Should we be more concerned? – Climate skepticism and climate relativism in Hungary
The right climate communication is one that shows the gravity of the situation but does not focus on scaremongering, encouraging positive action instead. We looked at where the government and government-controlled media stand in this. Spoiler alert: there is still a mismatch between self-assessment and reality.
There is now a scientific consensus on climate change and the role of human activity in it, even if there is disagreement among scientists on many issues, such as the actions to be taken. The situation is similar among non-scientists: 80-90% of the Hungarian population clearly believe that climate change is caused by human activity, even if they do not consider it to be the most pressing problem. At the same time, there exists a phenomenon known as climate relativism, which does not deny climate change or human responsibility, but questions and trivialises the seriousness of the problems associated with it. Unlike climate sceptics, who outright deny climate change, climate relativists view the political attention and prevalence of the topic in public discourse as exaggerated.
There are several potential explanations for the proliferation of climate skepticism. These include the rhetoric of political actors, the communication of economic interest groups (e.g. fossil energy lobby, oil lobby, or industry), or even social media algorithms that amplify provocative climate denialist or skeptical views. However, voters may also be susceptible to climate skepticism due to the motivated rejection of science, either for ideological reasons or because they perceive environmental measures as a restriction of their own personal freedom. This is why we felt it was important to investigate the prevalence of climate skepticism and climate relativism in Hungary and how they manifest.
We focused our analysis on the government because both the shaping of public opinion and the formulation and implementation of policies are centered around the executive power, due to the ruling party’s dominance in the media, and the supermajority in the legislature.
Main findings of our research:
-
Although the Hungarian population does not identify climate change as the most important problem, the vast majority of them (80-90%, see ESS, Special Eurobarometer) clearly believe that climate change is caused by human activity. It can be observed that a higher proportion of right-leaning voters consider the problem of climate change less serious, but this is also the case internationally.
-
The government’s self-assessment is that it is doing well on climate change action, and there is no overt denial of climate change in government rhetoric – although we have seen examples of this in other populist right-wing leaders (e.g. Donald Trump, and Jair Bolsonaro).
-
However, the positive (self-)assessment of government action is in striking contrast to the assessment by experts and the relevant statistical data (e.g. Eurostat). For instance, the proportion of renewable energy in the country is relatively low, even when compared to other EU member states.
-
Although the government acknowledges the existence of climate change, its official communication lacks a green agenda and openly climate-denying rhetoric is evident in government-controlled media. We have identified three distinct groups of narratives in the government-controlled media:
-
Messages that are embedded in existing narratives, such as uncritically praising government actions and making a point, for example, that “Hungary is doing better”* (including in the government’s climate change actions).
-
Climate change-specific narratives: the allegedly „overly radical” nature of proposed climate measures (such as reducing meat consumption), the „double standards” of climate advocates (such as the high carbon footprint of the climate summit), the „redundancy of climate panics”, or even the idea that only a conservative response to the climate crisis is appropriate.
-
Conspiracy theory narratives, for example, that assertion that climate change alarmism serves the interests of the globalist elite, who are able to gain followers by exploiting the issue of climate change for their own (liberal) ideological purposes.
-
Climate change is clearly taking a back seat to industrial development in governmental and in pro-government rhetoric. The prime minister put it succinctly in his 2024 annual assessment speech in February: „We cannot afford the lunacy of the German Greens, who believe that the only good car is the one that is never made”.
In addition, we examined the online space outside of government-run sites that could be considered extremist. Our findings indicate that explicitly climate-denying narratives are not among the “hit topics”.
The government asserts its commitment to combating climate change, yet its actions and policies appear to contradict this assertion. Upon closer examination, it becomes evident that the government’s approach to climate change is one of systematic marginalization and relativization of its importance.
*”Hungary is doing better” („Magyarország jobban teljesít”) has been a slogen of the Fidesz party for years.
The full publication is available here (in Hungarian).
Illustration: Réka Kluzsnik
Follow us
Follow HDMO on our social channels to stay up to date with our latest news.