Hungary

Hungary aims to promote sustainability and encourage the transition to a climate-neutral and circular economy.

Income inequality (as measured by the Gini coefficient) has been decreasing since 2014, and Hungary is one of the most equal EU Member States. Energy poverty (the number of households unable to heat homes to safe and comfortable temperatures has also decreased since 2014, and is significantly lower than the EU average. Energy modernisation subsidies and official price regulation contributed to the decrease.

The ratio of fossil fuel subsidies to gross domestic product (GDP) in 2015–2021 was in line with the EU average, but exceeded it in 2022–2023. At the same time, Hungary’s goal is to reduce fossil fuel subsidies, with energy security in mind.

The ratio of environmental expenditure to GDP is slightly below the EU average and is related to the disbursement of EU subsidies. A large part of the expenditure is spent on waste management and wastewater treatment. The share of environmental taxes in the total tax system has decreased overall, similarly to the EU trend, but it increased between 2010 and 2023. Increasing environmental taxes will help to move towards environmentally friendly production and consumption.

The share of people employed in the environmental sector is around 1% and the gross value added of the environmental goods and services sector has decreased in recent years. In order to prevent and reduce environmental pollution and manage natural resources more efficiently, the environmental protection industry needs to be strengthened.

Hungary’s Eco-Innovation Index value has increased over the last decade, but it is lower than the EU average. In Hungary, significant eco-innovation activities are carried out in many institutions and enterprises, but the flow of knowledge and the practical use of results require further development.

It is positive that Hungary’s consumption footprint is below the EU average, and public expenditure on education per higher education student has increased over the past decade.

Forward-looking measures have been taken in several areas to achieve sustainability, but in some cases (e.g. greening of the budget, development of circular economy, promotion of sustainable consumption) further efforts are still needed.

The food system

There is growing interest in environmentally friendly agriculture in Hungary to ensure high-quality food for consumers for healthy diets, provide livelihoods for farmers and reduce the sector’s ecological footprint.

Children’s meals play an important role in developing healthy eating habits and sustainable consumer attitudes. Hungary operates a kindergarten and school milk programme and a school fruit and vegetable programme. Hungary has also developed and introduced nutritional health regulations for public catering.

Less food waste is generated in Hungary (84 kg/capita in 2022) than the average across the EU. The vast majority of food waste in Hungary comes from households. Between 2010 and 2022, the amount of food surplus saved by the Hungarian Food Bank Association increased from 527 t/year to 8 408 t/year. Since 2021, it has been mandatory for food retailers to offer food reaching its expiry date to the Food Rescue Centre Nonprofit. The National Food Chain Safety Office launched its no waste programme in 2016, which has since grown into Hungary’s national food waste prevention programme.

As of the beginning of 2024, the large-scale separate collection of biowaste, including green kitchen waste and food waste, was started in Hungary, a process that will be introduced in stages.

The aim of the Hungarian common agricultural policy strategic plan is to support environmentally friendly farming. As a result of related efforts, the proportion of agricultural land under organic farming reached 6.3% in 2023 and the area in the agri-environment management programme was 25%. The common agricultural policy strategic plan also supports the development of the short food supply chain and the use of digital and automated farming methods. The increased use of environmentally friendly farming is also facilitated by the agricultural advisory system.

Furthermore, Hungary’s soil protection action plan, adopted in 2021, sets the goals of transitioning to sustainable agriculture, preserving soil fertility, increasing water retention capacity and improving soil quality in general.

As a result of cooperation between ministries, the water into the landscape programme was launched to promote water replenishment and water retention, which is one of the priority objectives of the water sector. Although it only started in February 2025, the success of the programme is clear: by mid May, more than 600 offers had been received, involving around 15 000 ha, proving that there is a great need to raise the groundwater level and retaining water on the spot. The European Commission confirmed that the programme is not just a project, but part of a change of attitude of epochal significance, which aims to ensure the future of agriculture and adaptation to climate challenges by maintaining the natural water cycle. In addition, several projects aimed at water retention and replenishment are being launched within the 2021–2027 multiannual financial framework.

The energy system

The goal of achieving full climate neutrality by 2050 is laid down in law in Hungary. In line with this, ambitious climate and energy policy targets for 2030 are included in Hungary’s national energy and climate plan. Regulatory, financial and energy-awareness measures all help to reduce energy consumption and increase efficiency.

