The Rector of Trakia University, Assoc. Prof. Dobri Yarkov, has been elected a core member of the Just Transition Platform (JTP) Working Group on Horizontal Stakeholder Strategy at the DG Regional and Urban Policy of the European Commission. Trakia University’s Institute for Sustainable Transition and Development has also joined the initiative as a participant in the development of a strategic approach that shall involve stakeholders in the implementation of the Just Transition Fund.
Specialists from the Institute will voice their expert opinion and offer recommendations on issues related to the specific social, economic and environmental challenges in the regions most affected by the transition to a sustainable and climate-neutral economy. Theoretical, experimental and applied research in the field of natural, engineering and social sciences will be carried out, focusing on the application of new scientific knowledge and applied science products, services and public-private partnerships.
The European Commission has launched the Just Transition Platform to help Member States and regions benefit from the support available through the Just Transition Mechanism in carbon-intensive regions. Four working groups will operate as structural units within the platform. Trakia University and the Institute for Sustainable Transition and Development are part of the Intersectoral Coordination Group for the identification and evaluation of approaches and good practices for the involvement of all stakeholders.
The working groups of the Just Transition Platform will be officially presented and will start work during an upcoming meeting in November, 2021.