Regional Differences of Greenhouse Gases from Agricultural Activities in Bulgaria
Regional Differences of Greenhouse Gases from Agricultural Activities in Bulgaria

Author(s): Marina Nikolova, Pavlin Bogomilov Pavlov
Subject(s): Economy, Business Economy / Management, Agriculture, Energy and Environmental Studies
Published by: Университет за национално и световно стопанство (УНСС)
Keywords: agriculture; greenhouse gas emissions; planning areas; analysis
Summary/Abstract: The leading role in the implementation of environmental protection and climate change policies belongs to the European Union. In this regard, the European Green Pact includes measures aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and carbon emissions by 2050. Establishing trends and the intensity of ongoing processes are of particular importance in revealing differences in the development of regions, as well as the need to take adequate measures to reduce and limit them. In this sense, in the article, monitoring of greenhouse gas emissions from the implementation of agricultural activity was carried out. An analysis of the levels and rates of change in greenhouse gas emissions by individual components of Bulgaria's agriculture was carried out for the period 2018 – 2022. In addition, a comparative analysis was made compared to 1990 and compared to 2007. The positioning of the individual regions in Bulgaria regarding the reduction or increase in emissions. The main goal of the study is to analyze the main indicators – carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) for the statistical regions in Bulgaria (North – West, North – Central, North – East, South – East, South – West and South – Central planning regions), regarding the current picture of the state and trends in the levels of greenhouse gas emissions from the activity of economic units in the agrarian sector. The analysis of the dynamics regarding the levels of CO2, CH4 and N2O shows that for all six studied regions a significant decrease in values in 2007 compared to the base year 1990 is characteristic. The percentage decrease is greatest for the North-Central and North-East region (–83.48), followed by the North – West (–57.95). The reduction of methane emissions is more than 60% in different regions, and for N2O it is in the range of –58.99 to –62.03. For the period 2018 – 2022, an increasing trend of the CO2 and N2O indicator is established compared to both the base year 1990 and 2007 in all studied statistical regions. For the same 5-year period, different trends are observed in the methane emissions in the individual studied areas. For three of them NWPR, SEPR and the SCPR, a sustainable reduction in emissions is observed. Despite the decrease in emissions in 2007, for the rest of the 5-year period, an increase is reported for the NCPR and NEPR, especially for the last 3 years. The South –West region is characterized by a decrease that continues until 2019, and for the remaining 3 years emissions increase again.

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