COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT The EU Environmental Implementation Review 2019 Country Report - AUSTRIA Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Environmental Implementation Review 2019: A Europe that protects its citizens and enhances their quality of life
Date: 2019-04-04
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission
Subjects: Austria, EU environmental policy, application of EU law, climate change policy, environmental law, environmental protection, governance, green economy, public health, quality of the environment

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 4.4.2019  SWD(2019) 139 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT The EU Environmental Implementation Review 2019        Country Report - AUSTRIA                 Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Environmental Implementation Review 2019: A Europe that protects its citizens and enhances their quality of life   {COM(2019) 149 final} - {SWD(2019) 111 final} - {SWD(2019) 112 final} - {SWD(2019) 113 final} - {SWD(2019) 114 final} - {SWD(2019) 115 final} - {SWD(2019) 116 final} - {SWD(2019) 117 final} - {SWD(2019) 118 final} - {SWD(2019) 119 final} - {SWD(2019) 120 final} - {SWD(2019) 121 final} - {SWD(2019) 122 final} - {SWD(2019) 123 final} - {SWD(2019) 124 final} - {SWD(2019) 125 final} - {SWD(2019) 126 final} - {SWD(2019) 127 final} - {SWD(2019) 128 final} - {SWD(2019) 129 final} - {SWD(2019) 130 final} - {SWD(2019) 131 final} - {SWD(2019) 132 final} - {SWD(2019) 133 final} - {SWD(2019) 134 final} - {SWD(2019) 135 final} - {SWD(2019) 136 final} - {SWD(2019) 137 final} - {SWD(2019) 138 final}  
 
 
This  report  has  been  written  by  the  staff  of  the  Directorate-General  for  Environment,  European  Commission. 
Comments are welcome, please send them to ENV-EIR@ec.europa.eu 

More information on the European Union is available at http://europa.eu. 

Photographs: p. 11 — © iStock/serts; p. 12 — © gettyimages/Astrid860;  p. 16  —  ©  iStock/  saiko3p;  p. 23  — 
© iStock/bluejayphoto; p. 26 — © iStock/ Leonsbox 

For reproduction or use of these photos, permission must be sought directly from the copyright holder. 

©European Union, 2019 

Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged

1 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table of Contents 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................. 3 

PART I: THEMATIC AREAS ............................................................................................................................................ 4 

1.  TURNING  THE  EU  INTO  A  CIRCULAR,  RESOURCE-EFFICIENT,  GREEN  AND  COMPETITIVE  LOW-CARBON 
ECONOMY ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 
Measures towards a circular economy .................................................................................................................... 4 
Waste management ................................................................................................................................................. 7 
Climate change ......................................................................................................................................................... 8 

2. PROTECTING, CONSERVING AND ENHANCING NATURAL CAPITAL ...................................................................... 11 
Nature and biodiversity .......................................................................................................................................... 11 
Maintaining and restoring ecosystems and their services ..................................................................................... 12 
Estimating natural capital ....................................................................................................................................... 13 
Invasive alien species ............................................................................................................................................. 13 
Soil protection ........................................................................................................................................................ 14 

3. ENSURING CITIZEN’S HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE ............................................................................................ 16 
Air quality ............................................................................................................................................................... 16 
Industrial emissions ................................................................................................................................................ 17 
Noise ....................................................................................................................................................................... 18 
Water quality and management ............................................................................................................................ 18 
Chemicals ............................................................................................................................................................... 20 
Making cities more sustainable .............................................................................................................................. 21 

PART II: ENABLING FRAMEWORK: IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS ................................................................................. 24 

4. GREEN TAXATION, GREEN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT, ENVIRONMENTAL FUNDING AND INVESTMENTS ............. 24 
Green taxation and environmentally harmful subsidies ........................................................................................ 24 
Green public procurement ..................................................................................................................................... 24 
Environmental funding and investments ............................................................................................................... 25 

