site.btaBulgarian Energy and Climate Diplomacy Discussed at Forum in Sofia

Topics related to contemporary political and geostrategic aspects of energy and climate diplomacy were discussed at a specialized forum titled "Bulgaria's Development Policy in the Field of Energy, Economy, and Climate." The event took place on Thursday at the Federation of Scientific and Technical Unions in Sofia.

“European energy policy needs to be revised,” Slavtcho Neykov, an energy expert and member of the National Advisory Council of the Diplomatic Institute at the Foreign Ministry, told the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA).

Neykov added that there is a strong need to reassess the elements of European energy security as this issue now has geopolitical and military dimensions. He emphasized the importance of having a clear, long-term view of which energy sources will be relied upon. “A few years ago, the idea of coal disappearing was absurd, but this is now a fact,” said Neykov, adding that the role of natural gas has also changed. “There is a lot of discussion about nuclear energy and new nuclear power plants. However, people forget that building new nuclear power plants is very expensive and takes 10 to 20 years,” he noted. “I believe that, at a national level, we are late in reassessing what is happening and what is about to happen in the energy sector,” said the energy expert.

The expert also noted that three important elements should be given serious attention as these are the European framework, the national regulatory framework and climate change-related investments. “I call on the Government, particularly the executive branch represented by the Energy Ministry, to implement the new energy strategy without delay. We are behind schedule, which is causing many problems," said Neykov.

Tanya Mihaylova, Director of the Diplomatic Institute at the Foreign Ministry, told BTA that official development assistance is an important instrument for implementing Bulgaria's foreign policy. She added that the activities carried out by the Diplomatic Institute, which form part of this assistance, focus on the three areas being discussed at the forum: energy, the economy, and climate.