Environment

Sofia launches work on Green City Action Plan – EBRD

Photo: Pixabay

Published

June 11, 2018

Country

Comments

comments icon

0

Share

Published:

June 11, 2018

Country:

Comments:

comments icon

0

Share

Sofia has started working on its Green City Action Plan (GCAP) to identify environmental challenges and actions to address them, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which is helping the Bulgarian capital produce the GCAP under its Green Cities Framework (GrCF), said in a news release.

A coalition of nine doctor and health organizations recently joined the global Unmask My City initiative, calling for a greater urgency in achieving clean air in Sofia, one of the most polluted cities in the entire European Union.

So far, two Bulgarian cities – Sofia and Varna – have joined the GrCF. Sofia received the invitation to join the GrCF after successful work with the EBRD on the acquisition of electric buses for the municipally-owned Sofia Electrical Transport Company, under which the company will procure 30 electric buses and charging equipment over 2018-19, the EBRD said.

The EBRD’s GrCF looks at ways to invest in greener transport, water and waste management, to improve urban environment and people’s lives. It offers a comprehensive business model for green urban development, combining strategic planning with investments and associated technical assistance.

Sofia’s GCAP, to be developed by professional services network PwC and built environment firm Arup, will be a comprehensive step-by-step investment program which will address the city’s most environmental challenges. Once developed, the GCAP will articulate Sofia’s sustainable development vision, strategic objectives, actions and investments for a five-year period to address priority environmental issues, according to the news release.

Beyond prioritizing investments and reforms, the GCAP is also expected to be a good policy paper to help Sofia promote awareness and additional financing for green initiatives within the city, the EBRD said.

The GrCF is one way that the EBRD is scaling up its green finance as a part of its Green Economy Transition (GET) approach. Since 2006, the EBRD has invested about EUR 25 billion in almost 1,500 projects that address environmental and climate change challenges in the economies where it invests, the news release reads.

Comments (0)

Be the first one to comment on this article.

Enter Your Comment
Please wait... Please fill in the required fields. There seems to be an error, please refresh the page and try again. Your comment has been sent.

Related Articles

Three cities reviving protests against Rio Tinto lithium project Jadar in Serbia

Three cities reviving protests against Rio Tinto’s lithium project in Serbia

20 July 2025 - Opponents of Rio Tinto's plan to mine and process a lithium and boron ore called jadarite in western Serbia held a protest in Loznica

bih epbih waste incineration tpp tuzla trial

BiH’s power utility EPBiH cancels waste co-incineration trial in Tuzla coal plant

18 July 2025 - Power utility Elektroprivreda Bosne i Hercegovine aborted a waste co-incineration test at its Tuzla coal power plant

Belgrade in focus challenges and solutions for sustainable urban development Ivan Gazdic cms

Belgrade in focus: challenges and solutions for sustainable urban development

17 July 2025 - The author of the feature is Ivan Gazdić, Attorney at Law and Partner at Petrikić & Partneri AOD in cooperation with CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz

Successful completion of the WISE serbia mentorship program trust, support, and personal transformation

WISE Serbia mentorship program successfully completed: trust, support, and personal growth

24 June 2025 - The first mentorship program of the WISE Serbia women’s network in sustainable energy, the green economy, and climate action was successfully concluded with an event held in Belgrade