Translating the European Green Deal into long-term decarbonisation alternatives

On 6 November 2020, the SCORE partner Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) held an online seminar to discuss with European experts the opportunities for long-term decarbonisation in South East Europe – particularly in Bulgaria – in light of the Green Deal goals and priorities. The South East Europe region has an enormous potential for diverse renewable energy, but its current and future use has stagnated mostly due to the political decisions to support the exploitation of coal, lignite, gas and nuclear power.

The seminar discussed the political, economic and social challenges related to the coal phase-out in Bulgaria and the different financing instruments available to support the energy transition, the economic restructuring in the coal regions, and the alternative green projects. In the context of the post-Covid economic recovery process, aligning the policy targets of the European Green Deal with the “Next generation EU” green recovery programme will be crucial.