Study on Greenhouse Gases: Austria Only Shifts, But Does Not Avoid

To effectively combat climate change, there is much to be said for the direct avoidance of emissions. However, a study now reveals that in Austria, political measures in the areas of transport and housing between 1995 and 2024 rarely aimed at reducing emissions of climate-damaging gases. Almost exclusively, the focus was on efficiency improvements and technological alternatives, according to researchers in Vienna.

Emission Avoidance Measures Not Utilized

Measures that focused on directly avoiding the "emission-intensive demand" of individuals and households largely remained unused, concluded the team led by political scientist Alina Brad from the University of Vienna and her colleague Etienne Schneider. Thus, a central potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions was not exploited, it was stated in a release about the study funded by the Austrian Climate Research Panel (ACRP) and published in the journal "Communications Earth & Environment".

The researchers distinguished between measures that contribute to improvement, shifting, or indeed avoidance of emissions. Improvement refers to, for example, the promoted use of lower-emission cars and thus an existing but more energy-efficient technology. Shifting measures include, for instance, setting incentives for switching from cars to public transport - as has been the case in Vienna since 1995 through the introduction of short-term parking zones and parking fees - or for the use of heat pumps. Avoidance measures aim to curb unnecessary mobility or excessive housing use through spatial and urban planning.

Majority of Measures Active in Austria Only Shift Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Analyzed were 356 climate policy measures in the areas of transport and housing, implemented at the EU level, federal level, and in the two most populous federal states, Vienna and Lower Austria. The study showed: 218 of all examined measures, and thus 61 percent, promoted a shift of greenhouse gas emissions to other technologies associated with fewer emissions. 34 percent (121 measures) aimed at efficiency improvements, and just 5 percent (17 measures) at avoidance.

"Looking at the transport sector alone, the percentage for avoidance is even only 3.8 percent - compared to 6.7 percent in the housing sector. Generally, the aim is not to reduce traffic but to redirect it to public transport systems or to promote infrastructure for e-mobility. However, consistently displacing emission-intensive traffic from the city, as has been pursued in Copenhagen since the 1990s, is hardly sought after," Brad explained to the APA. Another difficulty on the way to more avoidance measures: "There is no interest from the production side. The construction industry wants to build, the energy industry wants to sell electricity - this also applies to renewable energy companies."

Austria's Climate Goals - A Bit Too Ambitious?

Austria was well-suited for the current investigation: The country has adopted very ambitious climate goals - including climate neutrality by 2040. However, it "achieved no substantial emission reductions until recently (2022)," the study states: Thus, it lags behind the EU average in terms of the results achieved in curbing climate change.

"Especially in transportation, we see that emissions have hardly decreased since 1995. Particularly wealthy households cause above-average emissions, among other things, through air travel," said Brad. Levies on frequent flying or bans on short-haul and private jet flights could have a significant impact here.

Regarding household emissions, it has also been shown: "The problem is that low-income households or tenants, especially in rural areas, have hardly any opportunities to implement measures such as renovations, heat pumps, or the purchase of an electric car." The political measures, often initiated by the EU and then implemented nationally, focused heavily on subsidies for emission shifting and improvement, "which mainly households with sufficient capital can use," said Brad. Without targeted political strategies, central sources of emissions could remain unaddressed, and existing social inequalities could be exacerbated.

Fairness Between Income Groups Not Given

In an earlier study, Brad and colleagues were already able to show that it is primarily the wealthy who are the emitters: "The top income quintile emits more than the fourth and fifth quintiles combined." This circumstance remained largely constant over the period studied between 2000 and 2020.

According to the researchers, the key to successful implementation is that demand-side climate protection is perceived as fair - and that those households that cause more emissions are held more accountable. Without the addition of measures that contribute to the avoidance of emissions or make them more attractive, important savings potentials would continue to be wasted. At the same time, there is a risk that dependence on risky CO₂ removal technologies will become further entrenched.

No Consensus Reached

"Unfortunately, there is still no broad societal or majority political consensus in this country that we should strongly focus on avoiding emissions-intensive materials and energy resources," said Brad. To gain broader approval here, a stronger linkage of climate policy with issues such as energy security, health, or social justice must be sought - "here, broader coalitions could be formed and various interest groups addressed to increase political support for avoidance measures," said the researcher.

(APA/Red)

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