Education, Public Awareness

The Energy Conservation and Energy Efficiency Improvement Action Programme stresses the need to strengthen information on energy savings in the educational system, to support advisory networks and consumer offices and to spread widely advertisements, brochures for consumers and media campaigns to encourage consumers to save energy. The widespread use of energy efficiency labelling is also recommended. The objective is to save up to 10 PJ energy per year until 2010: to this end Ft 25 million of grants was to be spent in 2000 and Ft 50 million in 2001, with the target of increasing this to Ft 100-200 million per year. In 2002, in the framework of the Szecheni Plan, a public awareness programme was implemented and directed mainly at the education sector. Non-governmental organisations have played an important role in this field. The Energy Efficiency Advisory Network launched by environmental NGOs, the Enterprise Development Agency (MVA), the Hungarian Alliance of Technical and Science Association (MTESZ) form a group of some 20 Regional Energy Advice Centres throughout the country. To develop these energy advice centres, Hungary benefited from funds channelled through the EU PHARE Programme and the Dutch energy agency NOVEM.