In an interview with Magyar Nemzet on Thursday, President János Áder said political buzzwords and demonstrations will not solve the challenges of climate protection.
According to MTI, President Áder said the climate goals outlined in the 2015 Paris climate agreement are impossible to fulfil without nuclear energy. He pointed to Hungary’s achievements and goals in the matter, noting that the country has slashed its carbon emissions by 32 percent since the fall of communism in 1990. Hungary has also enshrined in law that the country should be carbon neutral by 2050, he said.
The president said the upgrade of the Paks nuclear plant with two new blocks will aid that work, as will the revamping of the Mátrai Erőmű power plant where coal-based electricity production will be phased out, to be replaced by natural gas and sustainable resources. Solar energy capacity has been doubled in Hungary in each of the past five years, he said. “A similarly detailed program in all European Union member states, and elsewhere in the world, would make achieving our shared goals much easier,” he said. The Planet Budapest 2021 sustainability expo, to be held between Nov. 29 and Dec. 5 in Budapest, will offer a forum for showcasing innovations in the field, he said.
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