– Climate change prompts the urgency of greening economies. We are therefore pleased that we can provide a platform where Hungarian authorities and municipalities can exchange ideas and projects with Norwegian industry, and to find new green areas in which our two countries can cooperate, said Norway's ambassador to Hungary, Siri Ellen Sletner during the half-day seminar "Green industrial innovation ", organized by the Embassy.
The seminar focused on green city development, green businesses and technologies, and had both a Norwegian and Hungarian outlook.
Green city development as example
With insight into the Siemens Smart City concept in Trondheim, Norway, and in Kesckemet, Hungary, local representatives could see how green industry can contribute to energy and cost efficiency - and that a company's environmental concerns should not be at the expense of profits.
Hungary´s National environment, technology and innovation strategy was also presented by Dr Martina Makai from the Hungarian Ministry of Rural Development.
Norwegian companies present in Hungary, such as Telenor, Thermo Control, Tomra and AquaFence, also reveal how they can contribute to make Hungarian cities greener, while Green Business Norway introduced additional Norwegian companies based in Norway.
- If all cities become greener, countries need to do less, said Otto Frøseth, representative for Siemens Norway.
12 billion HUF for environmental cooperation
The seminar also focused on areas where Hungary and Norway can cooperate especially in light of the 40 billion HUF (€ 153 million) Hungary will receive through the EEA and Norway Grants in a five-year period until 2014.
The EEA and Norway Grants programmes are developed in close cooperation with Norwegian partners, and nearly one third of the amount, 12,2 billion HUF (€ 44,3 mill), is earmarked environmental cooperation, focusing on renewable energy, climate change and energy efficiency, including green technology and business cooperation.
A green innovation programme aims at increasing the use of environmentally friendly technologies and reducing emissions to air and water in Hungary. The programme is administered by the Szent Istvan University in Hungary, while the Innovation Norway is the Norwegian partner. The objective is to facilitate extensive collaboration between Norwegian companies and Hungarian partners.