Scorecard Summary:
Fulfilment of Rio Conference Commitment - Red
Current Government Position on Climate Change - Green
Per Capita CO2 Emissions - Green (7.29 metric tons per person in 1992)
National CO2 Emissions - Green (56 million metric tons in 1992)

OVERALL ASSESSMENT:
Committed to strong action, but is not yet doing enough and needs to be more active at the international level.

NATIONAL CLIMATE PROTECTION GOAL:
Austria has formally adopted the "Toronto target" of reducing national CO2 emissions by 20 percent by 2005. In his speech at the Climate Convention's Second Conference of the Parties, Austria's Environment Minister envisaged 25-30 percent cuts in national CO2 emissions by 2010 and 40 percent reductions in 2020 as being cost effective and beneficial for competitiveness.

SPECIFIC FEATURES:
Bordered by eight countries, four of which have economies in transition, obviously affects the development of extra policy measures. Austria is phasing out subsidies to domestic coal production but import of coal is available on relatively favourable terms from eastern neighbours. CO2 accounted for 78 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in 1990. The level of CO2 emissions per capita is low compared to other OECD countries. Although hydropower has been doubled since 1970, the potential for further expansion is limited for environmental and hydrological reasons. Forest covers nearly half the land area and constitutes an increasingly important source of fuel for district heating systems.

NEGATIVE FEATURES:
A complicated governance structure between federal and laender authorities and municipalities impedes policy implementation. Although Austria has ambitious policy goals, its emissions have risen in recent years. However, it is still possible to return emissions to 1990 levels through a very high improvement rate in energy intensity (two percent annually with 2.5 to 3 percent economic growth). A considerable number of measures are still at the planning or conceptual stages. The monopolistic structure of the nation's power sector remains a barrier to increasing energy efficiency. Transport subsidies provided to commuters do not encourage residents to live near their places of work, resulting in energy wasted on long commutes.

POSITIVE FEATURES:
26 percent of energy supply was met by renewables in 1994, evenly split between biomass and hydro. Austria has developed policy scenarios that show how it can meet the Toronto target. A carbon energy tax has been discussed. Nuclear power is banned by law. Well over 100 cities and almost all provinces aim to halve their CO2 emissions by 2010. The tax system was altered in 1992 to encourage the purchase of more efficient cars. Combined heat and power plants have been encouraged by a subsidy scheme since 1993.

Sources: Independent NGO Evaluations of National Plans for Climate Change Mitigation. Second review August 1994, Climate Action Network, Brussels; Report on the in-depth review of the national communication of Austria, FCCC/IDR.1/AUT Dec 1996; Speech by Dr Martin Bartenstein, Federal Minister for the Environment and Youth Affairs, Geneva, 18 July 1996.