Farmers should not foot bill for climate change or green transition: Hungarian premier

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) – Hungary’s prime minister said Tuesday that farmers should not pay the price for fighting climate change, stressing that they cannot sacrifice either industry or agriculture in the process of green transition.

"We must continue advancing the green transition while also maintaining our use of natural gas, oil, and nuclear energy," Victor Orban said during his address at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku.

Underlining that Hungary is among the few countries that has been able to enhance its economic performance while cutting emissions in recent years, Orban said they cannot sacrifice industry or agriculture in this process.

"The price of climate change should not be paid by our farmers. Farmers are the backbone of our economy and society," he added.

The premier went on to say that the green transition and the fight against climate change should not be done against the business community, "but together with it," stressing the need for clear financial guarantees and significant investment.

"Our climate policy should be guided by careful consideration and common sense, not by ideology alarmism or panic. Each should align with the opinion and interest of European citizens," he added.

- Spain’s Sanchez: Climate change kills

In his address at the event, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that climate action is "at the heart" of his government's mission for the protection and prosperity of Britain and the world.

"Action on climate now is the route towards economic growth, energy security, better jobs, and national security in the long term, to deliver on the Paris Agreement and keep 1.5 degrees (Celsius) within reach," he added.

Starmer said they launched Great British Energy to improve energy resilience and created a national wealth fund to invest in the green industries and jobs of the future.

"We scrapped the ban on onshore wind, committed to no new North Sea oil and gas licenses, and closed the UK's final coal power plant at the end of September, becoming the first G7 economy to phase out coal power in line with the international agreement at COP 28 to transition from fossil fuels,” he added.

Stressing that his country's ambitious goal is to become the first major economy to achieve clean power by 2030, he said their target for 2035 is to reduce all greenhouse gas emissions by at least 81% on 1990 levels.​​​​​​​

He also urged all parties to come forward with ambitious targets of their own.

Also speaking at the gathering, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez mentioned the recent extreme weather crisis in his country, where widespread flooding devastated the province of Valencia and killed at least 222 people.

Calling the deadly flooding "one of the greatest climate disasters" in Spain's history, Sanchez said he is at COP29 to say "loud and clear that climate change kills."

"What happened in Valencia is not an isolated incident, it happens every day in every corner of the world, we cannot turn a blind eye, we must take action," he noted.

Sanchez warned that such disasters will become more frequent and intense as long as fossil fuel consumption continues.