About the event

The second session of the Green Political Activism Training will tackle the sustainable countryside. Alongside experts, we will explore the issues of water management, ecosystems, sustainable agriculture and food sovereignty, biodiversity and agricultural policy at both national and EU level.

Project background

This event is part of the Green European Foundation’s Green Political Activist Training Project. We put together a series of learning activities aiming to help participants to understand the concepts of political ecology and apply them to both local and European-level politics. We will examine various policies and policy proposals ranging from local politics to the European Green Deal. Our goal is to prepare participants for both assessing and advocating policies in line with progressive green values. We’ll also provide young green activists with them tools and knowledge, as well as an opportunity to network, get in contact with political actors and experts on multiple levels and come together as a political community. It is essential for us to help like-minded movements and actors connect in order to help the political ecosystem flourish.

Speakers

Anikó Csecserits 

Anikó will describe what are the main current and future habitats of the region and what influences have shaped them in the past and now. This session will look at the condition of our native forests, grasslands, wetlands and agricultural habitats, what ecosystem services they can provide, and what sources of information are available? What is the importance of biodiversity for human life?

Péter Kajner

In recent years, Hungary’s drought has accelerated spectacularly: the water yield of our watercourses is decreasing, especially in the eastern part of the country, and long and devastating droughts and heat waves are frequent. Yet, the phenomenon was spread out in almost whole Eurpe. Agriculture is not only a victim but also partly responsible for this. Excessively high rates of intensive arable cultivation, the decline of natural habitats, the drainage of inland water and the increasing exploitation of surface water resources are accelerating the drying of landscapes. Climate change is expected to worsen the situation and we need to find a rapid and effective response to these challenges. The solution may be to retain water in landscapes using near-natural methods. However, this requires space, which in turn requires land-use change and sustainable management practices.

Lili Balogh

Dalma Dedák

The functioning of natural systems has been altered, the renewability of natural resources has been compromised and the quality of life of present and future generations is fundamentally affected. Recognising the economic and social costs of environmental degradation, the European Union has launched an intensive effort to restore natural systems, the steps of which are set out in the policy framework of the Green Agreement. This presentation will show how the EU’s biodiversity and agriculture strategy fits into the EU’s green policy framework and will discuss the implications for domestic environmental and agricultural policy. Can we in Europe create a comprehensive framework of commitments and actions that can be successful in tackling the causes of biodiversity loss? How can we avoid contradictions and successfully reconcile the interests of the players in the equation – nature, farmers, businesses and consumers? Some degree of warming is inevitable; how can nature and society adapt to the inevitable effects of climate change?

Programme

9.30 – 10.00 Arrival, registration

10.00 – 10.10 Opening

10.10 – 11.20 Csecserits Anikó PhD: The natural environment of the Carpathian Basin, the importance of ecosystem services

11.20 – 11.30 Coffee break

11.30 – 12.40 Kajner Péter: What can we do against the water crisis?

12.40 – 13.30 Lunch break

13.30 – 14.40 Lili Balogh: Sustainable agriculture, food sovereignty

14.40 – 14.50 Coffee break

14.50 – 16.00 Dalma Dedák: EU biodiversity and agriculture strategy in the light of sustainability

Practicalities

Date and Time: 13.05.2023 9:30-16:00

Location: Budapest, Király utca 50. 1061 Hungary

Language:  The event will be held in Hungarian.

Registration: Please register in advance here.

Other useful info: The event will be held  in person. We have limited places, the registration follows a first come-first served logic.

This event is organised by the Green European Foundation with the support of  Progressive Hungary Foundation and the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation. The European Parliament is not responsible for the content of this event.

About the event

What is climate policy and what does it look like in Hungary and at the EU level? Together we’ll explore concrete steps we can take to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees or explore issues such as disappearing pollinators and animal and plant species becoming extinct.

Would you like to debate the responsibility of individuals and decision-makers in environmental protection? Have you heard of plants that can withstand extreme urban climates? Do you think electric cars are a green solution? Do we even need a nuclear power plant? Why can’t wind farms be built in Hungary? What is the European Green Deal about? What does a fair green transition in Europe mean?

In our first session of the green political activist training, we will discuss these issues with a focus on Hungary and the European Union. We will highlight current political action and plausible solutions. Special emphasis will be put on EU green policy and viable tools for political activism.

Project background

This event is part of the Green European Foundation’s Green Political Activist Training Project. We put together a series of learning activities aiming to help participants to understand the concepts of political ecology and apply them to both local and European-level politics. We will examine various policies and policy proposals ranging from local politics to the European Green Deal. Our goal is to prepare participants for both assessing and advocating policies in line with progressive green values. We’ll also provide young green activists with them tools and knowledge, as well as an opportunity to network, get in contact with political actors and experts on multiple levels and come together as a political community. It is essential for us to help like-minded movements and actors connect in order to help the political ecosystem flourish.

Speakers

Dr habil. Judit Bartholy,  ELTE Department of Meteorology,

Benedek Jávor, environmentalist, Head of the Representation of Budapest in Brussels

András Perger, Greenpeace

István Bart, climate change expert and urban planner

Programme

10:15 – 11:15 – Changing climate: extreme events, risks and visible trends

11:45 – 12:00 –  Global trends, EU climate policy

13:30 – 14:00 – Fighting climate change, mitigation and adaptation

15:00 – 16:00 – Climate situation in Hungary, climate policy

Practicalities

This event will be held  in person. We have limited places, the registration follows a first come-first-served basis.

Date and Time: 29. April 2023, 10:00-16:00

Location: Gödör Klub, Budapest, Király u. 50, 1061

Language:  The event will be held in Hungarian.

Registration: Please register in advance here 

Facebook event

This event is organised by the Green European Foundation with the support of  Progressive Hungary Foundation and the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation. The European Parliament is not responsible for the content of this event.