From traffic to industry: How Linz wants to become climate neutral by 2040

Linz already has a climate change adaptation concept to cushion the already visible and noticeable consequences of climate change. Now there is another strategy paper with the climate neutrality concept. This is intended to actively work to achieve the goal of the city being climate neutral by 2040. This will be voted on at the local council meeting on Thursday.

The fact that 13 percent of all Austria-wide CO2 emissions come from Linz underlines the mammoth task the city has to tackle with industry and science, said Mayor Klaus Luger (SP) at a press event today. There is no way around addressing this.

More on the subject: 30 measures, an action plan for the Linz climate

Linz’s new trolleybus line will be in operation from 2027

Seven fields of action with 52 measures are defined in the concept: starting from energy and transport through industry and consumption. Existing initiatives such as the current PV offensive were taken into account as well as new considerations, said climate coordinator Oliver Schrot, who cited the expansion of rental offers based on the model of Dingelei(h) as an example of the latter.

The different responsibilities and thus the call for structural changes would also be reflected. Without a new development of the state’s housing subsidy guidelines, it will be difficult to achieve the desired standards, said Schrot.

Less car traffic as a clear goal

Furthermore, clear goals were formulated. The city of Linz wants to achieve a complete defossilization of district heating generation by 2040, and the share of cars traveling in the city should fall to 23 percent (currently 42.1). In addition, a focus should be placed on the construction of emission-free buildings.

However, it is not possible to determine from the concept which measures are planned in detail in the respective fields of action in order to actually achieve these goals.

Measures not yet finalized

According to Luger, guidelines are formulated here with headings such as expansion of public transport and cycle paths, expansion of traffic-calmed zones and new e-car sharing offers. “This concept provides the framework; the measures themselves require their own decisions.”

The city boss drew a visual comparison: The concept now defines how tall and large the house should be built, while the design of the floors will only be decided later. In the future, legal changes would play just as important a role as the commissioning of planned services, such as the new trolleybus line. Realistically speaking, there are also different political attitudes, for example when it comes to imposing parking bans in the city center, Luger explained.

“Comprehensive and solid basis”

For Climate City Councilor Eva Schobesberger (Greens), the climate neutrality concept, together with the climate change adaptation concept, is a comprehensive and solid basis for future climate work in the city. In addition to reducing CO2 emissions, she is convinced that this will also strengthen social interaction.

After the resolution has been passed in the local council, the climate neutrality concept should be available on the city’s homepage.

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