This article is the first part of a wider study on the climate change aspects in Bulgaria’s regulatory and policy framework for public procurement and concessions. In Part I, the authors first define, then review climate change and its potential effect on public procurement, including concessions. The present article outlines the expected climate changes in Bulgaria for the next 50 years and provides an overview of national climate change strategies and action plans that could affect procurement. As part of the analysis, we refer to relevant legal instruments at national, international and European Union (EU) levels, and consider their respective potential to accommodate the shifts in weather patterns and changes in temperatures. The Bulgarian procurement and concessions legislation is reviewed with reference to relevant EU procurement directives. Part I of the study focuses on climate change as an element of the wider category of environmental considerations, at the preparation stage of a typical whole-cycle procurement model. In the conclusion of the present article, the authors briefly outline the research agenda of the upcoming Part II.
Keywords: climate change; environment; procurement; concessions; Bulgaria