Priority 4 : Environment and energy development

The priority of environmental and energy developments is aimed at the achievement of objectives defined in the horizontal policy of sustainability (see chapter 3.1.4.1.). The priority contributes to the achievement of the long term growth objective by reducing influences damaging the environment, by preserving the natural environment that forms the basis of growth, and with prevention, efficiency as well as an integrated

approach to complex problems.

According to the respective guideline of the CSG (guideline 4.1) Europe and its regions should be made more attractive places to invest and work by strengthening the synergies between environmental protection and growth and by less intensive use of traditional energy sources. From an environmental point of view, serving economic growth means the promotion of preventive measures in the long term. However, these measures can make a proper impact only in case if “end of pipe” solutions are adequately widespread so as to tackle environmental burdens that are inevitably caused by social and economic activities. As regards preventive environmental protection, Hungary’s commitments determined in the Treaty of Accession is the starting point from which sustainable use of the environment can be reached by strengthening environmentally efficient production and consumption structures.

The strategy in the NHDP is based on the above described principle, thus our main goal is to build up missing elements of the environmental infrastructure, but at the same time we also strive to give impetus to the spread of preventive environmental solutions in the field of both

production and consumption.

The following intervention groups serve the environmental and energy developments:

- Developments improving the environment, the elements of which include:

• Achieving healthy and clean settlements including: o waste management,

o waste water management,

o improvement of drinking water quality; • Wise management of our waters including:

o protection against floods,

o Protection of quality and quantity of our waters, prevention of further pollution of waters (protection of water bodies of high importance, water aquifer protection, recultivation of waste deposits and environmental remediation)

o State measures of WFD implementation • Wise management of our natural assets;

• Promotion of sustainable production and consumption habits, raising awareness of environmental and climate issues;

• Regional dimensions of environment developments.

- Environment friendly energy developments, the planned tools of which

are:

• the promotion of developments aimed at energy efficiency and saving and at

• the production and utilisation of renewable energy;

The objectives of the sustainable use of the environment are to be realised in line with the priorities of the Community Strategic Guidelines and the

6th Environment Protection Action Programme of the European Union, in the following way:

3.2.4.1. Healthy and clean settlements

The healthy and clean settlements objective focuses on the strengthening of environmental contribution to sustainable settlement development and the improvement of environmental status of settlements, in order to improve human life conditions and to provide a satisfactory level of life quality and a healthy environment for all inhabitants. To achieve these objectives, investments will focus on the implementation of urban environmental public services, environmental infrastructure developments and direct environmental protection and damage prevention using opportunities of comprehensive environmental management and planning, applying cost-efficient solutions.

The environmental developments to be realised in the settlements include: • waste management;

• waste water management;

• improvement of the quality of drinking water;

The developments involve or may involve the entire population of the country. Their main objective is the fulfilment of the norms prescribed

by the EU, the development of clean and safe settlements.

All should have the chance to live in a healthy and safe environment

3.2.4.2. Good management of waters

To maintain natural, economic and cultural values in Hungary, the prevention of floods and other damages related to water is a priority. Therefore the construction of the flood preventive system of the Danube will be completed and the implementation of the Vásárhelyi plan expansion continued in the Tisza region. Other flood preventive investments related to water flows will also be realised, including the local authority owned developments of flood prevention systems.

The expansion of the Vásárhelyi plan in the Tisza region is to be continued

Besides protection against water damage another important task is to achieve good ecological status of our waters. River basin management and integrated water use measures serving this objective encompass measures prescribed by the Water Framework Directive (monitoring, protection of quality and quantity of our waters).

The objective is that the waters of Hungary reach a good ecological state by 2015 The status of Hungarian water bodies (lakes and watercourses) was

surveyed on the basis of WFD, their good ecological status/potential is to be achieved by 2015. The measures, particularly those aiming to reduce pollution concentrate on developments on our big lakes, partly due to the fact that the achievement of their good status is an important social need. Besides the lakes, prevention of further pollution of the groundwater is

also a field of action of high importance. Differentiated technological measures have to be taken in the areas of local aquifers, adapting them to the local circumstances. In order to prevent further pollution of surface and ground waters, old and technologically non-compliant landfills continuously endangering the environment and the inhabitants will be recultivated and environmental remediation of contaminated lands listed in the National Environmental Remediation Program will be continued.

3.2.4.3. Good management of natural values

Interventions implemented in the field of nature protection involve the environmental protection developments of protected areas featured in the frame of the NATURA 2000 programme and other protected areas, in the fields of, among others, the protection of species and habitat, outdoor training for children, reduction of the landscape damaging effects of lined establishments, agriculture and forestry preserving the natural habitat, and the preservation of bio-diversity. The development will or may have an environment protective effect on 20% of the country.

Developments in the field of nature

preservation will protect the rich bio-diversity of the country

Developments realised on a sustainable course, and the long term harmonic relationship between man and environment are promoted. In line with the above, nature-friendly economic methods with ecologically favourable effects are promoted, traditional land utilisation and farming

methods maintained and popularised.

Important tasks are the fulfilment of Hungary’s obligations arising from international initiatives and agreements related to nature protection, the preservation of natural values, their introduction to the widest possible public, and appropriate provision of information.

3.2.4.4. Increased utilisation of renewable energy sources

Strategic considerations related to energy supply require the reduction of fossil fuel utilisation, with regard to safe supply (cut import dependence), cost-effectiveness (replace increasingly expensive energy sources), as well as environment and climate protection. The main tool to achieve the above is improving energy efficiency, better energy saving, and increasing

the renewable energy proportion.

