Austria's greenhouse gas emissions 2020
Review of emissions 2020, outlook for 2021 and 2030.
From 2019 to 2020, greenhouse gas emissions in Austria fell by 7.7%, amounting to 73.6 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, according to the greenhouse gas balance of the Umweltbundesamt (Environment Agency Austria) for 2020. This represents a decrease of around 6.1 million tonnes compared to 2019.
Particularly the measures taken against the Corona pandemic have had a significant impact on this development. Due to the pandemic, the gross domestic product decreased by around 6.7% in 2020 compared to 2019. On the other hand, increases in population growth and heating degree days – two other major factors influencing the development of greenhouse gas emissions – were on average in the long-term trend.
For 2021, the experts at the Environment Agency Austria are expecting an increase in greenhouse gas emissions of around 4%.
Corona pandemic as an essential factor in emissions development
In the areas of transport, buildings, waste management, and agriculture – these are the areas not covered by emissions trading – the greenhouse gas balance by the Environment Agency Austria shows a reduction in emissions compared to 2019. With minus 13.5%, the largest reduction was due to the pandemic in the transport sector. Energy and industrial companies outside the emissions trading system showed a decrease of minus 2.7%. Small decreases in emissions are also recorded for buildings, minus 0.4%, and for agriculture, minus 0.2%. In the waste management sector, minus 2.8%, and in the F-gases sector, minus 4.3%, the downward trend of recent years continues.
Overall, emissions covered by the Climate Change Act (Klimaschutzgesetz, KSG) have been reduced by about 7.2%, which equals about 3.6 million tonnes.
The current greenhouse gas balance for 2020 also shows a significant reduction of minus 8.6% for the energy and industrial companies that are included in the emissions trading scheme. As result of the pandemic, steel production fell by about 10% (0.9 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent). Furthermore, in power generation emissions decreased compared to 2019, due to the closure of the last coal-fired power plant (-0.8 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent) and lower electricity production from natural gas-fired power plants (-0.5 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent).
Emissions trading targets are regulated at the European level and are not included in national climate targets.
The national greenhouse gas inventory
Every year, the Environment Agency Austria prepares the national greenhouse gas inventory and provides the official figures for Austria’s reporting under the Framework Convention on Climate Change and to the European Union. Since 2006, Austria’s leading expert institution for the environment has been accredited as the only body in the world to compile the national emissions inventory (quality management according to EN ISO/IEC 17 020). A detailed analysis of the development of greenhouse gas emissions in Austria is carried out annually in Austria’s annual report on climate change mitigation.