Investments to improve energy efficiency are encouraged by the energy efficiency obligation scheme introduced in 2021. This obliges market players (e.g. energy traders, residential energy suppliers and fuel sellers) to achieve a certain amount of energy savings among end users. The 2025 amendment to the scheme focuses on the renovation of residential and public buildings.

Subsidies help to improve the energy efficiency of buildings and businesses, ensure the transition to renewable energy sources and ensure the installation of smart meters to encourage consumer energy awareness. Among the support actions for the energy modernisation of public buildings, the subsidy for fossil fuel appliances was discontinued from 1 January 2025.

In 2024, solar power plants already provided a quarter of the electricity produced in Hungary. With this in mind, the expansion of storage capacities is currently under way. The re-regulation of wind power plant installations also helps to increase the use of renewable energy.

In order to improve the energy efficiency of residential and public buildings, requirements for energy audits were introduced in 2022. The number and floor area of newly built buildings with near-zero energy performance increased steadily between 2016 and 2022. An energy certificate for newly built properties is mandated by law.

Companies can use corporate tax allowances if they implement investments aimed at energy efficiency. The programme has been operating since 2017, drawing great interest. Within the framework of the Jedlik Ányos energy programme, applications worth over HUF 440 billion were launched for companies. Support can be obtained to, inter alia, improve corporate energy efficiency, establish corporate energy storage facilities, produce biogas and biomethane and undertake energy research and development. All large companies with significant energy consumption are obliged to employ an energy specialist whose task is to promote the energy efficiency approach in the operation and decision-making of the company.

As part of the green programme of the National Bank of Hungary, the capital requirement discount programme announced in 2020 for Hungary-based credit institutions also helps to increase energy saving and efficiency.

A new system usage fee category was created in 2024 for the purpose of time-series billing of electricity users with smart meters.

The Hungarian government announced a pilot project tender for the establishment of energy communities in 2020, resulting in nine registered energy communities at the beginning of 2025.

The mobility system

Hungary’s goals are to reduce the environmental load caused by passenger and freight transport, increase the share of public transport and improve the railway and bicycle transport infrastructure.

Greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector are following an upward trend after a decline due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Hungary intends to ensure a reduction in emissions by increasing the blending rate of biofuels, increasing the spread of alternatively powered vehicles, and diversifying modes of transport, with an emphasis on low-emission options.

Budapest and its metropolitan area have the most intensive transport rates in Hungary: 12% of daily journeys take place there . Therefore, it is important to reduce car traffic in this region, redirecting it to public

The county pass and national pass tariff reform introduced on 1 May 2023 created a common tariff for rail and intercity bus transport, significantly simplifying obtaining travel passes and making them more favourable for passengers who regularly use public transport.

Railway development has been supported by the integrated transport development operational programme, with 206.5 km of reconstructed or renovated railway lines. From 2014 to 2020, railway infrastructure investments were mostly focused on trans-European transport network and IT developments and station modernisations, followed by environmental and climate aspects.

The national bicycle path network is about 9 000 km long. Hungary ranks third in the EU in everyday bike use, with a strong rural cycling base. Since 2020, funds allocated to bicycle developments have increased: programmes supporting the purchase of e-bikes and electrically assisted cargo bikes have been launched. In addition, since 2022, the costs related to company bikes have also become eligible for reimbursement by the state .

In 2022, 35% of people travelled by car. The number of passenger cars is increasing constantly (nearly 4.1 million in 2022), and the average age of the vehicle fleet exceeded 15 years in 2022 . At the same time, the number of electric vehicles is also increasing, together with the number of electric charging stations (now approximately 3 000). State subsidies have helped with the purchase of new electric cars since 2018, and several municipalities support the spread of electric cars, offering free parking for these vehicles. The share of bio-components in fuels increased to 8.2% in 2020. Within the framework of Hungary’s green bus programme, approximately 300 environmentally friendly local buses are to be put into operation by the end of 2025.

Vehicles over 3.5 t fall under an electronic toll collection system proportional to the distance travelled. As of 1 January 2024, an external cost charge was introduced, dependent on the environmental impact of the vehicle’s engine based on its emission values. As a result, the ‘user and polluter pays’ principle applies, with more-polluting vehicles paying a higher toll, encouraging vehicle operators and owners to replace their vehicles with more modern and environmentally friendly ones.