By 2040, Austria should not emit more greenhouse gases than domestic soil and forests can absorb from the atmosphere. That’s what the government program says. Wifo boss Gabriel Felbermayr and the two environmental economists Mark Sommer and Claudia Ketter expressed doubts about this point in time today. If the previous trend were to continue in Austria, it is estimated that this would only be possible until around 2065 or 2070, said Felbermayr.
Overall, emissions in this country have been falling slightly for about 15 years. The past year was an outlier, since the economy had picked up again after the first year of Corona – and with it mobility. In 2020 it was 73.6 million tons of CO2 equivalents, last year 77.6 million. For this year, the Wifo predicts a decline of 1.8 percent to 76 million tons, for the coming year a minus of 1.1 percent to 75 million tons.
Felbermayr, Sommer and Ketter cited a generally weaker economic development as the reason for this, especially in CO2-intensive production, such as steel. The high energy prices also played an increasingly important role, namely in terms of emissions from road traffic.
Wifo wants to integrate greenhouse gas emissions into a quarterly forecast in the future. This is necessary to show politics, business and society that “instruments to reduce emissions must be implemented more vigorously,” said Felbermayr. The economist warned that if climate targets were missed, it would be very expensive for the economy due to the necessary purchase of certificates. It is essential to decouple the increase in value creation and employment that economic policy is aiming for from material consumption and greenhouse gas emissions that are harmful to the climate.
Source: Nachrichten
