Climate targets missed: municipalities are the best climate protectors

Climate targets out of reach: flagship projects can provide a remedy

Austria will fall well short of the EU climate targets for 2030. This was recently shown by calculations from the Federal Environment Agency, as has been reported extensively in the media in recent days. Further climate protection measures are urgently needed. The solutions are already in place. This is demonstrated by 16 pioneering climate protection projects across Europe, which were awarded the Climate Star by the Climate Alliance on Thursday evening.

The current situation

Austria will not reach the legally binding EU reduction target until 2050, i.e. with a 20-year delay. In 2030, around 42 million tons of greenhouse gases are still expected to be emitted outside of emissions trading. This is around 12 million tons more than the EU target for Austria (-48 percent compared to 2005). "Although some of the federal government's measures are included in the report, such as the Renewable Energy Expansion Act (EAG) and the increase in funding programs after the corona pandemic, some measures only became effective after the deadline, such as CO2 pricing under the National Emissions Allowance Trading Act (NEHG), and the still pending Renewable Heat Act is also missing from these calculations," writes the Federal Ministry for Climate Protection.

Climate Star Award

At municipal level, however, Austria is among the leaders in Europe, as the Climate Star award shows: six of the coveted stars went to Austria. Almost 2,000 municipalities, cities and regions from 27 countries were invited to take part.

"Across Europe, climate protection measures are being implemented far too slowly. Municipalities, cities and regions have recognized the urgency. They are the ones implementing effective measures," says Robert Leven, Board Member of Climate Alliance Europe.

Municipalities are the best climate protectors

For the tenth time, the Climate Alliance brought Europe's most progressive climate protection projects to the stage. Under the motto "The future starts now", the winners prove that we have the future in our own hands. "The Climate Stars are role models for all European municipalities. They encourage people to take regionally sustainable steps and launch pioneering projects. We are very pleased about the growing awareness of climate protection at local level and want to use the Climate Star to show what is already working well," says Elke Kastner, Managing Director of Climate Alliance Austria.

In order to achieve the EU's climate targets for 2030, pioneers must be supported and ideas must be disseminated. The projects show that it is not necessary to reinvent the wheel. Instead, we need to take the solutions that already exist to places where they do not yet exist. This year's Climate Star winners show how it's done.

Four of the six domestic award winners come from Lower Austria. Among others, the city of Krems an der Donau was awarded the prize for the first nationwide tool that municipalities and cities can use to check their plans for climate relevance. Bruck an der Leitha impressed the jury with its unique agri-photovoltaic project, which produces food and electricity for 1,000 households on agricultural land while also promoting biodiversity.

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Cover photo ©️Klimabündnis Lower Austria - Alexander Braun