Oil heating ban: Austria initiates energy transition news
This is coming to the Austrians with the Renewable Heat Act
New central oil and coal heating systems have been banned in Austria since 2020, according to the website of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Climate Protection, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology. It is then planned that from 2023 onwards, broken oil and coal heating systems will only be replaced by climate-friendly heating systems. From 2025, all particularly old oil and coal heating systems are to be switched off. From 2035, all heating systems powered by oil and coal will have to be shut down. The aim is to achieve climate neutrality by 2040 by procuring fossil heating systems. The war in Ukraine also made the Austrian government aware of its dependence on Russian gas. Accordingly, the construction of new gas heating systems will also be prohibited from 2023.
Heating conversion is funded
The Austrian government already offers 7,500 euros in subsidies if you want to convert your oil or gas heating system in a single-family home. In the case of residential buildings with several floors, the switch is funded at up to half the cost, and there are also various subsidies from the federal states, according to the website of the Federal Ministry. People in the lower income bracket would also receive 100 percent of the conversion costs.
EWG still fails to achieve a two-thirds majority in Parliament
The Kleine Zeitung reports that the EWG is not scheduled to come into force in January as originally planned. The reason for this is the lack of a two-thirds majority in Parliament. Reference is made to negotiating circles, which also show that it is no longer realistic for the EEC to come into force before the middle of next year. However, the coalition still hopes for a quick agreement with the SPÖ – according to SPÖ energy spokesman Alois Schroll, however, there has not yet been a single round of negotiations with the ÖVP and the Greens. According to some cases, according to the Kleine Zeitung, only the SPÖ mandates are missing for a two-thirds majority, and the Chamber of Commerce is also slowing down the introduction in the background. The “prestige project”, writes the Kleine Zeitung, is also standing still for the time being.
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