As Austria prepared for its upcoming national elections, inquiries on the environment and methods to create common-sense legislation were everpresent. These pieces of legislation are aimed at propelling Europe and Austria towards the ambitious goals of the European Union’s Green Agenda. Simultaneously, the European election holds a profound weight to ensure that the progression forward is sustainable. The initiatives that are provided by experts in the field seek to influence political decisions and policy implementation, urging candidates to prioritize environmental sustainability in their platforms.
There currently is an abundance of information given by leading scientists who have pinpointed key sectors where legislative action could yield the most significant environmental benefits. For instance, in Earth4All, there is a strong advocacy for the energizing of the entire sector. This will craft a sustainable energy source as the emissions would be net-zero. This means that renewable energy infrastructure would need to expand, creating more jobs. Next, transportation systems built on top of large carbon emissions would need to be slowly dismantled. The optimization of waste management to ensure runoff does not interrupt nor pollute the land or water tables, creating a more streamlined recyclable environment. Lastly, promoting sustainable agriculture is a necessity as the long-term utilization of land affects their yield. Turning toward indigenous techniques would allow for the ground to hold more carbon and the output to grow. In addition, if the diet of cows is augmented to be grass rather than corn, there is an illustration of how carbon emissions decrease.
Austria taking steps towards sustainability
Previously, Austria has taken steps to lower carbon emissions, in order to reach the goals of the European Green Deal and the climate goals of the EU. These actions include: creating a carbon tax, cap-and-trade systems, targeting both residential and commercial sectors, and developing a framework for progress in lower carbon emissions through policy. However, Austria has not been able to reduce its carbon emissions to the level that is desired according to the Austrian Climate Protection Act, even though actions are being taken to evaluate greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy adoption rate, biodiversity metrics, and other vital indicators. The scientific community can only effectively use their findings if politicians are willing to listen.
By analyzing current environmental policies adopted by the European Union and Austria, areas of improvement reveal themselves. Faults in these laws can be observed through court cases such as Müllner vs Austria, where an individual is affected by rising temperatures because of a health condition. The lack of initiative by Austria to change its actions is directly affecting marginalized individuals and groups in the country. With the standard purported by the KlimaSeniorinnen case in the European Court of Human Rights, countries can be held accountable for their inaction on the climate that negatively affects a group of people. These are gaps that must be improved. The adoption of legislation is not indicative of its implementation on the ground. As a result legal and environmental experts are scrutinizing the current regulations and laws that have been adopted by the EU.
Austrian Political Landscape
The 2024 election presents stark contrasts in environmental policies between the major political parties. The Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) has previously adopted a skeptical stance towards ambitious climate policies, where economic growth and job security are prioritized over the actual environmental regulation. As a result, their platform tends to favor traditional energy sources and is more guarded towards the EU Green Agenda as a result of its financial implications.
On the opposite end, the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) supports a comprehensive climate action plan. They have advocated for large investments in renewable energy, sustainable infrastructure, and an expansion of the job market through green jobs. Their position and platform align more closely with the EU Green Agenda where there is an emphasis on progress. In fact, they encourage Austria to take bold steps towards reducing carbon emissions and enhancing environmental sustainability.
In the center of Austria’s political spectrum is the ÖVP. Their political stance on greenhouse emissions rests in compliance with the EU’s goals of reducing emissions by 55% by 2030. They advance this position by emphasizing renewable energy sources, which they use to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. In addition, they hold a strong position on the preservation of the biodiversity of Austria and encourage sustainable forestry practices. In the past, they have faced criticism over their lack of ambition to address climate change, where they do not go far enough in their promotion of energy-efficient industries and transport.
Another party in Austria is Austria’s Green Party (the Grüne), which holds a more ambitious position on the reduction of emissions. They also include climate justice within their political aims. This position aims to address the disproportionate impacts of climate change on vulnerable populations. Therefore, climate policies would be equitable in their introduction. Simultaneously, they strongly support international cooperation such as the strengthening of the Paris Agreement and providing funding towards developing countries for their climate transition.
Moving Forward
With the European Union Election occurring simultaneously with the Austrian election, the attention to environmental and climate challenges is emphasized heavily. Without pertinent attention, the targets for 2040 may not be advanced enough to produce effective reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. These policies are integral for long-term food security, people’s health preservation, pollution reduction, and temperature mitigation.
For effective common-sense legislation to come to fruition, trust between scientists and politicians must be improved to the point of being able to develop long-term action plans that can provide short-term goals. Moreover, the identification of relevant stakeholders would also need to be implemented to focus on those that will be affected sooner rather than later. Scrutinizing the massive amount of emissions that are produced by transnational corporations is an integral step in the fight toward net zero, yet getting to the point of being able to navigate the avenues to criticism is the first step that must be taken. Especially as the coming years will be integral to diverting the course of pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and energy turnarounds.
3 possible policy resolutions:
- The European Union should begin creating policies that limit the carbon emissions of transnational corporations by crafting a tax on the amount of greenhouse emissions produced for the production of the goods that are sold to the public.
- Austria should create more rotund actions to implement green energy in the city through the widespread installation of solar panels.
- The European Union should develop guidelines for lithium and cobalt imports to ensure that the energizing of the energy sector is not built on top of child labor and poor working conditions in developing countries at lithium and cobalt mines.
3 Relevant Questions:
- What are the potentials actions that can be taken by civil society to enact change and provide more awareness to this issue, to the point where progress is created?
- How many of the object that people consume and utilize are constructed and made up of items and materials that come from business in the global south that use child labor and other human rights abuses are taking place?
- Why has Austria’s recent politics skewed farther to a more conservative stance and how can the voting population be listened to and understood?
3 Relevant Readings:
