Stefan Krastev: The Pernik municipality considers vital the implication of citizens in just transition process

The deputy mayor of Pernik explains how the municipality sees the just transition and what it does for the post-coal future of the region where the history of mining in Bulgaria once began.

Interview by Vladimir Mitev and Małgorzata Kulbaczewska-Figat.

Pernik used to be known – or perhaps it is still known as ‘City of the Black Gold’, as coal was called. However, with the upcoming coal phaseout the city will need to redefine itself and will inevitably face a number of challenges. Which of the challenges in your view are the most serious. On the other hand, what are the most important opportunities related to the switch for clean energy?

As you mentioned, Pernik is still known as the ‘City of Black Gold’. This is where industrial coal mining started in Bulgaria more than 130 years ago. Then, coal mining fueled many other industries. The first machine building factory was built in Pernik, just like the first power station. Therefore, the first electric bulb in Bulgaria was illuminated in Pernik, not in the capital Sofia. Then the steel working industry started from that as well.

Pernik has a great cultural connection to coal mining. There is not a single family in our town which does not have a grandfather, an uncle, or another relative who has worked for the mines. And the mines have really built a lot of things for our city. There were periods in Bulgarian history where all coal mining activity in the country, before the development of Maritsa East Basin near Stara Zagora, was actually managed from Pernik and the state mining company based here.

Former Directorate of Mines, Pernik. Photo by Małgorzata Kulbaczewska-Figat.

However, when we speak to people about the coal phase out, we always try to project the message mentioning modernity and future. We say: our grandfathers achieved  economic and social successes, because they were using the most modern technologies of their time. We cannot expect to be successful in economy, nor in social life nowadays, if we keep on using the technologies of our grandfathers. We have to use the high tech of our era. 

With that in mind, we have certain challenges in Pernik related to the coal phaseout. But they are not related to job losses and workplaces, not in the first place…

Pernik’s miners at the beginning of 20th century. This and other photos is now displayed in the Mining Museum of Pernik, the only underground museum in the region of this kind, located in the former mining area. Photo by Małgorzata Kulbaczewska-Figat.

Then, what is the greatest challenge?

Bulgaria at the moment has one of the lowest rates of unemployment in history. And the unemployment rate for Pernik municipality is approximately 2 percent lower than the national one. Therefore, there is enough employment and investment to absorb people who will be made redundant due to coal phaseout. 

Our specific issue is heating.  The thermal power station in Pernik produces not only electricity but also heat. The district heating system distributes it and it is powered by ground coal. Approximately 20,000 households in Pernik are connected to the district heating system and so do almost all our public buildings – schools, kindergartens, public authorities.

Now, the power station is privately owned and the owner is making some investments. Since last year, in the non-active heating season, where they only have to heat hot water for the households, they use solely gas. But in winter they are still using coal, which will need to be replaced. I think that biomass could be introduced as part of the fuel. But it will be very interesting to see if a total elimination of coal from the mix would be possible.

We are fishing in different directions and searching for different opportunities. For example, recently we had a very interesting project funded by the financial mechanism of the European Economic Area with country donors Liechtenstein, Norway, and Iceland. This project allows us to transform two public buildings – one big school and one kindergarten – which did not have energy efficiency measures introduced and which were powered also by the district heating system.

We introduced energy efficiency measures in these buildings, like cladding and insulation on the outside, windows and new radiators, but we also actually managed to install thermal pumps and photovoltaic parks on the roofs of the buildings – for everyone’s use. As a result, the buildings came close to zero energy consumption. This could be an interesting case study of solving the issue one by one, searching for individual decisions for a certain building. 

We also have people in Pernik who are not connected to district heating. They are using coal or wood for heating. We now have, with the support of the Environment Programme of the European Union, a multimillion project which will allow from 2025 to actually start changing, giving people funds to change the heating systems in their own houses. To those who are  currently using coal or wood, we can give, free of charge, an opportunity to start using biomass, for instance, or electricity through thermal pumps or air conditioning. What is unique here is that for the people who fall in the category of energy poverty, we also have the opportunity to provide extra support for photovoltaics on their roofs for personal use.

In the streets of Pernik. Photo by Małgorzata Kulbaczewska-Figat

This is a part of a larger conversation on air quality. We have taken measures in many directions. For instance, we have already introduced 18 highly ecological buses for the public transportation company that serves our town. We are also greening more urban areas, in order to reduce the levels of pollution of the areas damaged due to mining activity. Of course, these terrains should also be recultivated. Funds have been reserved for that in the Just Transition Fund. The first measure under which the municipality can apply, which we did, was the measures for energy efficiency in buildings with multiple households. We have already submitted successful applications and are waiting to hear the result.

The next call for applications, which will be very interesting for us, is the call for the support of industrial parks. Pernik has a great industrial past and many existing industrial areas, but the municipality has set aside a new area in very close proximity to the town, which is approximately 300,000 square meters, with the opportunity to expand to over 800. We have envisaged attracting investors in the sectors of circle economy and clean production.

And although I mentioned that the unemployment rate in Bulgaria in Pernik is really low, we are actually relying on the fact that we have a very close proximity to Sofia. The capital of Bulgaria is at a commuting distance from Pernik, easily reachable by train, car or bus. We believe that we could reverse the commuting traffic. The morning traffic could move not from Pernik to Sofia, but the other way round! This would be a great opportunity to attract more high-profile investors, looking for a highly skilled workforce. lWe can actually rely on the human resource market of the nearby capital of Sofia.

Workers of Pernik on a relief in the centre of the city, conmemorating the past work and struggles of the industrial working class. There is still a significant potential of skilled workforce and a number of new branches of industry has emerged, Stefan Krastev says. Photo by Małgorzata Kulbaczewska-Figat.

Does the proximity of Sofia, right now, help in the process of structural change or are you experiencing a kind of brain drain,  due to being so close to the capital?

Being so close is a two-edged sword, there are advantages and disadvantages. In the early 90s, when many of the old industries became nonfunctional and many people were fired, the proximity to Sofia actually saved Pernik from depopulation and people migrating somewhere far away. 

Today many people live in Pernik, but work in Sofia. Pernik is one of the cities in Bulgaria where the population is not reduced as rapidly as in other cities and regions, exactly because of the close proximity to Sofia. However, Pernik itself also seems to be an attractive center of internal migration. People from other regions of Bulgaria who are willing to be closer to Sofia, but could not afford a relocation to Sofia, are able to find affordable accommodation in Pernik and commute to the capital. They spend their money in Pernik, live in Pernik, their children attend schools in Pernik… they become Pernik citizens. 

In addition, there is also a migration of people from Sofia to Pernik! Quite often cities and towns located “in the circle” of the capital city, but still different from the city itself, offer a better quality of life – they are less crowded and offer a better infrastructure. This is also our case. All these aspects considered, I estimate that the proximity to Sofia for Pernik is more of an advantage than a disadvantage. 

Quality of life is also connected to such factors as clean air, access to nature, and general quality of the landscape. Many industrial cities struggle with these issues. What is the situation in Pernik and is just transition an opportunity for progress also in this area?

Pernik in the past had much greater problems with air quality. We still have a challenge with the finest particles, but we are active in many different fields related to that. As I mentioned, we have a project about covering dust areas and building green belts around Pernik.

Access to nature, especially for the people of Pernik, is really good. We have many green areas and parks in Pernik, but this is not all – we can also benefit from the geographical uniqueness of Pernik, a town built along the river Struma. 

Our city is actually quite vast, given that it has less than 100,000 inhabitants. From the first ‘Welcome to Pernik’ signs to those saying ‘Have a nice trip’ there are about 22 kilometers. And apart from all green areas within the city borders, we have easy access to the mountain Vitosha, which can be reached by both car, bike and city transport. 

Given these, I could say that we have a satisfactory quality of life, but of course always more could be desired and we are working in that direction.

What are the branches of industry that could be the future of Pernik’s economy?

We already have companies that are producing storage solutions for energy. This is a really high-tech business, high-tech production. We also have companies that are producing silicone items, actually the company that produces silicone items is a zero waste company because any scrap they have – they reuse. The food processing industry is also very strong in Pernik. We have, among others, a chocolate factory, which exports chocolates to Belgium.  

We still have quite a lot of technically skilled labour and a strong educational infrastructure. We have five vocational high schools that obviously operate technical education in different directions. Working in the fields of storage solutions or the reusage and rejuvenation of machines and equipment, and of course the clean production of energy are all sectors in which Pernik can specialize.

What are the locals’ attitudes towards the transition, towards the changes that are coming and that have been already going on? You mentioned that people are proud of the coal mining related past of Pernik. Do they see the industrial transformation with hope or rather with incertitude and anxiety?

There are different attitudes among the population. Yet, if I were to compare Pernik to the other two regions in Bulgaria which are target regions for the Just Transition Fund, I am sure that Pernik’s general attitude is the most realistic one.  

I think this is partly due to the municipality’s efforts. We, as a municipality, have been constantly assuring the people that we will not allow this transition to be unjust. The 90s were a period when many industries collapsed. The people of Pernik have a wealth of experience with a transition unplanned, unmanaged by the local community – simply unjust, to put it in one word. The message we are now getting across is that this time, the transition will be conducted in the interest of the people of Pernik.

I think most people realize pretty well that change is inevitable. Sure, we could hide our head in the sand and hope that it will go past us – but it will not. Therefore, we need to take part in the change, change ourselves as well, and make sure that the change is good, acceptable and socially just for the people of Pernik. I am convinced that our attitudes and activity will determine whether we would be an object or a subject of change.

