LMP launches public consultation on green issues

Peter Ungar told an online press conference that “unlike with the government’s National Consultation surveys”, responses at the website zoldkonzultacio.hu were also welcome from people who do not agree with the party’s goals. He insisted that in the current National Consultation survey the government had put forward “untrue statements in the form of questions”. Citing a statement according to which high energy prices are caused by the sanctions imposed on Russia, Ungar said the high prices were actually caused by the dependence on fossil fuels.

He said it was vitally important to decide what the basis of Hungary’s energy mix and independence will be in the next ten to twenty years. There is “chaos” about this issue even within the government, he said, and cited remarks by Prime Minister Viktor Orban showing a lack of consensus within the cabinet on the use of wind energy.

LMP spokesman Jozsef Gal said the party is also asking for people’s opinion on whether the 700 billion forints (EUR 1.7bn) that the government plans to use on purchasing Vodafone should instead be spent on insulation on buildings and whether a ban on the utilisation of wind energy should be lifted. Another question concerns the cancellation of product fees on solar panels.

LMP believes that renewable energy should be supported instead of taxed and the fuels shortage should be handled by improving public transport instead of putting a cap on petrol prices, he said. Another question in LMP’s survey concerns whether Russia should be building a nuclear power station in Hungary, using Russian technology and a Russian loan, he added.