Opposition wants to protect Hungarian lakes

The opposition Democratic Coalition proposes that Lake Fertő, located on the Austrian-Hungarian border, should be given special status in Hungary similar to the protection it enjoys in Austria so that no investments damaging the natural environment can be made there, lawmaker Olivio Kocsis-Cake told a press conference broadcast from the shore of the lake on Sunday. Kocsis-Cake called the lake “Hungary’s most valuable natural treasure”.

He said that in recent years, the Fidesz government had started destroying the area around the lake, which was used for recreation by many families. Zoltán Simon, the party’s local municipal deputy, said the stilt houses that had been there for decades had been destroyed, and a marina with berths for hundreds of yachts and a “reinforced concrete hotel” were under construction on the shore. Simon called this “unacceptable” and said his party was committed to protecting Lake Fertő.

Socialists to submit motion to make Lake Balaton beaches free

LMP urges govt to review ‘watered-down’ climate law

Opposition LMP has called on the government to review the “watered-down” climate law in the autumn, MP Erzsebet Schmuck said on Sunday.
Hungary is extremely exposed to the acceleration of climate change, which has a negative impact on the economy, quality of life and the natural environment, Schmuck said at a press conference.

She cited the example of last year’s drought and mentioned the tornado in Croatia as well as flash floods, which claimed lives this year. She also noted record-high temperatures approaching 50 degrees Celsius in southern Europe and 40 degrees Celsius in Hungary. Schmuck said the opposition had submitted a strict climate bill, which the ruling parties had “watered down”. It was “even more tragic”, she said, that the government planned to build another three gas power plants because of the battery factories.

Schmuck noted that the EU’s Nature Restoration Law set serious goals and tasks for agriculture so that it can adapt to climate change and said it was shocking that the MEPs of the ruling parties and Jobbik voted against the regulation. She noted that a green moratorium resolution proposal, submitted by LMP in order to protect forests as carbon-dioxide absorbers, was rejected by the government majority.