BRUSSELS, 08/06/2023 – Julian Popov, BPIE’s Chairman of the Board since 2014, has been appointed Minister of Environment of Bulgaria. He is stepping down from his role as BPIE’s Chairman of the Board, effective immediately.

A Bulgarian-British public figure and writer with a career in politics spanning decades, Popov has been instrumental in shaping BPIE as a leading think tank on decarbonisation of buildings and construction in Europe.

Julian Popov commented: ‘It was an honour to serve as the chair of the BPIE Board of Directors and be part of the exemplary growth of BPIE as a leading institution that is driving forward not only European building policies, but has also become recognised as a centre of thought and excellence in energy policy and social fairness topics, through its work on energy poverty and policies for the improvement of the quality of life of many millions. Under the leadership of Executive Director Oliver Rapf, BPIE flourished and continues to move from strength to strength. I am hugely grateful to Oliver for that and for making the Board proud of being part of BPIE’s success.’

‘It has been a privilege and constant inspiration to benefit from Julian’s political experience and his deep thinking about the most challenging topics of our time. I am very grateful for all his leadership contributions to BPIE over the past years which were extremely beneficial for the organisation’s development.’ says Oliver Rapf, Executive Director of BPIE.

As BPIE’s Chairman, Popov will be succeeded ad interim by Pete Harrison, Executive Vice President of Regions at the Environmental Defense Fund, and BPIE’s current Vice Chair.

Harrison has over 25 years of experience working on climate policy. Prior to taking on the role of BPIE Chairman, Harrison spent over a decade as Executive Director of EU Climate Policy at the European Climate Foundation, and almost 12 years as Business and Politics Correspondent at media outlet Thomson Reuters. Harrison will take up his post as interim BPIE Chairman immediately. His mission will be to help further consolidate BPIE’s position as a leading voice on buildings decarbonisation in Europe and globally.

‘We wish Julian the best of luck in his new position and are confident that with his legacy we will grow our policy impact on the built environment,’ commented Pete Harrison.

In addition to serving as BPIE’s Chairman, Popov has held leadership roles in numerous other positions. He is fellow at the European Climate Foundation, and previously served as Chairman of the Board of the ’Elizabeth Kostova Foundation’ for creative writing, the Bulgarian School of Politics, and the American University in Bulgaria, among numerous other positions. He has been considered as one of the top EU influencers on climate and energy policy and has also strongly advocated for minority groups in Bulgaria. His thought leadership has been featured in media outlets such as Financial Times, BBC Three, The Independent, Huffington Post, The Scotsman, and Aljazeera.

MEDIA CONTACT
Caroline Milne
Head of Communications, BPIE
caroline.milne@bpie.eu
+32 4 87 54 39 07