Since the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, changes worldwide have been taking place at a much slower pace than was decided, however, despite the coronavirus epidemic, Hungary has managed to make progress in many areas, said János Áder in the video message that was delivered on Monday At the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG Moment) forum.

Regarding health, the head of state reported that almost 60 percent of the population in Hungary has been vaccinated so far, and the administration of the third booster vaccinations is also underway. In addition, as he put it, "we helped needy, developing and Central European countries with nearly 1.5 million vaccinations and other medical devices."

Speaking about education, János Áder emphasized that our country is one of the first countries in the world where sustainable development is a separate subject in secondary schools, for which a special textbook has also been prepared.

Speaking about energy production, the President of the Republic said: the installed capacity of solar power plants in Hungary has increased tenfold in five years and this trend will continue in the future. "This year, the amount of electricity produced from solar energy is more than coal-based electricity generation. We have a new national energy strategy and climate plan," added the head of state.

János Áder highlighted: According to the plans, Hungary would expand its solar power plant capacity to 6,500 megawatts by 2030, and to 12,000 megawatts by 2040. In addition, by 2030, our country would provide ninety percent of domestic electricity production with carbon-neutral technology. According to the head of state, the sustainable development turn can be successful. "Hungary will organize the Planet Budapest 2021 Sustainability Expo and World Exhibition between November 29 and December 5, which will talk about solutions and make it clear that the sustainability revolution is not only a challenge, but also an economic opportunity," added the President of the Republic.

In his speech, János Áder also reported that from July 2021, Hungary has banned the use of single-use plastics and that the National Clean Development Strategy has been adopted in our country, which accelerates the transition to the so-called circular economy.

"We plan to double GDP per capita in the foreseeable future while reducing the ecological footprint of the economy," said the head of state.

According to János Áder, a change of attitude is also needed in economic thinking, because "today we have a relatively accurate picture of what results we have achieved in each sector. However, we cannot give an exact answer to what damage the achieved result caused in other areas".

"We are looking for a new method in which the social, environmental and health costs of production are also priced. We welcome experiences and share ours with others," concluded the Hungarian head of state.

Source: MH/MTI