needed. A number of renewable energy projects are under way, including the construction of new large hydropower capacity through the Joint Implementation mechanism and support to micro hydropower through feed-in tariffs. Further potential exists to reduce electricity losses in transmission networks.

Energy demand

Bulgaria has the highest energy intensity of the EU-28, with 2.5 times more energy consumption per unit of GDP than the EU average. Although GHG emissions decreased substantially between 1988 and 2011 in energy generation (13.7%), manufacturing industry (79.1%) and other sectors (64.9%), with a slight increase in the transport sector, the structure of final gross energy consumption remains oriented towards fossil fuels (oil, gas and coal add up to more than 50% in 2011).

A number of policy instruments contribute to achieving a 25% energy efficiency increase by 2020 compared to 2005 levels, including the National Long-term Programme for Energy Efficiency Until 2015, the National Energy Efficiency Action Plan for 2013-2015, the National Programme for the Renovation of Residential Buildings and the Financing Strategy for Building Insulation to Improve Energy Efficiency. In addition, a new National Action Plan on Energy Efficiency was adopted in July 2014 to transpose the EU Directive on energy efficiency into Bulgaria’s legislation. For the building sector, minimum energy performance standards have been set as well as eco-design requirements, energy labelling and soft-loan mechanism to support purchase of efficient appliances. In the industrial sector, individual energy saving targets and mandatory audits have been set. There are also economic incentives, including “Investments in green industry” and “Energy efficiency and green economy” grants, the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Sources Fund (EERSF), and the Residential Energy Efficiency Credit Line (REECL).

Carbon pricing

The EU ETS, introduced in September 2005, is Bulgaria’s main carbon pricing initiative. In the third period of EU ETS, most allowances are subject to auctioning. The revenues generated from auctioning allowances should be used for activities to reduce the adverse impact of climate change. The revenues are disbursed under the National Green Investment Scheme to finance energy efficiency projects, development of energy from renewable sources, development and deployment of environmentally friendly technologies, educational measures, scientific research and measures to improve the administrative capacity and management of activities under the climate change mitigation policy.

REDD+ and LULUCF

Forestry is an important economic sector, with significant state investments over the last 40 years. In 2011, forest covered 37.4% of the country and forests support valuable ecosystems and control soil erosion. They are also recognised as having a key function for climate change mitigation through carbon sequestration. In the last decade the sequestration of GHG from forest areas offset between 10.7%-18.9% of total GHG emissions. In 2010 (latest available data), around 42.2% of forests were reserved for special protective and rehabilitative purposes. Since 1990 forest biomass stock has been increasing. However, the quality and quantity of forest land is threatened by several factors, including fires, floods, wind damage and disturbances by insects. Between 2007 and 2013 more than 500,000 ha forests were damaged by forest fires. Most of them (about 80%) have not yet recovered and they are prone to be further damaged by insects and diseases.

To respond to those and other challenges, several pieces of legislation have been adopted. The main legislation related to forests and LULUCF, partly reflecting EU policies, are the National Strategy for Development of the Forestry Sector 2013-2020 (2013) and the Strategic Plan for the Development of the Forest Sector 2014-2023, as well as the more general Forest Act. Forest policy contributes indirectly to climate change mitigation through forest protection and afforestation. The National Forest Fund supports financially the activities of the State Forest Agency, including investment in forestry, afforestation, forest protection and certification.

Transportation

The transportation sector is one of the largest emitters of GHGs. The most significant contributors to emissions are private cars and heavy-freight vehicles, due mainly to a significant reduction of subsidies for the railway transport and closure of some railway routes, leading to a shift in the transport structure. The main policy and strategy documents in the sector are the Strategy for Development of the Transport System until 2020 (2010), and the National Strategy for Integrated Development of Infrastructure for 2006–2015 (2006). They lay the basis for the Operational Programmes on Transport (OPT) 2007-2013 and 2014-2020, which aim at developing railway, road and waterway infrastructure and stimulating the development of a low-carbon transport mix. Energy efficiency measures in the transport sector include fuel taxes (excise duty and VAT are about 50% of the petrol and diesel fuel prices), technical inspections, speed limits outside of the cities, and reduced excise duty on biofuels (zero excise duty for biofuels and natural gas, reduced tax rates for LPG). The National Programme for Promotion of the Biofuels Use in the Transport Sector 2008-2020 (2007) sets the national indicative targets for biofuels consumption: from 2% in 2008 to 10% in 2020. Other measures have been taken to promote the use of renewables in the transportation sector, including tax exemptions for electrical vehicles.

Adaptation

According to the 6^th National Communication to UNFCCC (2013), the climate in Bulgaria not only became warmer but also drier at the end of the 20th century and observed warming continued at the beginning of the 21^st century and climatic scenarios reveal an increased risk and vulnerability due to soil droughts. During the last decade however, precipitation totals and extreme weather frequency have increased, with heavy rains causing severe floods (notably in 2006 and 2014).

In order to reduce vulnerability to the effects of climate change, the MOEW initiated the process towards development of a National Adaptation Strategy. As a first step, in June 2014 a Framework national climate change risk and vulnerability assessment for the economy was finalised. Its main objective is to assess the risk of climate change-related natural disasters on the basis of climate models and scenarios. The Framework covers: agriculture, water, urban environment, energy, transport, construction and infrastructure, ecosystems and biodiversity, human health and tourism. A separate chapter on cross-border co-operation on issues related to the impacts of climate change is included in the document. In parallel, the MOEW – with the support of the World Bank, has developed the financial disaster risk management and insurance options for climate change adaptation to analyse the importance of the insurance business in the prevention of and adaptation to climate change risks. Both the Framework document and the ‘Financial disaster risk management study’ should serve as a basis for the development of the ‘National Adaptation Strategy until 2030’.

Other adaptation measures have been outlined for different sectors. The Executive Forest Agency (associated to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food) has presented a Programme of measures to adapt forests in the Republic of Bulgaria and mitigate the negative impact of climate change on them (2011), which is to be integrated into the National Adaptation Strategy. In the water sector, the first River Basin Management Plans were developed in 2010, with the second River Basin Management Plans expected to be completed by the end of 2015. Flood Risk Management Plans are also under preparation, with first four basin regions assessed in 2011.