[14/11/2024 02:03]

BAKU-SABA
Cooperation of Central and Eastern European countries took center stage at the discussion on strengthening the role of the CEE region in the EU's green agenda, held at the Bulgarian pavilion of COP29 in Baku. The event was organized by the Green Transition Forum.

The Green Transition in the region was discussed by Alexandra-Maria Bocșe, State Counselor at the Department of Climate and Sustainable Development in the Administration of the President of Romania, Dr. Döne Yalçın, Managing Partner Turkey and Partner Austria of the law firm CMS, Dimitar Tsotsorkov, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Bulgarian company Asarel-Medet AD, Tsvetelina Kuzmanova, Senior Project Manager at the Cambridge Institute for Leadership in Sustainable Development, Barbara Kaufmann, Director at the Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion at the European Commission, Julian Gikov, CEO at Raiffeisen Bank International AG, Vienna and Genady Kondarev, Senior Associate for CEE at E3G.

The discussion panel was moderated by Ilia Lingorski, Chief Economist, Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) and Chairman of the Energy, Infrastructure and Public-Private Partnership Committee of the European League for Economic Cooperation.

Alexandra-Maria Bocse spoke about the importance of cross-border projects in the green energy transition. She said that Romania plans to have 35% of the country's energy from renewable sources by 2030 and this will require cooperation with neighbouring countries to build infrastructure. Every contact between us brings us closer to jointly achieving climate goals, she said.

Tsvetelina Kuzmanova and Dr. Döne Yalçın stressed the importance of flexible regulation in the EU regarding the green transition. Stability and trust in governance and markets are key to success in the green transition, Kuzmanova said. Poland has historically been opposed to green policies, but is already attracting Japanese capital and other investment from around the world despite regulatory restrictions.

The green transition is not just about additional costs and bureaucratic burdens, the benefits are already being seen, she said. Bulgaria ranked last in the latest edition of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership's Competitive Sustainability Index, Kuzmanova added.

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