Strategic roundtable on the green transition

 

 

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On 26 July, the General Directorate for International Affairs organised a private strategic roundtable discussion on the green transition and security. Participants represented nine countries, indicating the global importance of the topic and the spirit of cooperation needed to address one of the most pressing challenges of our time: the transition to a sustainable and green future. Sustainability is not the same as greening. It means meeting the needs of the present without reducing the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The Ludovika University of Public Service aims to promote dialogue, knowledge sharing and the exploration of innovative solutions for a more sustainable world – this is the spirit in which the event took place in the Széchenyi Hall.

After a welcome speech by László Szegedi, Head of the Rector's Advisory Office, Liliana Śmiech, Director General for International Affairs, first addressed the representatives of the embassies, who presented the progress of their respective countries in the green transition. After Gülşen Karanis Ekşioğlu (Ambassador of Republic of Türkiye), Camilo Eduardo Sanhueza Bezanilla (Ambassador of Chile), Kyudok Hong (Ambassador of South Korea), Ono Hikariko (Ambassador of Japan) and Yahia Kader (First Counsellor of the Embassy of Algeria), András Huszár, director of the Green Policy Center think tank, reviewed current trends in Hungary on this issue. In his presentation, he said that greenhouse gas emissions decreased significantly between 2021 and 2022, reaching -37.4% gross compared to 1990 levels, but it is feared that this reduction trajectory is not sustainable in the long term. GHG emissions from all but one sector decreased or stagnated in 2022. It can be argued that in many sectors one-off crises rather than deliberate measures have contributed to this significant reduction and that the Hungarian emissions trajectory is still more dependent on economic performance than on the impact of climate policy. The exception mentioned is transport: an ageing vehicle fleet, the phasing out of COVID restrictions (still partially in place in 2021) and the freezing of petrol prices have led to significant emissions increases. Based on the 2030 targets of the updated National Energy and Climate Change Plan, the share of energy imports will decrease from around 85% to 80% for natural gas and from around 25% to 20% for electricity, while the share of oil imports will remain at around 85%.

The guests of honour at the roundtable were the President Luz Stella Murgas Maya and Secretary General Camilo Morales from the Colombian Natural Gas Association. The President compared the natural gas supply situation in Colombia to the two sides of the moon. On the visible side of the moon: 68% coverage and more than 12 million users connected to natural gas, leading to better affordability, health and quality of life; the areas covered by natural gas infrastructure are predominantly highly urbanised and have higher income households. On the invisible side of the moon: one in ten people need firewood, charcoal and waste for cooking, highlighting persistent social and geographical inequalities in access to energy; rural areas far from the capital have the highest levels of deprivation; there are still moderately urbanised areas that lack access to natural gas. He then spoke about the energy needs of industry and transport, and then turned to the key to improving the situation: the use of hydrogen. By 2030, Colombia has five targets in this area: achieving a production cost of 1.7 USD/kg; putting 2,500-3,500 hydrogen vehicles into service; reducing carbon dioxide equivalents by 3 million tonnes; creating 5,000 jobs; and achieving an investment of 5,500 million USD. Today, 28 hydrogen projects are underway in the country (16 in the Caribbean, 6 in the Andean, 6 in other regions), with the aim of producing approximately 190 kilotonnes of hydrogen by carbon capture.

The presentation was followed by a discussion and then three more presentations: on Hungary, this time from the perspective of energy market players, Lajos Bütösi, Director of MVM CEEnergy Zrt. spoke, on Slovakia, Richard Kvasňovský, Executive Director of the Slovak Gas and Oil Association, and on Northern Macedonia, Jovan Borozanov, Advisor to the Board of the Macedonian Gas Association.

In his closing remarks, Secretary General Camilo Morales thanked the participants for their attendance and underlined that the global community has recognised the urgent need to fight climate change, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and shift to renewable energy sources. But this transition must be carefully managed to ensure energy security, economic stability and social justice.