Hungary does not support the extension of quota trading to households and transport
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Attila Steiner, following a one-day meeting of the European Union’s Environment Council, told MTI by telephone that Hungary’s position with the Visegrad countries – Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia – on the environmental aspects of the new EU climate package called Fit for 55 was that extending the carbon trading scheme to the transport and household sectors would have a negative impact on the countries of the region.
He said that as long as it is easier for the average family’s budget to raise energy prices in Western Europe, it is not possible in the Central European region, where salaries are much cheaper.
The Visegrad countries are supporting the provision of targeted opportunities for the population to take part in the green transition.
Such is the Hungarian tender program for the installation of solar panels, which has already started and offers a 100 percent refund, and those that can trade below the average income, Attila Steiner said.
According to his information, the Visegrád countries proposed at the council meeting that an EU-level program similar to the Hungarian initiative should be created within the framework of the EU Modernization Fund, which provides additional resources to the less developed member states.
The Secretary of State said that in connection with the increased price of the carbon dioxide quota, Hungary had submitted a proposal for the establishment of an intervention mechanism to cushion the sudden rise in prices. The current mechanism is inapplicable because it cannot adapt to the current emergency, he pointed out.
Attila Steiner spoke about the fact that the European Commission would mitigate the effects of extending the quota trading system by creating a social climate fund. In Hungary’s view, the acquisition of the fund’s resources would lead to an increase in bureaucracy and unnecessarily centralize the distribution of resources. They are more familiar with local conditions and know how to intervene, added the Secretary of State for Innovation and Technology.
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