“Hungary would need roughly 50 trillion forints to reach climate neutrality by 2050,” Innovation and Technology Minister László Palkovics said kicking off his press conference yesterday. To raise this amount, the minister added, “contributions from climate damaging industries and the private sector are indispensable.”
Economic development and climate protection, according to Palkovics, are processes that amplify each other. First and foremost, an overwhelming majority of electricity production should come from nuclear and renewable energy sources, primarily from solar energy.
“With the proper combination of these energy sources, 90 percent of Hungary’s electricity production can be carbon-free by 2030,” the minister said, citing a climate goal also mentioned by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at an international press conference yesterday. Calling Hungary a “climate champion,” the prime minister reminded that Hungary is one of the 21 countries that managed to achieve GDP growth at the same time that carbon emissions declined.
With the development strategy laid out in the adopted documents, Hungary’s current - roughly 30 percent – electricity import rate could drop to 20 percent by 2040.
While drafting the climate strategy, the minister said, they considered carefully the results of last year’s climate questionnaire where 92 percent of the more than 200 thousand participants supported Hungary’s climate neutrality by 2050. According to public opinion, the energy and transportation sectors should contribute most to greenhouse gas reduction. Minister Palkovics said that greener transportation, public transportation development, energy efficiency and water management figure prominently among voters’ priorities.
Péter Kaderják, state secretary responsible for Energy and Climate Policy at the Innovation Ministry, said that the new National Energy Strategy focuses on clean, smart and affordable energy services. Therefore, climate protection, supply security and competitiveness play a significant role in Hungary’s future plans.
“Hungary pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emission by 40 percent until 2030, compared to the 1990 level. We commit to increasing the share of renewable energy sources from the current 14 percent to 21 percent by 2030. What’s more, Hungary commits to keeping its energy consumption below the 2005 level,” Kaderják said in closing.
Photo credit: Euractiv