Hungarians in Favor of Accelerating Green Transition

Three-quarters of Hungarians say the war in Ukraine and high energy prices should accelerate the green transition, according to the latest yearly European Investment Bank (EIB) Climate Survey.

After a challenging year in which Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sparked an ongoing energy crisis and accelerated inflation all over Europe, and a summer marked by record heatwaves and droughts, Hungarians have become even more acutely aware of the impact of climate change and the need for urgent action.

86% say that, if we do not drastically reduce our consumption of energy and goods in the coming years, we will be heading for a global catastrophe.

71% want highly polluting goods and services such as air travel and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) to be taxed more heavily to account for their environmental cost.

65% want energy prices to be tied to consumption, with those consuming the most being charged more.

While COVID-19 was considered the number one challenge for Hungarians last year, concerns over inflation now predominate, with 72% citing it as their top concern, compared with 36% across the rest of the European Union.

Meanwhile, 91% of Hungarians now say they feel the effects of climate change on their daily lives (an increase of 4 percentage points since 2021).

86% think that, if we do not drastically reduce our consumption of energy and goods in the coming years, we will be heading for a global catastrophe. At the same time, 90% feel that the government is reacting too slowly, and only 35% think that Hungary will succeed in substantially reducing its carbon emissions by 2030.

To reduce energy consumption, most Hungarians want highly polluting goods and services such as air travel and SUVs to be taxed more heavily to account for their environmental cost (71%). They also want energy prices to be tied to consumption, with those consuming the most being charged more (65%).

The EIB, which conducted this climate survey is the lending arm of the European Union and the world’s largest multilateral lender for climate action projects.