The energy ministry has revised and re-worked the Hungarian National Energy and Climate Plan (NEKT) after wide-ranging consultations to include the recommendations of the European Commission.
The ministry said the finalised document was submitted for the EU Energy Council's meeting earlier this week.
The plan for the period until 2030 aims to boost energy sovereignty and supply security, preserve the results of the utility price cuts, and successfully implement a green transition while boosting the green economy, the ministry said in a statement. In the revised document, the ministry has also raised the targets for reducing emissions and producing green energy to aid in fulfilling commitments to climate neutrality and sustainability, it said.
Hungary plans to cut greenhouse emissions by 50 percent compared with 1990 levels, up from the current 40 percent. Energy consumption will have to come to no higher than 740PJ, down from the original target of 785 PJ, it said. The plan also raised the ratio of sustainable energy resources to 30 percent by 2030, from the current 21 percent.
The energy crisis has shown that supply security cannot be founded on the sole resource of technology. A diversified mix of technologies and more effective use of alternative energy resources will significantly boost energy sovereignty and the green transition, the ministry said.
The plan's priorities include boosting electrification and cutting energy consumption in households, public institutions, the industry and traffic, the paper said. Mass application of energy storage facilities will be needed to adapt the system to the spread of household green energy production, and the use of electric engines will be further boosted, it said.
Further, domestic production capacity and expertise must be developed, as they are beneficial for the country's economy as well as de-carbonisation, the document said.
Besides completing the national energy and climate plan's first version in 2023, Hungary has also prepared a strategic environmental study. The study has shown that four-fifths of the 15 groups of measures in NEKT are beneficial for the environment, while the rest will improve supply security, the statement said.
The annual cost of the measures outlined in the NEKT will come to around 600 billion forints (EUR 1.5bn), the statement said.