5. STRENGTHENING ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE ............................................................................................. 29 
Information, public participation and access to justice ......................................................................................... 29 
Compliance assurance ............................................................................................................................................ 30 
Effectiveness of environmental administrations .................................................................................................... 31 
International agreements ....................................................................................................................................... 32 
Sustainable development and the implementation of the UN SDGs ..................................................................... 34 

2 

 
 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 — Austria 

Executive summary 

Austria is progressing in its transition towards a circular 
economy, with new initiatives springing up in the area 
of reuse. It has already reached the EU 2020 municipal 
waste  recycling  target.  However,  it  is  above  the  EU 
average as regards  waste  generation, which  has fallen 
only  marginally  over  the  last  few  years.  Austria  is 
further  develop 
encouraged 
implement  and 
measures  for  waste  prevention, 
in  particular  as 
regards  single-use  plastics,  and  to  make  reuse  and 
recycling more economically attractive. It remains one 
of the more advanced Member States as regards green 
public  procurement.  The  number  of  companies 
exploiting  markets  for  green  products  and  services  as 
their main business strategy is also growing strongly. 

to 

Austria  is  in  conformity  with  EU  urban  wastewater 
treatment standards, and 95 % of bathing waters are of 
excellent quality. Austria is slowly progressing towards 
reaching  good  ecological  status  for  its  surface  and 
groundwater  bodies.  The  major  challenges  Austrian 
waters face are pressures resulting from changes to the 
physical  shape  of  water  bodies,  mainly  as  a  result  of 
hydropower and efforts to regulate water flow.  

In  the  context  of  the  Timber  Regulation,  more  checks 
should be carried out on operators to prevent illegally 
logged timber from being put on the market. 

Examples of good practice 

  Austria has developed a digital channel for  public 
services  and  a  single  participation  portal  also 
covering environmental policies.  

 

  Reuse  of  construction  waste:  a  new  business 
model for dismantling large buildings, allowing for 
the  reuse  of  building  components  and  high-value 
recycling  has  been  successfully  piloted  by  the 
BauKarussell project. 
Substantial 
green 
infrastructure  initiatives  have  taken  shape,  e.g. 
Vienna’s  updated  urban  development  plan  (STEP 
2025)  aims  to  build  a  dense  network  of  high-
quality  green  spaces  and  promotes  innovative 
approaches for greening densely populated areas, 
including façade greening.  

cross-border 

and  urban 

Austria and the Environmental Implementation Review 
(EIR)  

In  the  2017  EIR  report,  the  main  challenges  identified 
for  Austria 
EU 
environmental policy and law were to:  

implementation  of 

the 

for 

 

 

complete  the  process  of  designating  sites  for  the 
Natura 2000 network; and 
improve air quality.  

Austria has not yet organised an EIR national dialogue 
that would help it to address the above challenges.  

launched  the  TAIEX-EIR 
In  2017,  the  Commission 
peer-to-peer  (EIR  P2P)  tool  to  facilitate  peer-to-peer 
learning between experts from national environmental 
authorities.  Together  with  the  European  Commission, 
the  Styrian  Government  organised  a  peer-to-peer 
workshop  to  exchange  experience  and  good  practice 
on  air  pollution  reduction  and  the  effectiveness  of  air 
quality 
agglomerations 
zones 
(i.e. population centres or places of economic activity) 
where  the  levels  of  pollutants  in  ambient  air  exceed 
limit or target values in 2018. 

plans 

or 

in 

Progress on meeting challenges since the 2017 EIR 

On  nature  conservation,  some  progress  has  been 
made 
in  terms  of  designating  special  areas  of 
conservation  as  part  of  Natura  2000  and  formulating 
measures  and  objectives  for  the  protection  of  species 
and  habitats  depending  on  agricultural  management. 
However,  the  degree  of  progress  varied  from  one 
province (Land) to the next.  

On  air  quality,  there  has  been  some  progress  in 
reducing emissions as a whole, but there are still seven 
zones that report concentrations above the NO2 target 
value.  Austria  should  take  effective  and  timely 
measures  to  close  the  compliance  gap,  by  further 
lowering  emissions  from  cars,  in  particular  diesel  cars 
in  urban  areas.  Ammonia  emissions  are  actually 
increasing and should be cut  through the introduction 
of low-emission agricultural techniques. 

