István is the Deputy State Secretary in charge of electrification and decarbonisation in Hungary’s Ministry of Economy and Energy. Prior to his appointment, he has worked as an international climate policy expert, most recently at the Environmental Defense Fund and earlier at the Climate Strategy 2050 Institute and Climate Policy. Between 2011 and 2015, he was the founding director of the Hungarian Energy Efficiency Institute. Between 2005 and 2011 he worked on emissions trading in the European Commission’s Directorate General for Climate Policy.
István has more than twenty years of experience in working on the social and economic aspects of climate change. He has given numerous presentations and even more interviews on the subject. In 2025, he published „Deckchairs on the Titanic” comprehensive introduction to climate change and climate policy for a nonspecialist audience. He has degrees in law and in urban planning. He is the father of three daughters.
