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National Climate Change Strategy
Since its accession to the European Union in 2004, Hungary has consolidated its environmental
protection regulations, has been an active participant in international negotiations and has adopted
EU laws. Climate change, however, is an area where Hungary has only recently begun to integrate
its relevant policies (OECD, 2008). In February 2008, the Hungarian Parliament adopted the
country’s National Climate Change Strategy, covering the period between 2008 and 2025 and
helping the country fulfill its Kyoto obligations. The elements of the National Climate Change
Strategy will be realized through National Climate Change Programs, laid down on a biannual
basis. The realization of the Strategy will be financed through the sale of carbon allowances and
from the GOH’s environmental protection and energy program funds. The National Climate Change
Strategy is also in harmony with the National Sustainable Development Strategy adopted by the
GOH (Government Decree no. 1054/2007, VII 9). The National Climate Change Strategy spells out
actions, in accordance with EU and international requirements, and defines the following major
goals for Hungary’s climate policies in the medium term:
(1) Reducing the emission of gases responsible for climate change by reducing overall energy
usage; this is to be achieved by shifting the structure of production and consumption toward a
lower demand for material and energy use.
(2) Protecting against the unfavorable ecological and social-economic effects of unavoidable
climate change, improving adaptability to the effects of climate change, and raising social
awareness and consciousness of climate change.
(3) The National Climate Change Strategy is a framework, which covers all industries and all of
society; its strategic goals and tasks are to be integrated in the activities of every sector.
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