Austria: Gas crisis setting the course for climate policy
Dependence on Russian natural gas and oil had to be ended – there is general agreement on this in Austria and in general within the European Union since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In what timeframe this is to be achieved and what feasible alternatives there are are likely to be the crucial questions in the envisaged energy transition.
The EU Commission wants to present a proposal by mid-May to reduce dependence on Russian gas imports by 2027. The EU’s new energy policy, REPowerEU, already envisages reducing Russian gas imports by almost two-thirds by the end of the year and partially replacing them with liquefied natural gas (LNG) from non-Russian suppliers.
The climate protection minister of the EU Commission welcomed proposals from climate protection minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens), not least because of the use of renewable energies. Austria is aiming for climate neutrality by 2040, and by 2030 electricity in Austria is to be generated entirely from renewable sources. The steady phase-out of gas in households for space heating is already stipulated in the government program, but the dependence on Russian natural gas in Austria cannot be ended overnight, it is said.
Court of Auditors: Austria is missing climate targets
There is also a lot on the move, and yet some things are not moving quickly and efficiently enough. In 2021, for example, the Court of Auditors (RH) criticized the fact that greenhouse gas emissions in Austria increased by five percent from 1990 to 2017, while they fell by almost a quarter on average in the EU. According to the report, Austria would “clearly miss” the climate targets for 2030 and 2050 on the basis of the measures that have been implemented so far.
And while some see the currently high raw material prices and a boycott of Russian natural gas as an opportunity to finally phase out fossil fuels, others, looking to Germany, where closed coal-fired power plants are being reactivated, fear that the gas crisis will also cause Austria to move away from the energy transition could mean.
Government energy package provokes criticism
But also in Germany, the energy package presented by the government at the weekend, which above all brings relief for drivers and the economy, caused criticism from environmentalists. Dependence on Russian oil and gas would then not be ended, and at the same time climate protection goals would be lost sight of in the discussion about raw material prices, according to the climate protection organization “Fridays For Future”.
If renewable energies became cheaper and fossil energies pushed themselves out of the market due to horrendous raw material prices, one also sees it “not as a task of the government to compensate for every price increase on the market across the board” and thus counteract this selection.
With eight points against the gas and climate crisis
The Austrian environmental umbrella organization agrees with this criticism. “The package is a step backwards in terms of climate policy,” said environmental umbrella organization President Franz Maier in an interview with ORF.at. “Now is a very crucial phase that must not be thwarted by setting the wrong course.”
For this reason, the association has drawn up an eight-point program that is intended to pave the way towards an independent energy future in Austria. The main demands are, for example, an immediate program for the massive promotion of biogas, an increase in the renovation rate in existing buildings and the prioritization of photovoltaics.
Criticism of the Renewables Expansion Act
With the Renewable Energy Sources Expansion Act (EAG), the necessary legal framework for the conversion of the Austrian electricity system is already in place, but the relevant implementation provisions are still missing. “If the pace is not extremely accelerated, then half a year will pass without anything being checked from the EAG,” criticizes Maier.
The EAG
In the Renewable Energy Sources Expansion Act (EAG), programs for the expansion of wind, water, photovoltaics and biomass up to the year 2030 are laid down legally and in terms of funding. The public review runs until February 24, 2022, and the feedback is currently being checked. The exact start time for the first round of funding has not yet been fixed.
The association is therefore pushing for immediate measures and suggests, for example, that a financing program for wind power plants that have already been approved and are ready for construction be set up more quickly before their technology becomes obsolete.
Geothermal energy must also be expanded, following the example set by the city of Vienna. “GeoTief” is considered a pilot project in eastern Austria. The federal capital wants to get out of gas by 2040, and the largest large-scale heat pump in Europe is currently being built in Simmering.
Consumption: Less is more
A separate point in the program is the immediate implementation of an energy efficiency law, which is intended to replace the old law that expired in 2020. “Every kilowatt hour that I don’t even produce is the most environmentally compatible,” Maier is convinced. A current study from Berlin also shows that energy savings of 40 to 80 percent are possible without impairing the quality of life or social development.
In an interview with ORF.at, Maier does not see any additional financial burden from switching to sustainable alternatives. “You can see that fossil fuels are still being massively subsidized and controlled directly and indirectly, completely contrary to any climate policy objective,” said Maier, also in view of the government’s current energy package.
Expert: Can still achieve goals
But even if programs like this were implemented immediately, could the turnaround still be achieved within the set goals? And can Austria make itself independent of Russian gas so quickly?
Yes, Günter Getzinger, Deputy Chairman of the Sustainability Advisory Board at Graz University of Technology, is convinced – if the corresponding political and economic framework conditions are promoted quickly. “If everyone takes action now, we can reach the 2030 target with net zero in electricity generation by hook or by crook,” according to the expert’s assessment. “We only have eight years left, but it’s still doable. I just don’t see it at the moment.”
The phasing out of oil has already been successfully promoted in Austria as a result of the EU’s forced switch to electric cars. With the exception of the city of Vienna, he sees little movement when it comes to phasing out natural gas. “We really need to get a substantial heat transition together now. Heating with natural gas is pretty much the stupidest and most dangerous thing you can do under the given conditions.” That is doable because there are already good and relatively inexpensive alternatives, such as heat pumps.
Innovations in power generation necessary
The situation is different in industry, where natural gas is used both as a material, for example in the production of hydrogen, and as an energy source. “That will probably take until 2040,” says Getzinger. “It is possible that we convert some of these processes to electricity, but that requires that we produce it ourselves.”
There are good conditions here with sun and wind in Austria, but massive expansion and innovation are necessary. “There is a high degree of structural conservatism, largely due to the lead that Austria originally had in hydropower,” says Getzinger. “We have not yet seriously dealt with photovoltaics and wind energy, there is no systematic expansion strategy in Burgenland.”
Stronger political will decides
The dependence on Russia for natural gas should currently be seen as an opportunity to strengthen the idea of autonomy again and to increasingly rely on self-production of electricity. The path over the next ten to fifteen years is clear – what is needed above all is political will in the direction of the Green New Deal, a climate protection law and an energy strategy that takes the Paris Agreement seriously.
This also includes pushing the EAG, improving the use of funds in the expansion of renewables and a legal basis for heating. “All these framework conditions must now be redefined against the background of the crisis and provided with teeth,” says Getzinger. “Climate neutrality simply has to become a matter of course very quickly.”