The Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture (AM) and the Ministry of Energy (EM) have jointly invested 10 billion forints over the past five years in programmes designed to preserve and enhance the climate protection role of forests. This year, a further 2 billion forints will be added to continue and expand these initiatives, officials announced at a joint press conference in Budapest.
State Secretary for Forestry and Land Affairs Péter Zambó of the Ministry of Agriculture emphasized that the government views Hungary’s forests as a key tool in combating climate change. The new funding will support the planting of 260 additional hectares of forest, the continuation of the urban forest pilot programme at five new locations, and educational sessions on sustainability for 65,000 students across 1,000 schools.
According to State Secretary for Circular Economy and Climate Policy Csaba Gondola of the Ministry of Energy, the five-year cooperation between the two ministries has already resulted in the planting of more than 2,000 hectares of forest nationwide, the launch of the Forest for Newborns programme, and research and development projects focused on urban forest management.
Zambó noted that Hungary’s 2.3 million hectares of forest play a vital role in climate protection as the country’s largest natural carbon sink. To reach climate neutrality, Hungary’s remaining emissions must not exceed what its forests can absorb annually, making it essential to maintain and strengthen this capacity.
Over the past five years, 11.3 million saplings have been planted, creating 2,066 hectares of new forest areas, including the Forests for Newborns in every county and model reforestation projects led by state forestry companies. Further planting efforts are planned for 2025–2026.
The government’s urban forest initiative focuses on enhancing the environmental benefits of green spaces within cities. Following the success of the pilot project in Kecskemét’s Csalánosi Park Forest, new urban forestry projects will be launched this year in Budapest, Balatonfüred, Kecskemét, Sárvár, and Tata.
‘The government’s urban forest initiative focuses on enhancing the environmental benefits of green spaces within cities’
The Forest in Schools programme will also continue, with state forestry educators conducting sustainability workshops for around 60,000 students in 1,000 schools in 2025.
Ongoing research projects, carried out in partnership with the University of Sopron and its Forest Research Institute, are examining the effects of climate change on forests, including water balance, fire risk, and the environmental and carbon impacts of afforestation.
Gondola pointed out that Hungary faces growing challenges from prolonged droughts, uneven rainfall, and increasingly extreme weather, requiring targeted adaptation strategies. Expanding and improving green areas, he said, is one of the country’s most successful responses to climate change.
He added that the programmes are financed according to the polluter pays principle: taxes levied on major polluting companies are reinvested into the forestry sector to fund these climate protection initiatives.
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