Hungary

Hungary ranks 45th in this year´s CCPI, placing it among the low performers. The country receives a low rating in Renewable Energy and Energy Use, medium in GHG Emissions, and very low in Climate Policy, unchanged from last year’s CCPI ranking.

Hungary’s climate policies align with the European Union’s climate targets, including the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. A 40% reduction in emissions by 2030 compared with 1990 levels is targeted. While policies exist, implementation is falling short. Hungary has made strides in promoting renewable energy, particularly solar power, which is expected to play a crucial role in decarbonising its energy sector. Its climate policy framework emphasises forest management and increasing forest cover to act as carbon sinks.

Policies Suffer from Vagueness and Lack of Specifics

The CCPI country experts note that the framework has several shortcomings. The policies’ part on implementation is extremely general and vague. The Long-Term Strategy lacks clear, actionable measures needed for achieving climate goals. The framework is merely based on a top-down approach and lacks consideration of real data in many sectors, such as building energy efficiency, due to ineffective monitoring tools. Clear policies are missing in critical sectors, such as buildings, transport, agriculture, and waste, where GHG reduction is most needed. The focus remains heavily on the energy sector.

The National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) draft lacks a detailed breakdown of the 2030 targets and Hungary’s renewable energy target for 2030 is 10% lower than what is required to meet the EU collective target. The policy does not identify clear objectives for innovative, flexibility-increasing objectives and measures (e.g. demand response). These would be crucial for integrating the planned new renewable energy source capacities into the system (the system already faces operational, balancing difficulties).

Hungary has made progress in promoting renewable energy, with significant growth in solar panel installation and use. The government also recently lifted a ban on new wind turbine installations; a ban in place since 2010. However, a substantial increase in wind power is unlikely before 2030 because of bureaucratic obstacles.

Fossil Use Continues and Energy-Intensive Industries Are Subsidised

Hungary plans to increase domestic production of fossil gas and extend the operating life of one nuclear power plant while building a second one. The government also intends to delay closing the lignite-fired Mátra Power Plant, which is responsible for 14% of Hungary’s CO2 emissions, until 2030.

In August 2022, the Hungarian government abolished the price cap on gas and electricity for households exceeding a certain consumption level. This led to a 17% reduction in gas usage and a 3% reduction in electricity consumption in 2023 year on year. However, there are growing signs that this action pushed more people to burn biomass, primarily wood, and even waste (which is illegal but not enforced, according to the CCPI experts). The energy efficiency policy lacks details, especially regarding the building sector. Meanwhile, energy use in industry is expected to rise substantially as the government continues to greatly subsidise new energy-intensive industries.

The revised NECP indicates that, by 2030, 54% of renewable energy sources will come from ‘bio’ sources: biomass, biogas, and biofuels, with biomass (predominantly wood) making up the majority. This share will only decrease by 20% by 2040. In 2020, biomass accounted for approximately 38% of Hungary’s renewable energy production. The CCPI experts criticise the reliance on wood, stating that it is not a truly renewable energy source: while it burns quickly, replenishing forests takes decades. Moreover, wood burning (especially in households) emits huge amounts of black carbon, a powerful climate polluter.

In August 2022, the Hungarian government adopted a new decree that permits forest clearcutting, even in protected areas. Moreover, the use of geothermal energy and small-scale hydro power is extremely low compared with their potential. Waste incineration in power plants is also considered as renewable energy – also subject to criticism. Waste burning in households is illegal, but it is tolerated and extremely widespread.

Pro-Government Media Misinforms About Climate and the Environment

Biomass use for Hungary is linked to human rights concerns. Environmental NGOs are subject to political discrimination, sufficient public information on environmental problems, especially pollution from household heating and its possible solutions, is not published in most of the media. Pro-government media (which is 80% of the media) spreads disinformation about climate change and environmental issues.

The revised NECP targets a 43% reduction in transport energy use by 2050. However, it also foresees 22% and 43% increases in automobile transport passenger-kilometres, and 43% and 99% increases in truck transport tonne-kilometres by 2030 and 2050, respectively. The CCPI experts do not see how this can be achieved in parallel. In previous years, the Hungarian government implemented a price cap on transport fuels, leading to increased fuel consumption. Meanwhile, local governments, especially in Budapest, are struggling to maintain public transport services after losing substantial funding from the national government. The government closed 10 secondary railway lines in 2023 despite protests by local communities and NGOs. The Hungarian Railway has experienced a huge drop in service quality, as rail improvements have been delayed for years.

The CCPI experts highlight a negative trend in the country’s climate policy at the national level. Strategic documents set out good principles and targets, but the necessary actions to meet these goals are lacking. In fact, the measures currently in place and those planned are likely to increase GHG emissions. The experts call for greater ambition across all relevant policy areas. They also point out a growingly hostile environment for environmental NGOs and independent researchers, while government-controlled media outlets continue publishing content denying climate change. The experts suggest launching an effective nationwide public awareness-raising campaign on climate change and the necessary mitigation and adaptation measures. They also demand the elimination of environmentally harmful subsidies, internalisation of external costs with parallel monetary compensation for households, and abandoning all planned investments that do not contribute to climate action and substantial improvement of public services.

Key Outcomes

CCPI Experts

The following national experts agreed to be mentioned as contributors for this year’s CCPI:

• András Lukács (Clean Air Action Group)
• András Perger (Greenpeace Hungary)