HUNGARY/FILE: Air pollution in Budapest the worst in a decade

Record ID: 216856

  • Title: HUNGARY/FILE: Air pollution in Budapest the worst in a decade
  • Date: 10th June 2008
  • Summary: (CEEF) VILNIUS, LITHUANIA (FILE) (REUTERS) CARS DRIVING INTO CITY CENTRE VARIOUS OF CARS DRIVING IN CITY (3 SHOTS)
  • Embargoed: 25th June 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Transport
  • Reuters ID: LVA26JYQNU27B6I9WG66BJPFTCBA
  • Story Text: Despite recent measures to improve air quality, Budapest's air pollution is growing worse every year. This is forcing the authorities to consider initiative such as congestion charges.
    Despite much of Hungary's industry modernising its operations and more heavily polluting cars being replaced, Hungary's air pollution has been growing worse over recent years, particularly in the capital Budapest.
    One of the reasons is a dramatic increase in traffic in Budapest's city centre. Due in part to the rise of American-style suburban housing developments and shopping centres, thousands of people have moved out to new residential parks, and because of a lack of good public transport they drive to work.
    Pollution exceeded recommended levels on 115 days in 2007, 80 days more than is permitted under European Union (EU) guidelines. In late December and early January, the capital experienced one of its most prolonged smogs in a decade.
    Peter Lenkei, a clean air action expert based in Budapest says his city is becoming one of the worst polluted in the region.
    "In our opinion, in terms of certain air polluting materials, Budapest is leading the EU in a negative sense. Loose dust pollution is definitely extremely high. There was a year recently when air pollution was above the required limits on 163 days," he said.
    Vector, another research project based in the city, says people in April people in Budapest suffered pollution levels about a third higher than in the Dutch town of Utrecht or Hamburg, in Germany, two other large towns participating in the project.
    While City Council officials dispute that Budapest belongs to the worst polluted cities, they do admit pollution levels are a problem. Last November the council's Environmental Protection Department outlined a comprehensive Environmental Programme.
    The main aim of the programme is to create a so-called 'low emission city centre zone', otherwise called a Green Zone. Access of vehicles into this area would be limited according to their environmental features.
    When car owners receive their green cards they also get a yellow or green sticker on their number plate. Yellow is for the more polluting cars, green for the less polluting ones.
    Using this difference the Council proposes to limit car access in the city centre. The decision is yet to be approved, and will come before the City Assembly in the coming months.
    "Nearly half of the air pollution resulting from traffic is caused by 5-10% of the vehicles. And this is where we have a big reserve opportunity because by affecting relatively few vehicles we can gain relatively big improvements with this measure," said Deputy Head of the Environmental Protection Department of Budapest's City Council.
    Another solution discussed in the City Council and supported by environmental groups is congestion charging.
    Other capitals in the region have added their support for such an initiative. It's under discussion in Prague, where the city will launch it on a pilot basis next year, and being discussed in Riga and Vilnius where the population doubles every day with the commuter influx.
    But environmental experts say introducing congestion charges will be extremely controversial and difficult.
    "Congestion charging is controversial no matter where you try to implement it. Basically, you are asking people to pay for something that they currently get for free. So people really have to be fed up with the congestion before they are willing to pay a tax like that. Also, in Central and Eastern Europe, I mean its generally not as wealthy an area as, as in western Europe, people are pretty highly taxed already," said Greg Spencer, environmental expert of the Regional Environmental Centre.
    One way or another, experts agree Budapest will have to find a solution to clean up its air by reducing traffic and increasing public transport use.
    The discussions of how to go about it, whether green zones or congestion charges, are only beginning.
    Congestion charges so far apply in Stockholm and London, and are planned in Singapore and New York.
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