Paper/Speech Details of Conference Program for the 30th NISPAcee Annual Conference Program Overview WG6: Evidence-Based Public Policy Making Author(s) Maria Kotseva-Tikova Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski Sofia Bulgaria Dvorak Jaroslav, Maria Kotseva-Tikova Title CLIMATE POLICY AND PLANS FOR RECOVERY IN BULGARIA AND LITHUANIA File Paper files are available only for conference participants, please login first. Presenter Maria Kotseva-Tikova Abstract The climate changes as a result of anthropogenic activities are evaluated by Svante August Arrhenius in 1896 and described as a greenhouse effect. Since then the studies have proved the availability of correlation between human activities and the greenhouse emissions increase. The efforts of the governments and international organizations are to find suitable solutions to that problem in order to decrease the anthropogenic influence and to keep the average temperates rise up to 2C. It is appraised that the realization of such a global task requires global efforts. For that reason, the annual meetings of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP) are expected to contribute to global greenhouse gas emissions decrease, including a 45% reduction by 2030 and zero by 2050. In this regard, it is required to update the national targets as well as to increase the aid to the poorest and most vulnerable countries to tackle the damages caused by climate change. The EU-27 member states accept the idea of climate neutrality by 2050 by reducing emissions by at least 55% until 2030 compared to 1990 levels. Achieving this goal goes through initiatives in a number of sectors that are considered as a key source of greenhouse gas. For that reason each country develops its own National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), which should contribute to the effective overcoming of problem areas, incl. the country-specific recommendations set out in the European Semester. The European Commission evaluates the national plans against the targets of 37% of the cost of investment in climate and 20% of the cost of promoting the digital transition. The aim of the study is to compare the greenhouse gas emissions changes in Bulgaria and Lithuania and the approaches to cope with the climate changes problems, envisaged by both countries. The comparison allows evaluating the improvements in decreasing the CO2 emissions and the policy approaches used for that. The Covid-19 has a negative impact on the economic performance and it is useful to evaluate the difference in the ways toward economic recovery and the benefits from green initiatives stimulation. The study evaluates the CO2 emissions for the period of 1990 – 2019 and the approaches for recovery after Covid-19 and green transformation envisaged in the NRRP of Bulgaria and Lithuania.