3 

 
 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 — Austria 

Part I: Thematic areas 

1. Turning the EU into a circular, resource-efficient, green and 
competitive low-carbon economy 

Measures towards a circular economy 

The  Circular  Economy  Action  Plan  emphasises  the  need 
to  move  towards  a  life-cycle-driven  ‘circular’  economy, 
reusing  resources  as  much  as  possible  and  bringing 
residual  waste  close  to  zero.  This  can  be  facilitated  by 
developing  and  providing  access  to  innovative  financial 
instruments and funding for eco-innovation. 

Following  the  adoption  of  the  Circular  Economy  Action 
Plan in 2015 and the setting up of a related stakeholder 
platform  in  2017,  the  European  Commission  adopted  a 
new  package  of  deliverables  in  January  20181.  This 
included  additional  initiatives  such  as:  (i)  an  EU  strategy 
for plastics; (ii) a Communication on how to address the 
interplay  between  chemical,  product  and  waste 
legislation; (iii) a report on critical raw materials; and (iv) 
a  framework  to  monitor  progress  towards  a  circular 
economy2. 

The  circular  (secondary)  use  of  material  in  Austria  was 
10.6 %  in  2016  (EU  average  11.7 %) 3.  Furthermore, 
Austria  employs  fewer  people  in  the  circular  economy 
than  the  EU-28  average  (1.49 %  of  total  employment  in 
2016, compared with the EU-28 average of 1.73 %).In the 
2017  Special  Eurobarometer  468  on  Attitudes  of  EU 
citizens towards the environment, 87 % of Austrians said 
they  were  very  concerned  about  the  effects  of  plastic 
products  on  the  environment  (EU  average:  87 %).  87 % 
said  they  were  worried  about  the  impact  of  chemicals 
(EU average: 90 %)4. Overall, there appears to be strong 
support  in  Austria  for  circular  economy  initiatives  and 
action to protect the environment.  

the 
in  particular,  non-renewable 

Efficient and environment-friendly material use is a basic 
sustainable  management  of 
prerequisite 
for 
renewable  and, 
raw 
materials,  and  for  competitiveness  in  general.  Austria  is 
still  below  average  in  the  EU  in  terms  of  resource 
productivity  (how  efficiently  the  economy  uses  material 
resources  to  produce  wealth),  with  EUR 1.79/kg  (EU 
average: EUR 2.04/kg) in 20175. Figure 1  shows how the 

1 European Commission,  Circular Economy Package, 2018. 
2 COM(2018) 029. 
3 COM (2018) 029.  
4 European Commission, Special Eurobarometer 486, Attitudes of 
European citizens towards the environment, 2017. 
5 European Commission, Resource productivity. 

modest  upward  trend  in  resource  productivity  came  to 
an  end  in  2016.  Previously,  resource  productivity  had 
grown more slowly than the EU average. 
Figure 1: Resource productivity 2010-20176 

Austria  has  no  overarching  circular  economy  strategy. 
Nevertheless,  a  variety  of  measures  have  been 
implemented  in  different  fields,  from  waste  prevention 
to reduction of plastic bags, recycling of construction and 
demolition  waste, promotion of reuse and  repair, which 
contribute to the achievement of a circular economy.  

and 

production 

It  has  a  resource-efficiency  action  plan,  with  a  target  of 
improving  overall  resource  efficiency  by  50 %  by  2020 
compared with 2008. The RESET2020 initiative, aimed at 
into  environmental 
resource  efficiency 
integrating 
and 
sustainable 
technologies 
consumption,  remains  a  key  programme  for  promoting 
the  circular  economy.  Having  started  as  a  flexible 
initiative  to  respond  to  changing  demands,  its  activities 
have  since  been  aligned  with  the  principles  in  the 
Commission’s circular economy package7.  
One  new  initiative  is  the  Circular  Futures  platform8, 
which was launched by several NGOs in March 2018 and 
is supported with national and EU funding. Its objective is 
to  make  a  success  of  Austria’s  transition  to  a  circular 
economy.  Functioning  as  a  think  tank  and  capacity 
builder,  the  platform  seeks  to  bring  stakeholders 
organise 
provide 
together, 
knowledge  events,  coordinate 
local  activities  and 
strengthen regional networks.  

