Environment and Water Minister Julian Popov participated in a forum within the US Net-Zero Government Initiative - Leading by Example, which aims to achieve carbon neutrality in the activities of public institutions. The event was held at the US pavilion at COP28 in Dubai yesterday.

By joining this initiative, the Bulgarian government is committed to achieving carbon neutrality in the operations of state and municipal institutions by 2050 and to developing a roadmap of actions for this goal.

Minister Popov expressed the view that governments are lagging behind in curbbing emissions. "Fifteen years ago, governments and NGOs drove the climate change agenda. Now the business and industry are showing ambition and moving forward, and we, who are expected to lead by example, need to learn from them," the Minister elaborated on the reasons for the Bulgarian government to join the initiative.

The Council of Ministers adopted the decision to join the initiative on 24 November, days before the start of COP28 in Dubai.

The Net-Zero Government Initiative - Leading by Example is an initiative by the United States of America in partnership with 18 other governments, announced during the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) - COP27 in Egypt, held in November 2022. The initiative is led by the Executive Office and Council on Environmental Quality of the President of the United States, in close collaboration with the Office of the Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry. In addition to the US, 25 other countries have joined, including 12 EU member states. Bulgaria is part of the newly joined countries along with Chile, Italy, Andorra, Monaco, Nigeria, and Spain.