The opposition Párbeszéd is submitting to parliament a draft resolution on reducing air pollution, the party’s group leader said on Sunday. About 13,000 people die each year in Hungary as a direct result of air pollution and another 100,000 fall ill, Tímea Szabó told an online press conference. She cited a 2021 ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union declaring that Hungary was in breach of EU air quality rules by failing to comply with the daily limit for particulates in the air and failing to address these shortcomings. Szabó said soaring energy prices had resulted in even more people using materials for heating that worsen the air quality.
To address the issue, Párbeszéd is submitting to parliament a draft resolution demanding that the government review and expand the air quality monitoring network as well as the supply of constant real-time data. The party also wants the cabinet to set up a national fund with the aim of reducing the most harmful emissions, Szabó said. Párbeszéd also expects the government to set a stricter limit for particulates in the air, review the regulations for smog alerts, ban the burning of green waste and launch a nationwide awareness campaign, she added.