information, 

online 

6 European Commission, Resource productivity. 
7 RESET 2020, Die neue Ressourceneffizienz-Initiative. 
8 Circular Futures, Platform Kreislaufwirtschaft Österreich 

4 

 
 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 — Austria 

A  number  of  social  enterprise  initiatives  are  promoting 
reuse.  The  biggest,  Repanet9,  is  a  reuse  and  repair 
network, with 27 member organisations employing 1 800 
people  in  140  locations.  It  mostly  handles  textiles  and 
electronic  equipment.  Tapping  into  the  potential  of  the 
most  voluminous  waste  stream 
(construction  and 
demolition waste), Repanet and its partner organisations 
developed  and  successfully  piloted  the  BauKarussell 
project10,  which  developed  a  business  model 
for 
dismantling  large  buildings,  allowing  for  the  reuse  of 
building components and high-value recycling. 

quick 

implement 

(Goodbye  plastic  bag)  and 

Directive11 
Austria  was 
to 
(EU) 2015/720  on  reducing  consumption  of  light-weight 
plastic carrier bags through an agreement with the retail 
sector to  charge  for  plastic  bags.  The  initiative  is  called 
“Pfiat  di  Sackerl” 
is 
accompanied  by  information  campaigns  for  consumers. 
Initial  results  from  the  first  annual  monitoring  report  of 
2017  are  encouraging:  annual  consumption  of  all  plastic 
carrier  bags  (including  organic  plastic  carrier  bags  and 
plastic carrier bags made of recycled material) has fallen 
by more than 20% since 2014.  
Austria’s  ‘green  jobs  master  plan’12  aims  to  create 
100 000 new jobs in the environmental sector by 2020. It 
is implemented inter alia by the ‘green jobs’ portal13 and 
klima:aktiv 
targeted 
qualification initiative. In 2017, a first assessment showed 
positive  developments,  including  new  jobs,  but  more 
efforts are needed to reach the goals in the master plan.  

Bildungskoordination14, 

a 

the  private 

in  a  country  can  give  a 

The number of EU Ecolabel products and EMAS-licensed 
organisations15 
rough 
measurement  of  this  transition.  These  two  indicators 
show  to  what  extent  the  circular  economy  transition  is 
sector  and  other  national 
engaging 
stakeholders.  These  two 
indicators  also  show  the 
commitment of public authorities to policies that support 
the circular economy. As of September 2018, Austria had 
806  products  and  186  licences  registered  in  the  EU 
Ecolabel  scheme,  out  of  a  total  of  71  707  products  and 
2167 licences in the EU, showing a  low take-up of these 
licences16.  Moreover,  290  organisations 
in  Austria, 
representing 1 083 sites, were registered in EMAS17.  

9 Repanet. 
10 Repanet, Baukarussell. 
11 Directive (EU) 2015/720. 
12 Ministry of Sustainability and Tourism, Masterplan 'green jobs', 2010. 
13 Ministry of Sustainability and Tourism, Karriereportal green jobs.  
14 Ministry of Sustainability and Tourism, klimaaktiv 
Bildungskoordination. 
15 EMAS is the European Commission’s Eco-Management and Audit 
Scheme – a programme to encourage organisations to behave in a more 
environmentally sustainable way). 
16 European Commission, Ecolabel facts and figures. 
17 European Commission, Eco-management and audit scheme. 

