Reimagine the concept of democracy through the prism of Web 3.0… Yesterday, the first ministry that doesn’t exist in the physical world and is built in the Metaverse became a reality in Bulgaria. The Ministry of Climate Transition and Green Transformation is a project by MOVE.BG, the Bulgarian think tank platform for innovative solutions and participatory leadership. It calls for more climate expertise in all Bulgarian ministries, with the goal to make the country one of the European ESG leaders. Metaverse applications are a big step for public administrations, as they could potentially help improve citizen access to key information and services.
The Metaministry was announced during the conference “Green Agenda: Zero Net Emissions as a Road to a Sustainable Future”, which gathered business and science, local leaders, with representatives of the European Commission and the Bulgarian government. The event was organized by the “Green Restart” civil coalition of MOVE.BG, WWF Bulgaria, Greenpeace Bulgaria, and the Circular Economy Institute. The energy vulnerability of Bulgaria
According to the latest data from the European Environment Agency, Bulgaria continues to be the country with the most energy and resource-intensive economy in the European Union. Together with Poland, Turkey, and Bosnia, Bulgaria is also the country with the highest levels of air pollution in Europe. These statistics point to some signaling trends and challenges which need timely solutions – an inefficient energy system, uncompetitive economy, polluted environment, depleted natural resources, and overall decreased living standards.
Russia’s war against Ukraine has further shown how the energy vulnerability of Europe and Bulgaria has negative long-term effects on society and the regional economy. Therefore, the key themes that MOVE.BG aims to bring to the daily green transition agenda are energy, economics, and innovative science.
The vision at the core of the Metaministry
In essence, the functions of the Metaministry of Climate Transition and Green Transformation would be to create and implement circular economy policies, develop green innovations, make progress towards energy transition, and help Bulgaria make a leap in the implementation of economic and sustainable development policies.
“In order to have zero-net emissions and achieve our climate goals, connected to the green transition, we believe that the direct participation of many different institutions is required. That is why we decided to create a ministry in the Metaverse which becomes the first such metaministry in the world. It will make climate policies horizontal and accessible to the wide public,” Sasha Bezuhanova, founder and chairperson of MOVE.BG shared during the conference.
All of these visions would be achieved through the establishment of directorates in each Bulgarian ministry that would align policies with green transformation and climate change.
The immediate steps would be the establishment of an “Assistance of the energy transition” department of the Ministry of Energy, a “Green transformation of the economy” department in the Ministry of Economy, as well as a “Development of green innovations” department in the Ministry of Innovation and Growth, and three other similar departments in the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Transport and Communications, and the Ministry of Environment and Water.
In addition, the Metaministry is CO2-neutral as it offsets its emissions. It will continue to exist in the Metaverse up to its creation in the real world.
