NDA@SZTAKI

The role of Economic Instruments in Integrating Environmental Policy with Transport Policy in Hungary

Fleischer, Tamás

Becvar, J.

Kokine, M. G.

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

1998

GE Environmental Sciences / környezettudomány

HC2 Economic policy / gazdaságpolitika

HE1 Transportation / szállítás

After a short survey on the role of the economic instruments that try to implement environmental policy into transport policy in Hungary, we have to make some
simple statements.
The environmental policy that should be integrated with transport policy is exists
or at least the more essential outlines and directions are clear.
The acceptation of such changes are more developed in urban transport policy level, and less in countrywide transport policy level. But even this level the acceptation is much better than in the practice, first of all in cases of bigger investments.
The great motorway investments or metro investments practically follow their own way, even there are ideologies to present that these investments serve the general environment and that is why they use public money to the construction. Relative to these expenses and future harms all other environmental improvements in the transport sector can be considered as marginal. There is also a danger, that environmental measurements become a kind of devise by what the greatest investors able to buy the social support to get support to their above-mentioned investments.
In the same time there is a significant development in the recognition of the importance of environmental arguments and also in measures that influence operation and through that present and short-term future environment. Many economic instruments belong to that category, like charges that are able to make more expensive polluting goods on one side and help with supplying vehicles or motors of better technology on the other. There is also an important role of that tools, that those introduce them begins to be proud of it and considers himself as a pro-environment warrior. We can only hope, that this self image determines also further thinking and acting.
We distinguished three elements of the Hungarian circumstances: the global lessons, the heritage of the relative underdevelopments and the heritage of the special past of state socialism, but these elements are also mirror of existing thinking in the sector. While deregulation and the free market can cause significant changes within each structure, it is hardly able to solve the transition from one structure to another. Those educated in command economy ("more transport with less cost") could understand deregulation as free use of deteriorated and outmoded vehicles and infrastructure and that tendency evidentally needs regulations to avoid that outcome. Similarly those educated in market economy ("better transport with less cost") would use economic tools to improve phasis effectivity (less fuel, less time, less emission) hardly understanding that in long term even a theoretic 0-emission, 0-consumption 0-cost car would cause enormous environmental problems and unbearable life conditions. Only those able to look behind economic targets thinking macro level and long term harmonise really environment and sector economy on policy level ("better life with less transport") thus offering a frame where the economic instruments are able to promote real harmonisation targets.

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Fleischer, Tamás (1998) The role of Economic Instruments in Integrating Environmental Policy with Transport Policy in Hungary. In: Role of economic instruments in integrating environmental policy with sectoral policies: Proceedings of the workshop organised by the UN/ECE jointly with the OECD. United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, New York and Geneva, pp. 115-123. ISBN 921-116693-4 ISBN-13: 978-921-100777-0

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