Third National action Plan on climate change for the period 2013-2020.

The underlying concept of the Third Action Plan on Climate Change for the period 2013- 2020 is the preservation, the rational and responsible use of resources as a key prerequisite not only for improving and protecting the environment but also for achieving sustainable economic growth and increasing the competitiveness of the Bulgarian economy. Opportunities are created to find new sources of growth and jobs through cost savings, marketing of innovations and better management of resources throughout their life cycle. The Plan provides for specific measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across all sectors while taking into account both the country’s relevant policies and the potential of the national economy. Bulgaria’s policy on climate change is based on two essential aspects related, on one side, to the country’s international commitments undertaken with the ratification of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol and, on the other side, to the newly adopted European legislation in this area. The main strategic objective of the Third National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) is to outline the framework for action to combat climate change for the period 2013-2020 and to focus the country’s efforts on actions leading to reduction of the negative impacts of climate change and implementation of the undertaken commitments. The overall effect of the measures will ensure the implementation of the commitments taken and the achievement of the legally binding European objectives.
The Plan is structured logically, starting with a brief description of global trends and scenarios on climate change and presenting their basic aspects relating to Bulgaria - facts, scenarios and possible consequences. The next two sections of the Plan address key aspects of the international and European climate policy and objectives that the EU is to achieve by 2020, namely: 20% increase in energy efficiency; 20% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions compared to their 1990 levels; 20% share of renewable energy in the total EU energy consumption by 2020 including a 10% share of biofuels in transport. The third section draws special attention to the legislative package “Climate and Energy” which outlines the framework of the active EU policy on climate change for the 18 period 2013-2020 and was adopted by the European Parliament and the Council at the end of 2008. It is expected to play a significant role in the achievement of the above ambitious objectives which the EU has set itself. The package of legislative measures relates to: the revision of the existing emission trading scheme of the Community; the establishment of differentiated ceilings for greenhouse gases for sectors outside the scheme (transport, building, agriculture, waste); the formulation of binding national targets for increasing the share of renewable energy in the energy balance and introduction of rules to promote new technologies for carbon capture and storage. A number of flexibility mechanisms are provided for in order to achieve the objectives in a cost-effective way. 2005 was chosen as a reference year for setting the 2020 targets, because the first verified data on greenhouse gas emissions are since that year. Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the sources within the scope of the scheme by 21% compared to their 2005 levels is set for all EU Member States through a linear factor for reducing the permitted emission ceiling for the sectors under the European Trading Scheme (ETS). The main flexibility mechanism in the revised scheme is the redistribution of rights for emission allowances trading (auctioning rights), which is expected to generate substantial financial resources for investment in the improvement of energy efficiency, promotion of renewable energy and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. For the sectors outside the scheme the differentiated emission ceilings range from -20% to +20%. Bulgaria has an individual commitment allowing it to increase the emissions by 20% compared to their 2005 level. The national objectives of the Member States in terms of share of renewables in the final energy consumption by 2020 range from 10% to 49%. Bulgaria’s goal is set at 16%, including 10% share of biofuels in the final consumption of transport fuels. The “Climate and Energy” package does not contain direct binding measures to improve energy efficiency although it has an indirect effect in this direction. The individual commitments of Member States in the field of energy efficiency are still taken on a voluntary basis and are rather political than legally binding. At this stage they are defined in the context of the strategy “Europe 2020” where resource (including energy) efficiency is a flagship initiative. According to the commitment undertaken within the framework of “Europe 2020” Bulgaria aims to reduce the energy intensity of GDP by 50% by 2020. The implementation of the energy efficiency measures and policies set in the National Energy Strategy until 2020 aims to lead to an improvement of the energy efficiency by approximately 25% or to saving more than 5 mln. toe. primary energy compared to the baseline development scenario by 2020. 1 The fourth section of NAPCC describes the Bulgarian legislation related to climate change and the existing legal mechanisms underlining the sectoral measures. Activities on climate change are very diverse and affect various sectors of the economy. For that reason the review of the legislation covers a large number of laws and regulations in different fields, which are directly or indirectly related to the measures laid down in the Plan. Finally, NAPCC pays special attention to the administrative capacity necessary to implement the planned measures, as well as to the responsibilities for monitoring and reporting the implementation of the Plan. Besides the leading role of the competent institutions it underlines the specific role and functions of municipalities. A special feature of the activities on climate change is that they cover a large number of institutions and bodies both from the central and the local authorities because of their horizontal and cross-cutting nature.