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The European Environment Agency estimates that approximately 13,000 people die prematurely in Hungary each year as a result of air pollution. The European Court of Justice condemned Hungary in February for poor air quality and also detailed the existence of infringing practices in three parts of the country for years.
The affected areas are Budapest, the Sajó Valley and Pécs. In all three districts, particulate matter has consistently and persistently exceeded the daily limit value for PM10, which is regulated by an EU regulation.
Gergely Simon, Air Pollution Expert at Greenpeace, explained to our question that an infringement procedure had been initiated against Hungary a few years after its accession to the EU (currently there are also pending procedures for nitrogen dioxide pollution) because we did not comply with regulations on particles. . That went to court and led to the February conviction.
Simon says that the most important thing in the whole case is that they said:
Hungary has not met the required limits and has not taken substantial steps to improve.
Not a Hungarian feature
Proceedings have been initiated against several Member States in this area, but the expert notes that
Hungary has one of the highest proportions of deaths from air pollution in the EU. In 2020, we were almost tied with Poland for third place, with the worst situation in Bulgaria.
Furthermore, outside the European Union, air pollution is an even more serious problem in the Western Balkans and South Asia.
What can be done?
In several European countries, the number of victims has fallen by between 20 and 30 percent, but in Hungary this value is still below 10 percent. Simon Gergely believes that we could achieve results at home with the right measures.
The main sources of pollution are residential heating, agricultural activity and transportation. Usually this varies from region to region, heating is predominant in northern Hungary, and many people burn packed clothing and plastic or construction waste, for example. In the metropolitan environment, on the other hand, in addition to heating, transport, including diesel vehicles, plays a much more important role.
The most polluting cars are banned in more and more major Western cities and, usually coming from Germany, are appearing in droves on the domestic used car market. Therefore, Greenpeace asked the government to:
It can also be called a car accident ban, promised by the government in the past, but no restrictions have been placed on imports of such vehicles so far.
A comprehensive building renovation program is also expected by decision makers, with energy efficient insulation and heating upgrades, and support for home renovation is seen as a good initiative. In addition, they see the need to eradicate illegal waste incineration, along with an appropriate social firewood program.
The cabinet is also expected to help cities modernize public transport parks, for example in Budapest old Ikarus buses produce staggering pollution. To reduce traffic, a suspension of free parking has also been proposed. His most important request to the capital is to start restricting and eventually banning extremely polluting cars from 15 to 30 years in Budapest.
According to Greenpeace, the coronavirus crisis cannot object to immediate action, and even makes it even more urgent because air pollution can aggravate the course of the disease.
With our questions, we contacted the Ministry of Innovation and Technology regarding modernization of heating and buildings, as well as the capital, regarding whether a ban on polluting Budapest cars is on the agenda. We will update our article as soon as the responses arrive.
(Cover image: A smog alarm was ordered in the capital due to deteriorating air quality January 2, 2017 . Photo: Balázs Mohai / MTI)
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