Event report

In addition to slowing down the pace of climate change, anticipating the unavoidable impacts is one of the European Union’s strategic priorities. The Commission’s new proposal obliges the EU and Member States to make continuous progress to increase adaptability and reduce vulnerability to climate change. We talked with Diana Gürge-Vorsatz, head of CEU’s Climate and Sustainable Energy Research Centre and Anna Dimitrijevics, a colleague of the European Commission, DG Climate Action, about what measures the Commission is proposing and how the citizens of the Union can be actively involved in the change. The panel discussion was carried out online, those interested could send their questions and questions to experts to the e-mail address  europajovoje@eu.hu before the discussion .In addition, they asked their questions and shared their comments during the live broadcasts. The online event was followed by 192 people. During the discussion, Anna Dimitrijevics emphasised that adaptation is just as important as mitigation, and without harmonising the two, climate disaster is inevitable. He also talked about the importance of preserving biodiversity. Adaptation must be smarter, faster, more systematic, more inclusive and international cooperation. Diána Ürge-Vorsatz briefly reported on the conference she attended during the morning and discussed Hungary’s climate neutrality goals for the period until 2050. He stressed that such a huge change will always have losers, but the number of winners will always be higher. He explained that Hungary’s geographical location makes the country extremely vulnerable to climate change, and the situation is even worse, as these changes are often slow and not necessarily visible, but they become increasingly serious over time. Participants agreed that ever more frequent and lasting drought times have a negative impact on agriculture, energy and food supply and even buildings. Among other things, participants were interested in the importance of local action plans, during which Anna Dimitrijevics presented the European Covenant of Mayors, which offers a platform for sharing challenges and best practices. Diána Ürge-Vorsatz added that Hungarian settlements really have their own climate strategy and involve citizens in the development of action plans. He also mentioned some interregional partnerships that could help create or implement new strategies. Another participant mentioned that planting cities could be extremely efficient in terms of drainage, whereby the construction of roof gardens could remove a large part of the urban rainwater from the shoulders of the sewer, the plants would bind dust, improve the urban climate and have a number of other beneficial effects on the air. Diána Ürge-Vorsatz believes that it is an excellent movement to greener cities by creating roof gardens, but because of its climate, this may not be the best solution in Hungary. Anna Dimitrievich added that these initiatives are highly supported, but implementation varies from region to region. Another shared opinion states that the responsibility for climate change should not be passed on to the population, but to global companies. Both experts agreed on the need for joint responsibility: companies are able to change, but consumers are creating pressure and demand. As a possible action, it was mentioned that the cost of environmental damage was included in the price of products and the recognition of transformations in the pandemic. What we can achieve individually, however, will never be negligible. Finally, the answers to the slido questions were summarised: “What depth do you know about climate risks?”, The results were as follows: 70 % – I know it very well and this is enough for action.", 20 % – I know it very well, but this is not enough for action, 10 % I know it is limited, and no one has responded that you don't know them at all. Order of the effects of climate change perceived by the public (from the most common): 1. Milder, snow-free winter 2. Larger boils, howaves in summer 3. More frequent storms, 4. Extreme droughts, 5. Emergence of new invasive species and carnivores