Navracsics: The government is committed to successfully fulfilling the climate commitments of Budapest, Miskolc and Pécs
The government is committed to ensuring that Budapest, Miskolc and Pécs are able to successfully prepare their commitments for climate neutrality, the Minister of Regional Development said on Monday in Budapest, after meeting with representatives of the Association of Climate-Friendly Settlements.
Tibor Navracsics reminded that the three cities received support from the European Commission for the preparation of the climate neutral city title, and a few weeks ago the initiative was taken to discuss the extent to which the government’s climate policy objectives should be reconciled with the financial resources available for this, as well as the climate policy objectives of the settlements. .
He emphasized: it is in the interest of the entire country, and it also promotes the country’s commitments, if these three cities take the lead in undertaking and fulfilling their obligations. The following resources and national resources will be used, and the cities and the government’s expert committee will be established to develop the programs and funding.
“We trust that this is the beginning of a joint work that will end up being good for all of us“, the minister said, adding:
the citizens are one step less city to three climate neutrality,
and if they do well, they can gain experience, recommend it to other cities and bring the entire country closer to climate neutrality.
Attila Péterffy (Mindenki Pécsért Egyesület), the mayor of Pécs, said: climate protection is extremely important for the city. Exemplary ones can be the good practices of other settlements across Europe or even among the hundred cities selected by the European Commission.
Regarding the direct access support provided by the European Commission to one hundred EU cities, he said that the climate protection, energy and air protection actions planned by them also require the support of the central government.
Gergely Karácsony, the mayor of Budapest, called the consultation promising from the point of view that the three cities and the country can get additional resources in the fight against climate change. He reminded: the European Commission has been talking about direct support for cities for a long time, and that big cities should become leaders in the fight against climate change.
He called it very important that discussions started at the expert level on how to coordinate the ideas of the government and the cities in the fight against climate change,
and be able to negotiate with the committee in such a way that the program appears not only as a political objective, as a communication tool, but also as an additional source of the fight against climate change.
This requires a partner – continued the mayor, emphasizing: the energy crisis, we are living it, the existential challenges that define our lives, “they override the political differences that always serve as an opportunity for us not to cooperate“.
At a time of such energy prices and such an energy crisis, nothing is more relevant than pursuing an active climate policy – stressed Gergely Karácsony. He also talked about the fact that the Budapest municipality decided that by 2030 they will be able to supply all public services in the city with their own energy production, and they also undertook to help the population with energy efficiency investments.
Pál Veres, the opposition mayor of Miskolc, emphasized the principle of environmental protection and climate protection, calling it a decisive step that they applied to the European Commission.
He added: the city perceives it as an opportunity to speed up the planning processes by involving additional resources, and then it can implement them. “I am confident that this program is destined to succeed” – said the city manager, adding: that’s why they have to do it.
In April this year, the European Commission will announce which hundred EU cities will participate in the initiative, which aims to become climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030.
Among the selected cities are Budapest, Miskolc and Pécs.
The climate neutral and smart cities initiative will receive €360 million in funding from the Horizon Europe program in the period 2022-2023 in order to start the innovation work necessary to achieve climate neutrality by 2030.
At a press conference, Tibor Navracsics answers the question whether there is any progress regarding EU funds, he said: “we are waiting for the European Commission to give us an official answer to our reply letter that we sent on August 22“. According to the form, you have until September 22; in the meantime, expert consultations are ongoing with regard to the reconstruction fund, he added.
In response to another question, he talks about:
more than half of the reconstruction fund must be spent on digital transition and green transition,
There are objectives that include previous, country-specific recommendations of the European Commission, and reform measures related to education are part of them. This includes raising teachers’ wages.
When asked when EU support might arrive, the minister called the first quarter of next year realistic. Finally, when asked if he is not afraid of the committee using the restoration fund for political games, Tibor Navracsics said:it would be contrary to the mission of the European Commission to make the agreement with Hungary a part of political games“.