Improving energy efficiency, energy saving, increased ratio of renewable energy In order to achieve the energy related objectives, energy production

based on (local) renewable energy sources is to be increased. There is a

need to support the spread of more energy-efficient technologies and a more rational energy utilisation by the population – by changing the regulations in addition to supporting investments.

The proportion of renewable energy sources is increased

When using renewable energy sources, prevention of harmful environmental effects also have to be considered, and attention paid to efficient and economical utilisation, and the establishment of

Environment is in focus in case of renewable energy sources,

community utilisation organised into regional systems. This requires the creation of an appropriate environmental and industrial background, and modern and competitive technologies have to be widely applied.

Increasing the utilisation ratio of renewable energy sources – in addition to preserving bio-diversity – in line with the principle of sustainability, can be achieved locally and gradually using small steps, primarily building on bio-mass.

too

Reduced energy dependence and harmful emissions resulting from the use of fossil energy sources are objectives on the national level. This is to be achieved in the following way:

The main objective is to promote energy saving

• Development of renewable energy production: small-scale investments in energy production on the local level using renewable energy (utilisation of biomass, geothermic, wind, sun energies), spreading fuels of plant origin, modernisation of plant-based, small-scale local fuel production technologies in the frame of integrated regional energy systems;

• Increasing energy safety, including the reduction of risks for example by an energy supply which is primarily based on local resources, and the extension of sustainable energy utilisation capacities;

• Promoting research and development in the field of energetics and renewable energy – connected to the priorities of economic development;

3.2.4.5. Efficient energy utilisation

In addition to influencing the structure of energy sources, an important task is to develop the tools enabling energy saving and efficient energy utilisation in both the production and the consumer spheres

To achieve the energetics objectives, the spread of more efficient energetics technologies has to be promoted as well as the rationalisation of community energy utilisation by supporting investments and changing regulations. The focus is on improved energy efficiency energy saving and increased ration of renewable energy sources Energy saving, implementation of developments aimed at energy

efficiency are objectives on the national level, thus decreasing the country’s energy dependence, which is achieved as follows:

ƒ Promoting energy efficiency and saving, which involves the modernisation of the service side of district-heating, gas and electricity supply, energy efficiency developments of service parks and local authority owned companies, public and residential buildings modernisations aimed at energy saving, as well as the introduction of modern and energy saving production technologies, and the development of systems using local, primary energy to replace the large networks the reconstruction of which entails

considerable losses.

3.2.4.6. Promotion of sustainable production and consumption habits

Measures reflecting the principle of preventive environment protection involve among others, the following:

• promoting the organisation of private and community production and services on an industrial ecologic base;

• spreading the best possible eco-efficient and environment friendly technologies and techniques;

• supporting and spreading sustainable consumption habits, action patterns, model projects;

• developing environment friendly attitudes.

With the fulfilment of environmental democracy, the general spread the sustainability attitude, improved social values and by assuring free flow of environmental information and data, inhabitants can get more actively involved in environment-related decision-making. Consequently attention will be paid to creating conditions for environment friendly life styles and sustainable consumption, environmental education and upbringing and to spread environment management systems. As a result of the developments - which involve or may involve practically any of the local authorities and their institutions, as well as the majority of small and medium-sized enterprises -, material and energy saving enterprises with a low burdening on the environment are created that use alternative energy sources. They contribute to minimizing the emission of gases with a greenhouse effect and to the protection of the climate.

Eco-efficient production methods and sustainable consumption habits should be widely popularised The population should be more actively involved in environment – related decision- making

3.2.4.7. Regional dimensions of environment-related developments

For the sake of complex landscape and environment rehabilitation, water and landscape management, flood and inland water prevention in

environmentally endangered regions, integrated inter-sectoral

developments and rehabilitation programmes need to be worked out and implemented. In environ- mentally endangered regions integrated programmes are initiated Waste water treatment of agglomerations and settlements under 2000 PE

should be solved on regional level with preference of combined technological solutions, natural waste water treatment systems and professional individual small equipments. For achieving the good ecological status of our waters by 2015 we intend to implement water protection, regional water retention, water provision and water rehabilitation developments (complex water protection investments, water regulation on the lowlands) and to improve rivers, tributaries, oxbows and lakes and to prevent contaminations of ground waters.

tourism based on natural and landscape values, the development of host, visitor, education and centres, establishments for exhibitions, pathways for natural studies and the development of nature parks and recreation parks. In the areas included in the Natura 2000 program, management and infrastructure have to be restructured from an environmental point of view, during land use ecological core areas and corridors have to be especially protected, and nature-friendly production systems need to be developed.

landscape- ecologic thinking

Attention will be paid to the protection and conservation of our cultural heritance, revitalisation and creation of urban green areas for public use, tree planting in settlements and inland and rainwater management. Rehabilitation of buildings, harmonised relation of settlements and landscape is equally important for urban and agricultural regions. This means that brown field areas should be revitalized, historic landscapes protected; historic settlement centres reconstructed, settlement sights and landscapes protected.

Implementation of the strategy defined in Priority 4.

The implementation of the strategy defined in Priority 4. will happen mainly in the frame of the Environment and Energy Operational

Programme, financed from the Cohesion Fund supplemented by the

ERDF, but the Economic Development Operational Programme and

the regional operational programmes also contribute to its

implementation.

The strategy included in Priority 4. supports the following CSG guidelines:

ƒ Making Europe and its regions more attractive places to invest and work

o Strengthen the synergies between environment protection and growth

o Address Europe’s intensive use of traditional energy sources