Ministry: EIB helping Hungary to achieve climate goals

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has a major role in mobilising European Union funds, and by 2026 half of the EIB’s total lending will support climate projects, Laszlo Palkovics, the minister of innovation and technology, said on Thursday.

Hungary’s energy and climate plan shows the country’s commitment to adapting to climate change, Palkovics said after meeting Lilyana Pavlova, an EIB vice president, in Budapest.

Achieving 2050 climate neutrality in Hungary will cost around 50,000 billion forints, he said, adding that a large part of the investments must come from private capital.

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Palkovics referred to a financing agreement between the EIB and Hungary’s Volán bus company with the aim of reducing harmful emissions by replacing older buses with more advanced ones that are kinder to the environment.

The government is rolling out its Green Bus scheme with a view to promoting environmentally friendly vehicles.

Accordingly, public transport buses over ten years old are being replaced by state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly ones, he noted. Fully 60 percent will be manufactured in Hungary, he added.

The government is also providing 36 billion forints in subsidies for the purchase of electric buses for localities with more than 25,000 inhabitants, his ministry said in a statement.

Source: MTI