The second Ready4NetZero workshop in Hungary was hosted by Szeged on 4 December 2024, the main topic was the selection of pilot actions. Each of the three pilot cities (Szeged, Szentes, Tatabánya) presented their pilot actions to be implemented in the framework of Read4netZero project, which will be concrete steps towards climate neutrality. Szentes is moving ahead with the development of geothermal district heating, Tatabánya is planning a corporate engagement campaign for green infrastructure maintenance and developemnt, while Szeged is likely to further exploit solar energy.
Time was also taken to discuss the Chemnitz study tour experiences, as only 1 representative of Szeged and 1 representative of Szentes could attend in person.
Since the importance of embodied carbon and the steps taken to reduce it are not yet well known among Hungarian municipalities, Zsófia Pej, expert from Energiaklub, gave a presentation on this topic and presented the SURF project's Checklist and Green Procurement Guides for sustainable building renovation projects, both specifically designed for municipalities.
The session ended with a visit to a specific project site: the Szeged Youth Event Centre solar investment needs to be further considered as production peaks do not coincide with the demand. A good solution could be to set up an energy community (but this remains very difficult in Hungary) or to develop storage capacity.
Ready4NetZero is a EUKI funded project coordinated by the Polish Network “ENERGIE CITÉS”, with a consortium formed of the Ecologic Institute from Germany, ENERGIAKLUB from Hungary, REGEA from Croatia and Energy Cities Romania. Ready4NetZero aims to support cities from the participating countries in developing and implementing 2050 climate neutrality strategies and seeks to do this by building capacity, knowledge and skills among local leaders, municipal staff and local stakeholders, facilitating experiences exchange and dialogue between local authorities.