Interview with visiting professor Viktor Varjú from the University of Pecs
Interviewed by Tiffany Turner Fite, March 2025
In the seminar, you discussed 10 dilemmas related to developing social policy and related to environmental issues. Can you please discuss what is the top dilemma you see and how to overcome that?
Well, actually it depends on the viewpoint. I mean the viewpoint of the central government for instance, or the viewpoint of the community. Especially with the value for the community. A big question is the private and the public issue of how to finance. How, or should, the public, or should the private entities take part in the solving of the different social problems including the environmental problems. In my view environmental problems are also a social problem.
Also, an important issue is the centralization or decentralization.
I think that some decisions should be made on a central government level, but most of the decisions should be made at the local level, taking into consideration the interest of the local community - the circumstances of the local communities, the geography and the cultural specialties, and the economic and social specialties, of the local community.
For instance, the EU suggests that one of the most fundamental issues is the specialty. And that the decision should be made on the lowest level of the possibilities.
You also talked about the concept of “just circular transition.” Can you briefly explain what that is? And then what are some individual actions people can take? And then what are some of the larger, more macro, actions that need to be taken?
Actually “just circular transition” is a kind of mix of just transition, sustainable transition and it is focusing on the circularity. Our circular life because it can include not only the resource use, but also the energy use and water use. It's quite comprehensive or can be quite comprehensive.
But once we are transferring ourselves or our society towards a more circular state, we have to take into consideration the vulnerable people, because there is a need to support them - not only to thinking about security but thinking about the long-term consequences of the of the negative impacts of a linear society.
I think that on a macro level, what is important is the policy - to create or to define more and more ambitious targets. But what is important on the ground is to leave no one behind.
So, to teach them, to educate them, and to re-educate them how to use their surroundings. For instance, before the 1980’s, I'm pretty sure not only in Hungary, but in several cases, the home garden was a common habit, but now people are going to the big cities to purchase vegetables and their meats, and so on. This is not sustainable, not a circular solution. Instead of using their surrounding lands for planting or for cultivating vegetables.
This is a big challenge to re-educate them on how to do that. We research on how many people are doing that nowadays and it was really surprising that a quarter of the people doing this. The possibilities are there.
And where do where does the student population fit into this? What are some actions students can take to get us to this Just Transition?
I think that students are quite clever. So, maybe we can learn from them because students are very sensitive and very open minded to integrate the new insights and new technologies as well and new ideas. So actually It should be going the other way around.
What advice would you give students on social and public policy for their future professional careers?
Innovate. I mean those who are, and who have the capabilities and the knowledge for technologies, of course, in a way. But those who are dealing with the social knowledge, those dealing with social sciences, they also have to innovate new solutions how to integrate people, especially vulnerable people, into this new world, let's say, that are very much green focused.
With your expertise, what areas of environmental policy do you see as the most critical in the next 10 years?
I think it's energy. Um and electricity and energy, yes. It is because if we have a look at our data, we can see there is a high increase in in the share of renewable energy production and use, but on the other hand there is a high increase in general energy use. And if we have a look at the future, we can see that uh AI or the Artificial Intelligence is getting more and more important, but the artificial intelligence needs a lot of energy.
That’s why I think that if we are getting more and more digitalized we need more and more energy. So this this would be the next challenge; the biggest challenge in the near future.
Well, we'd like to thank you for attending and delivering these seminars and coming to visit us at Masaryk University. Is there anything else you'd like to tell students or anyone else reading this interview?
No, I'm really happy so far, and I really appreciate professor Ondřej Hora inviting me here because it's a great pleasure. Thank you.