Climate protection in danger: Savings burden the green budget 2025!

Climate protection in danger: Savings burden the green budget 2025!

Austria faces major challenges in the field of climate protection after considerable savings in the climate area were decided in the double budget 2025/26. Katharina Rogenhofer, director of the organization, expressed her concerns about the cuts that affect around a third of the entire savings. These measures could not only endanger climate protection, but also have negative effects on budget consolidation, since Austria threatens fines if the EU climate goals do not achieve. According to the EU Commission, however, there is the possibility to reach the climate target by 2030, provided that all measures of the national climate and energy plan are implemented. Nevertheless, the necessary steps, such as the ecologization of climate -damaging subsidies, have not yet been in sight.

The planned double budget also leads to new climate -damaging grants, increases the costs for the climate and shortens environmental funding, including the boiler exchange. In order to be able to reach the climate goals despite these savings, the government urgently needs to implement legal measures to reduce CO2 emissions. Suggestions include the binding determination of an exit date for oil and gas heaters as well as the creation of green lead markets in order to increase demand for low-CO2 products. In addition, a gas management law (GWG) could contribute to the decommissioning of gas networks.

EU climate protection policy and their developments

climate protection is also of central importance in the European context. The EU has set itself the goal of reducing emissions by 55% by 2030 compared to 1990. As part of the Green Deal, which was adopted in December 2019, a growth strategy for achieving climate neutrality was developed by 2050. This includes measures to increase the proportion of renewable energies in the final energy consumption of the EU to 42.5 percent by 2030, with the Member States even 45 percent.

In 2020, over 20 percent of the energy used in EU came from renewable sources. In view of the increasing climate crisis, the development of clean energy sources is becoming increasingly important as an alternative to fossil fuels. MPs from the -European Parliament already called for faster permits for power plants that are operated with renewable energies to promote the expansion of solar and wind energy. In addition, EU financing for natural gas infrastructure projects is gradually discontinued, while funds are redirected into hydrogen and offshore energy infrastructures.

achieved goals and future challenges

The climate goals are also ambitious: the EU has exceeded the goals for 2020, such as reducing greenhouse gases by 20% compared to 1990. Nevertheless, in view of the global challenges, such as the effects of climate change and the dependencies on fossil fuels, many hurdles remain. Specific efforts and common European and national strategies are required to achieve the goals in the long term.

ÖKO News , European Parliament and Environmental Federal Agency Information about the current developments and challenges in climate protection.