“The careless and capital-driven handling of our resource soil has brutally disfigured and destroyed our country in the past three decades. Due to a not optimally functioning spatial planning, we now have a landscape with shopping centers, business parks and sometimes ugly settlements”, complains the chairman of the Austrian board Hail insurance, Kurt Weinberger, in a press release.
The latest figures from the Federal Environment Agency, on the basis of whose calculations the land consumption is shown, show that the increase in land consumption has been slowed down in recent years. Weinberger points out, however, that surface sealing is increasing faster than the population. And Weinberger makes long-term comparisons: Since 2001, land consumption has grown by 27 percent, significantly faster than the local population (plus eleven percent). Soil consumption continues to be one of the most burning environmental problems, said Weinberger.
Austria’s goal since 2002 has been to build only 2.5 hectares per day, currently 11.5 hectares are built daily. The hail insurance indicates that more and more space is available for living, but less space is available for food production. “We are taking valuable agricultural land to supply the population. The increasing productivity in agriculture cannot compensate for that,” said the hail insurance company.
According to the Federal Environment Agency, there are 40,000 hectares of vacant commercial, industrial and residential properties in Austria. Their revitalization is more expensive than building on a green field. The hail insurance therefore calls for financial incentives and a dedication freeze for new building land. Weinberger also refers to Switzerland: There, the most productive agricultural soils are legally protected from building.
Expensive disasters:
Storms in the US and floods in Europe make 2021 one of the most costly natural disaster years. “The floods in Germany and neighboring countries were the most expensive natural disaster in the region since 1970 and the second most expensive worldwide, after the floods in Thailand in 2011,” said a study. The worldwide damage adds up to 105 billion US dollars (93 billion euros), announced the Swiss company Swiss Re. That is 17 percent more than in 2020 and the fourth highest value since records began in 1970.
Including uninsured losses, the economic impact of natural disasters added up to $ 250 billion that year, almost a quarter more than in 2020, according to the study.
Source: Nachrichten
