BUDAPEST, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Hungarian government is ready to sign the European Union's (EU) new 2050 climate agreement with conditions, but insists on bigger contribution from the richer countries, the Hungarian news agency MTI reported on Thursday.
"We will not allow Brussels bureaucrats to have poor countries pay the costs of the fight against climate change," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told MTI on his way to the EU summit in Brussels.
Orban's reaction came after the presentation on Wednesday of the ambitious European "Green Deal" by the European Commission, which outlined the EU's roadmap to combat climate change.
The deal aims to transform the EU into an economy where there are "no net emissions of greenhouse gases in 2050 and where economic growth is decoupled from resource use."
The Commission will propose the first European climate law by March 2020, which will enshrine the 2050 climate neutrality objective in legislation.
It is a fundamental change that will affect numerous sectors, particularly transport, energy, agriculture, construction and industries such as steel and cement.
The Hungarian government is ready to sign the EU's climate agreement, provided four conditions are met: if the people do not have to pay the price of climate protection; if energy and food prices for families do not increase; if support for the use of nuclear energy is maintained, and if the country has access to Cohesion Fund, MTI reported.
Cohesion Fund is aimed at EU member states whose gross national income per inhabitant is less than 90 percent of the EU average. It aims to reduce economic and social disparities and to promote sustainable development.
MTI quoted a Hungarian government document that stated: "Hungary is ready to sign the climate agreement if the price of climate protection will not be paid by the people but by the large companies and large polluting countries who are responsible for climate change, yet reap the most benefits from rising carbon emissions." Enditem
