Bulgarians have many fears and vague hopes for the green deal, said political scientist Ivan Krastev at the third edition of the “Green Transition in CEE 2023″ forum.
Krastev tried to explain where the Bulgarian citizen stands in the green transition and how he reacts to the green deal. According to him, people’s fears are related to higher prices and closure of certain industries. Hopes are focused on new jobs.
Politically, the green transition will not work if one relies on the mobilizing power of choir fears, because they have a paralyzing, not a mobilizing effect, Krastev is categorical.
He said that much of the world’s societies think that their governments have handled the covid crisis and the aftermath of the war in Ukraine relatively well, but these positive assessments have not increased trust in governments. And he explained why: “Before these crises, governments kept repeating “there is no money”, during these crises countries were drowned in money, the presence of money scares people, it does not calm them down”.
Krastev also said that Bulgaria will pay a high price because there were no regular governments for a long time and he compared their absence to the online education of children, which, after it ended, showed its shortcomings.
“There is no group in Bulgaria that exerts political pressure to enforce the green idea. In Bulgaria, there is no particular political division regarding the green deal. This doesn’t make it popular. And if our politicians don’t ask themselves how people will react to the green transition, they can’t carry out any kind of economic green planning,” insisted Krastev.
The “Green transition in CEE 2023″ forum started today and will last for three days. More than 2,000 people are expected to attend the event, where more than 125 speakers and moderators from more than 10 countries have been invited to share their experiences. BTA is media partner of the initiative.