The Council of Ministers adopted the National Report on the Status and Protection of the Environment in 2017. It aims to inform the public and state institutions about the state and risks to the environment and natural resources and to focus on the effectiveness and the appropriateness of the implemented nature conservation policy.

The report includes environmental indicators and methodologies applied in the assessment reports of the European Environment Agency (EEA). The aim is to clearly formulate the issues related to the interaction between society and the environment and the presentation of environmental information in Bulgaria, comparable to the assessments at the European level.

The report includes 16 sections covering major environmental areas. Key issues of public interest are formulated, the indicators and assessment methodologies used are described. Outlined trends and conclusions that form "key messages" on relevant environmental themes.

The report acknowledges that in 2017 a compliance has been achieved in six municipalities involved in the European Commission's penal procedure for non-compliance with the fine particle index - Devnya, Dobrich, Pirdop, Sliven, Galabovo and Stara Zagora. 

Greenhouse gas emissions per capita decreased from 13.0 tonnes CO2 equivalent in 1988 up to 8.7 tons of CO2 equivalent in 2017.