Do you know what claims much more lives in Hungary than the coronavirus?
According to experts, 13 thousand people die in Hungary because of the polluted air, which is as harmful as smoking. Hungary is currently fourth on the list of those countries that have the worst air quality in the European Union.
The Climate Policy Institute of the Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC) shared its research regarding the issue yesterday, which says that, lately, the government has implemented many measures to decrease air pollution in the country. György Kerekes, the director of the institute, added that the government tightened the energy performance standards for the newly-built houses and flats from 2021 which
can help a lot in reducing the amount of energy needed for heating.
For example, they banned people from burning fallen leaves and started to support programmes aiming at the development of heating systems and improving the energy efficiency of the buildings, Napi reported.
Mr Kerekes stated that people can also do a lot to improve air quality. He reminded that Hungary is the fourth on the list of those countries in the European Union that have the worst air quality. He said that the outdated heating systems cause a lot of problems during winters. However,
not only the devices and their technologies are old, but the fuel people burn in them are also low quality (rags, rubbish, plastics).
Air quality could be improved already in the short run by the modernisation of the heating systems and using high-quality fuel like briquet or pellets. In the long run, on the other hand, renewable energy produced by households as well as heating system development could be the solution. The quantity of particulate matter (PM) could be reduced if the government provided dry firewood for everybody in need.
- Danger going outside in Hungarian cities because of air pollution
- Shocking! Every fifth to sixth death can be attributed to environmental pollution in Hungary
- The Hungarian president would like to reduce water pollution
Interestingly, based on the statistics,
80 pc of the PM in Hungary comes from Poland and Romania.
Therefore, Hungarian efforts are not enough, and regional cooperation is inevitable to reduce their PM emission.
According to mcc.hu, the Mathias Corvinus Collegium and the Századvég Foundation established the Climate Policy Institute. It has sprung from the founders’ understanding that climate change and preparing for its effects will be significant social and economic policy issues in the coming years. Adaptation to climate change requires a new strategy and the coordination of hitherto distant disciplines that the professional workshop wishes to undertake.
The studies of the Climate Policy Institute focus on five areas:
energy, nature conservation, agriculture, the protection of inanimate environmental elements (water, air, soil), and urbanism.
This professional workshop is intended to accommodate a green approach and to contribute to the training of responsibly minded and acting citizens necessary for successful environment protection and nature conservation. The director of the Institute is Dr György Kerekes, a lawyer specialised in environmental law.
Source: napi.hu