Managing Climate Policies in Bulgaria’s Social Context

Abstract

The social impact of the EU’s climate policies is usually analysed putting the focus on climate neutrality goals, and not on citizens’ well-being. The affordability of energy and energy efficiency is rarely analysed through both running costs and investment costs. Unfortunately, when implemented, climate policies meet limitations from a number of social factors, including poverty and inequality, the share of disposable income spent on energy expenditure, and low incomes. They impact the population’s investment ability, and undermine the country’s capacity to overcome climate change challenges. In Bulgaria, there is no in-depth analysis of the overall economic and social impact of climate policies, despite the presence of separate studies partly examining some aspect or specific climate instrument. This article uses theoretical and secondary statistical methods and data to provide an analytical framework for such an analysis, and offers an identification of the social risks and a systematisation of the social factors impacting the management of climate policies set out in the National Energy and Climate Plan: a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, an increase in energy efficiency, and an increase in the share of renewable energy sources in consumption.