Hungary adopts OECD declaration on consumer protection in digital, green transitions

Hungary has adopted a declaration committing to further protecting and empowering consumers in the digital and green transitions at a meeting of the OECD’s Committee on Consumer Policy, the National Economy Ministry said on Thursday.

Bence Gerlaki, a deputy state secretary at the ministry, highlighted the need for consumer protection authorities to take steps against online marketplaces outside of the European Union that fail to comply with basic rules on product safety.

Hungary also joined an OECD awareness campaign on the safe and responsible use of lithium-ion batteries, the ministry said.

Hungary ‘making strides’ in green transition – minister

Energy Minister Csaba Lantos said Hungary was “making strides” in the green transition, addressing the Portfolio Energy Investment Forum on Thursday.

Lantos said Hungary aimed to boost the share of renewables in gross final energy consumption to 30pc by 2030. He added that 85pc of state-owned energy group MVM’s electricity output was carbon-neutral, but the rate of zero-carbon electricity in consumption sometimes reached 100pc.

Last year, Hungary’s solar power capacity was the third-biggest in the world and now stands at 7,200 MW, he said. That capacity is set to reach 12,000 MW by 2030, but will require infrastructure upgrades, he added.

Around 280,000 homes in Hungary have solar panels.

Lantos said energy investment subsidy programmes with a combined value of HUF 1,200bn were underway. He added that without nuclear energy there could be no sustainable climate policy.

He said Hungary was among the top five countries in Europe in terms of tapping geothermal energy, and he saw potential for making biogas. He added that energy storage was a “big task” and noted that a feasibility study for a pumped storage facility would be completed by year-end.