The Mining Museum of Pernik puts old mining machinery and equipment in display, documenting how the entire generations of local people worked hard on coal extraction. At the same time, Stefan Krastev says, people realise that the city must embrace new branches of industry to secure its future. Photo by Małgorzata Kulbaczewska-Figat

Who are the most important partners of the municipality in assuring people that the change can be co-managed by them? Do you work with trade unions, business organizations or is there support from above from the central ministries of Bulgaria?

We work very well with the Ministry of Regional Development and the Ministry of Energy, the two ministries that are mostly involved in the process of the transition. We work very well with the NGO sector as well and of course the trade unions are a natural partner in that process.

The trade unions are not a homogenous structure. I think the main job of trade unions is obviously to fight for the rights of the employed people, for the worker, but also for the quality of their life and for the conditions in which they work. In the opencast coal mines, there are not four seasons, but two: mud and dust. Working in coal mines is not amongst the healthiest jobs that exist. If we manage to attract the right investors or support our existing businesses in operation to enlarge their productions and capacity, allowing them to absorb more staff and more human resources, then the trade unions are on board in the process. The Just Transition Fund has another measure, another call open solely to trade unions to apply. This is a call which aims at providing funding for mapping of the skills of the people who are employed in the coal related industries and who are most likely to lose their jobs. Mapping can be the first step on the way to assuring that there are viable employment opportunities for these people later on.

Pernik, with a population of less than 100,000 people, is small enough to see the change introduced effectively and in a socially just manner. At the same time, it is large enough to serve as an example of a just transition that really happened, a success story.

Vladimir Mitev: I would like to ask about the initiatives which are related to the youth in Pernik and the implication of citizens in this general process of development of the municipality. I know there is an International Youth Centre and other communities or organisations which are interested in better ecology. Could you tell us more about the role of these initiatives and the role of the municipality in encouraging this participation of citizens?

Participation of citizens is a vital importance for the success of just transition. Under the Just Transition Platform, four working groups were formed to work on the topics and problems and challenges of Just Transition for the whole of Europe. Three of them were sector and  industry-specific: the coal mining industry, the steel-working industry and the cement industry. The fourth working group is a horizontal one. It is called Horizontal Stakeholder Strategy and it works on strategies on how to actually attract all the people that will be affected by just transition, how to make them part of the process. Pernik Municipality is the only municipality in the whole of Europe that is part of this Horizontal Stakeholder Strategy group and I’m the personal representative of Pernik Municipality there.

Involvement of stakeholders is of a huge importance for us as a municipality. I am glad you mentioned the International Youth Centre of Pernik, another project from which we are really proud of and I am personally very happy because I was a manager of this project for the establishment. The Youth Centre hosts a vast number of ecological activities involving young people in the process of just transition, ecology and green thinking in general.

We have very strong activism there and we have other youth organisations also that are on board the process. Pernik has a very stable and proven policy of attracting young people in the decision-making process. We try not to work for the young people but work with the young people of Pernik in actually developing policies, projects and activities that best suit their needs and desires. I do not agree with the saying that young people are the future of our city. We think that the young people are the present of our city, because this is where they live right now. If we do not make them part of the life and decision-making process of the city now, then they will not recognise it as a place in which they would like to live their future.

I know there is also this organisation Pernik Breathe. What is its contribution to the process of Just Transition or general ecological activity in the municipality?

We work very well with them as representatives of the NGO sector. They are an active organisation in the part of drafting the Territorial Just Transition plans. They were involved in many focus groups and other activities which were vitally important and other NGOs as well.

For example, later on today I have a meeting with the representatives of Greenpeace Bulgaria. We also work very well with a national organisation called 4D Earth which is another ecological organisation. So partnership with this type of organization is really good and important.

Stefan Krastev has completed his secondary education at “Hristo Smirnenski” Secondary School – Pernik and his higher education at St. Kliment Ohridski” in Tourism and European Integration. Since 2006 she has worked on the coordination and management of European projects for a number of large vocational training colleges as well as NGOs from the UK. Stefan Krastev has been involved in the development of several business projects in the technology, education and financial services sectors. His work as Deputy Mayor of Pernik Municipality will be his first in a budget structure. He has interests in sharing economy, green economy and social entrepreneurship.

Cover photo: The centre of Pernik. Photo by Małgorzata Kulbaczewska-Figat

This interview has been prepared with the support of Journalismfund, within the scope of a broader project concerning just transition in Bulgaria, Romania, Poland and Czechia in a comparative perspective.

Subscribe to Cross-border Talks’ YouTube channel! Follow the project’s Facebook and Twitter page! And here are the podcast’s Telegram channel and its Substack newsletter!

Like our work? Donate to Cross-Border Talks or buy us a coffee!

About The Author