Engagement of Local Government in Bulgaria with Air Pollution: The Role of Media and Civil Society in Sofia

Abstract

Air pollution communication and engagement are vital on the road to solving this environmental and health problem. Three main groups tend to engage in it and communicate with citizens: civil society/non-governmental organizations (NGOs), media, and governments. This paper studies how these actors interact in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, as research on air pollution engagement on a city level in Eastern Europe is very limited. This article finds that a “bottom-up” model worked in air pollution engagement in Sofia. Civil society initiatives spark conversations with their actions and can create narratives for the media to cover. When the media started to cover the issue, more and more citizens became aware of it. Thus, pressure is put on local governments to also engage on the topic, with it being the last stakeholder to do so.