Transcript Klímaváltozás – szélsőséges időjárási események

Climate Change Act in Hungary
The scientific background,
Views of the National Council for Sustainable
Development
István Láng, co-chair of the Council
Climate change creates a risk for the entire Hungarian
national economy and society and thus it forms an enforcing
power for launching adaptive-preventive actions for the
society as a whole. The quality of life of the population,
water and land resources, forest ecosystems and the security
of food production are endangered by the changing
temperature and precipitation conditions, by the potential
shifting of the seasons of the year, by the amplification and
increased frequency of meteorological and
hydrometeorological extreme phenomena. To face the
seemingly unavoidable changes the societies need to reduce
the emission of greenhouse gases and strengthen the
adaptive capacities.
Hungarian scientists had forecasted the
expectable changes and their harmful impacts
already in 1991. The Meteorological Scientific
Committee of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
has adopted, in November 1991, a statement on the
future of the climate in Hungary. Some statements of
this document are quoted below:
„In Hungary we have to deal with the changes of
the climate at national level; the more so since these
processes will likely result in the deterioration of the
environment in many respects. We could contribute
to the global efforts with more efficient use of
energy resources and with the substitution of fossil
fuels with energy resources that do not cause
greenhouse gas emissions, with other means of
reducing emissions and with the shift to appropriate
forest management.
We also need to explore in more details the risk
of climate changes along with the details of the
related uncertainties. Intensified research into the
efficient management of natural resources is needed
along with that into the strengthening of
environmentally friendly production and
consumption behaviours and with the use of the
international results of the relevant research and
technological development.”
Eighteen years later the Presidential Committee
of Environmental Sciences of the Hungarian
Academy of Science prepared a statement on the
changes of the climate and the related tasks in
Hungary. In the period between these two
declarations (1991 and 2009) the population of the
Earth was increased from 5.37 billion to 6.75 billion.
This increase was larger than the number of people
that was living on Earth at the time of the foundation
of the Hungarian Academy of Science in 1825.
According to the model forecasts, referred to in this
declaration, considerable temperature rise can be expected
in the Carpathian Basin along with certain decreasing of the
precipitation and growing dryness (and water scarcity). The
growing intensity, frequency and duration of extreme
weather phenomena are also expectable. Warming will
result in higher summer temperatures and more frequent and
lasting heat waves. All these indicate that considerable
changes of the climate cannot be avoided. The world of
science has a kind of agreement that there is still a
possibility of avoiding the catastrophic consequences with
the substantial reduction of the emissions and with
preparations for adapting to the impacts of climate changes.
Climate policy rests on two basic pillars:
1. Decreasing of emissions (mitigation);
2. Adaptation to expectable conditions, the
implementation of defensive strategies.
Hungary fulfils its obligations that stem from the
Kyoto Protocol. In accordance with the harmonized
standpoint of the European Union Hungary has to
decrease its emission with 6% by the year 2012.
This target is being achieved time-proportionally
and even tradable quota is also available.
The fulfilling of Hungary’s obligation that stem
from the Kyoto Protocol is specified as obligation in
several government decrees and a law (which latter
was adopted by the Hungarian Parliament in 2007).
The system of strategies to be followed was
summarized in the Project „Global climate changes:
Hungarian impacts and responses project of the
short title VAHAVA (an acronym formed from the
abbreviation of the Hungarian first letters of the
words for Changes-Impacts-Responses). The Project
VAHAVA was launched in 2003 jointly by the
Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Ministry
for the Environment and Water Management. As it is
well known in 2003 there was an extreme heat in
Europe and in Hungary 500 deaths were registered
as victims of the heat waves.
The Project has been completed in 2006. The
Project VAHAVA was a novel synthesizing project
of the systems approach type, in which the main
focus was on the issues of adaptation to the
situations created by the changing climate. The
project formulated proposals towards representatives
of the government and for the various actors of the
society and economy of the country.
The project VAHAVA yielded the scientific basis
for the development of the National Climate Change
Strategy, which was prepared by the Ministry for the
Environment and Water Management and has been
univocally adopted by the Hungarian Parliament in
March 2008.
This Strategy requested the Government to prepare
action programmes for two year periods. These
programmes should enhance the implementation of
the actions of the Strategy.
The scientific work is being continued. A new
programme is being developed with the title of
„Climate Change and Safety/security)”. In this
programme the investigations of the state of safety
and security involve the followings:
• Safety and protection of the natural and nearnatural ecosystems and habitats and of
biodiversity in general.
• Safety and protection of the properties and
quality of life of the population.
• Protection of production and servicing systems
needed for the normal operation of the society,
that is the protection of „Critical Infrastructures”.
• Security of the undisturbed operation of the
economy.
The major factors which can enhance climatesafety/security include the followings:
• Meteorological services,-monitoring of greenhouse
gases.
• Catastrophe-defence and ambulance services;contingency systems of local governments and
enterprises.
• Economic and legal regulatory instruments (incentives,
restrictions-limitations, prohibitions, penalties).
• Climate-awareness, education, trainings, popular
sciences, professional advisory systems.
Stabilisation and decreasing of the level of
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are the longterm means of providing climate-security/safety.
The guarantee for short term climate-security is
adaptation, including preventive strategies,
defensive strategies and reconstruction/remediation
of damaged systems.
These two directions of action do not substitute
but supplement each other, and form together the
basis of sustainable development, the realisation of
the interests of the present population and of the
future generations.
The primary task of the Hungarian Climate
Change Act under preparation is to provide a
schedule for the reduction of greenhouse gas
emission for the time horizon of 2050. In addition to
this the law will also provide for the improvement of
the vegetation cover of the country’s territory and
for the development of adaptation strategies and
procedures.
Thank you for your kind attention!