The Second Climate Change Strategy of Hungary (NCCS-2)

The changed economic environment of recent years and the accelerating natural changes urged renewing the Hungarian Climate Change Strategy (NCCS) of 2008. The document identifies the national duties imposed by international treaties against climate change, and provides guidelines to harmonize climate protection with development policy. The 2013 revision of the Strategy (NCCS-2) was developed by the National Adaptation Center of the Geological and Geophysical Institute of Hungary for the Ministry of National Development.

The increasing number of extreme weather events often remind us that climate change is not one of the threats of the future, but a current and accelerating process. In 2010 the Hungarian Parliament amended the Act LX of 2007 on the implementation framework of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol thereof to promote the participation in the international climate protection efforts proportionate to the liability of the country, and in order to better prepare the country for the expected negative effects.

In 2013 the new National Climate Change Strategy (NCCS-2) was elaborated according to the amended Act LX of 2007 by the NAC for the Ministry of National Development. The NCCS-2 assesses the driving forces of climate change and the results of national researches on the potential effects of climate change in the country. The document sets the tasks for Hungary in the fields of mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and in adaptation to climate change impacts. The strategy provides guidance in order to achieve different goals: short, mid- and long-term action lines were elaborated.

Evaluation of expected climate change impacts in Hungary, natural and socio-economic consequences, furthermore the vulnerability assessment of ecosystems and economic sectors are parts of the NCCS-2. The Hungarian Adaptation Strategy (NAS), the second pillar of the NCCS-2 is based on these results. The framework of adaptation and preparation was outlined on risks and climate safety, possible directions of preparation were identified for water management, rural development, health care, energy policy, tourism and other sectors. Another pillar of the NCCS-2 is the National Decarbonisation Roadmap, that charts the possible tracks of GHG-reduction of the country; mainly focusing on emission reduction possibilities and goals. The third pillar of the Strategy are the Horizontal Tools which include the Climate Awareness Plan.

The draft version of the NCCS-2 is available in Hungarian here.

The NCCS-2 was adopted by the Government of Hungary in May 2017 and submitted to the Parliament. The document will be debated by the Parliament later.