A national eco-cluster was established in Varna during the week. Its main goal is to unite all stakeholders working in the field of environmental protection – individuals, NGOs, businesses and local authorities. This was stated by Apostol Penkov, chairman of the newly established association. According to him, apart from Varna and Sofia, at this stage there is also interest from Stara Zagora and Silistra.
The first task we will undertake is to make a mapping of all the goals we are pursuing and to divide the “team” into groups with a certain focus, Penkov said.
The scope of the cluster covers activities in the fields of youth development, circular economy, green and social entrepreneurship, innovation and digitalisation, social equality. The aim is to support the smooth transition of businesses, municipal and state authorities in their efforts towards environmental friendliness, sustainability and carbon neutrality.
The five-member board of the new association also includes Nikolay Tanchev from the Gaia Foundation, Georgi Pamukov, head of the Centre for Vocational Training at the Technical University, Natalia Nikolova from the Recycling Art Academy, and Pavel Krachunov, a PhD student in environmental management at the Technical University – Varna.
Besides being an active citizen, Apostol Penkov is a member of the Public Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development, Climate Ambassador of the European Climate Pact to the European Commission. A few years ago he translated the En-roads global climate simulator into Bulgarian, a tool that shows all the factors that change the climate. When an indicator changes, more than 1,000 calculations are made that calculate how the temperature will change by 2100, Penkov explains. The most important thing governments need to do to combat global warming, he says, is curb coal, oil and gas consumption. This cannot happen unless carbon taxes are introduced on the biggest polluters, the climate ambassador is convinced. Energy efficiency in buildings and transport also has a big effect, he said. “We need to limit consumption. I have introduced minimalism in my daily life – I have imposed limits on all kinds of resources,” Apostol says. According to him, this will not happen without educating people and imposing restrictions by the government.
