Cheapest energy that which we don’t use, says Hungarian President in NY

Addressing the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York on Monday, Hungarian President János Áder outlined Hungary’s achievements and future goals concerning climate policy and briefed world leaders on the country’s Virtual Power Plant scheme.

The philosophy behind the now 10-year-old programme is that “the cheapest energy is that which we don’t produce,” Áder told the summit.

The scheme aims to improve the energy efficiency of individuals, businesses and public institutions, he said.

“The programme has so far allowed us to save more than one quarter of the power output of the Hungarian nuclear power plant in the city of Paks,” the president said. “To put it in other words, we did not have to generate 6 percent of Hungarian electricity consumption from fossil fuels.”

The programme has so far been implemented in Italy, Britain and Romania, he said, expressing hope that it would be “just as successful there as it has been in Hungary”.

Áder also said that over the next three years, Hungary will support international climate finance by nearly 6 million dollars, part of which will go towards the Green Climate Fund.

He noted that Hungary was the first European Union member state to ratify the Paris climate accord, pointing out, at the same time, that CO2 emissions have only increased since 2015.

As regards Hungary’s climate policy goals, the president said Hungary will boost its solar energy capacity tenfold by 2030, phase out fossil fuel-based energy production and expand its nuclear power plant. These combined efforts will ensure that 90 percent of Hungary’s electricity production will be CO2-free by 2030, he added.

Further, Hungary aims to achieve a 30 percent increase in the energy efficiency of its buildings by 2050.

By 2030, public transport companies in cities with a population of more than 25,000 will only use electric busses. Hungary will also continue its reforestation programme, he said, noting that the country’s forests have doubled in size over the past 100 years. And by 2050, Hungary aims to increase the size of its forests by a further 30 percent, Áder said.

Concerning climate policy achievements, the president said Hungary has reduced its CO2 emissions by 32 percent since 1990 simultaneously to reducing its energy consumption and increasing economic growth. Last year, the Hungarian economy grew by 5 percent while emissions were down by 0.6 percent, he said.