5 

SMEs and resource efficiency 

Austria’s performance continues to be above EU average 
in  this  area  (see  Figure  2).  There  was  a  significant 
in  the  proportion  of  SMEs  offering  green 
increase 
products or services, from 35 % in 2012 to 43 % in 2015. 
The  proportion  of  companies  exploiting  markets  for 
green  products  and  services  as  their  main  business 
strategy  is  significantly  higher  than  in  other  countries. 
This  may  enable  Austria  to  lead  the  growth  of  green 
markets in Europe.  
Figure 2: Environmental performance of SMEs18 

The  latest  Eurobarometer  on  SMEs,  resource  efficiency 
and green markets19 asked companies about both recent 
resource-efficiency actions they had taken and additional 
resource-efficiency  actions  they  planned  to  take  in  the 
next two years. The Eurobarometer then compared these 
responses with responses given to the same questions in 
2015. Austrian companies invest  more often in resource 
efficiency than others.  Investments in energy saving and 
the use of renewables are on the up, while  investments 
in  material  efficiency  are  stagnant  but  at  a  high  level. 
Across all dimensions, the proportion of companies that 
plan  to  invest  more  is  growing  faster  than  in  earlier 
surveys.  Only  21 %  (EU:  19 %)  have  no  plans  for  more 
investment,  which  represents  a  drop  of  27 %  from  two 
years previously.  

18 European Commission, 2018 SBA fact sheet - Austria, p. 14. 
19 Flash Eurobarometer 456, SMEs, resource efficiency and green 
markets (January 2018). The eight dimensions were ‘save energy’, 
‘minimise waste’, ‘save materials’, ‘save water’, ‘recycle by reusing 
material internally’, ‘design products easier to maintain, repair or 
reuse’, ‘use renewable energy’ and ‘sell scrap materials to another 
company’. 

                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 — Austria 

Every  third  company  makes  use  of  external  support, 
which  is  also  well  above  the  EU  average  (22 %).  Public 
funding  sources 
(grants  and  subsidies)  are  more 
important than funding from banks or investment funds.  

Austrian  companies  appreciate  self-assessment  tools, 
technology  demonstration  and  reference  databases 
much  more  than  other  countries’.  Overall,  companies 
seem to appreciate the diversity of high-quality services.  

Eco-innovation 

The  country  ranked  10th  on  the  2018  European 
Innovation  Scoreboard  and  was  the  seventh  fastest 
growing  innovator  (9.0 %  increase  since  2010)20.  Austria 
holds eighth place in the EU Eco-innovation index. 
Figure 3: 2017 Eco-innovation index (EU=100)21 

  various  environment-related 
offered by the state; and  

financial 

incentives 

 

increasing  funds  for  enterprises  conducting  research 
in the area of eco-innovation. 

Figure 4: Austria’s eco-innovation performance 

The  small-scale,  SME-dominated  supply  side  of  Austria’s 
environmental  technologies  industry  represents  one  of 
the main barriers to eco-innovation. Limited financial and 
human resources often prevent strategic handling of the 
market, 
and 
of 
development.  Another 
interconnectedness  among  environmental  technology 
clusters and networks. 

particularly 

research 

regards 

barrier 

lack 

as 

is 

a 

following 

The 
eco-innovation can be highlighted: 

recent 

initiatives 

to 

promote 

  The  process  of  updating  the  2007  environmental 
technology master plan (MUT) was launched in 2017. 
Its  objective  is  to  strengthen  the  development  of 
Austria´s  environmental  technology  industry  through 
export  promotion, 
research  and  qualification, 
financing, and stimulating the domestic market.  

 

to 

In  May  2017,  the  Environment  Ministry  launched  a 
cooperative 
foster 
initiative,  EcoInnovation, 
sustainability and circular procurement through open 
innovation  projects.  The  initiative  is  managed  in 
cooperation  with  the  Federal  Procurement  Agency’s 
Service  Centre  Austria  for  Innovation  Procurement 
and  facilitates  the  procurement  of  innovative  and 
ecological products and services. 

2019 priority actions 

Strengthen  the  existing  policy  framework  to  speed 
up the transition towards a circular economy. 
Further strengthen eco-innovation by improving, for 
example, 
among 
environmental technologies and networks. 

inerconnectedness 

the 

shown 

As 
performance continues to exceed the EU average.  

in  Figure  4,  Austria’s  eco-innovation 

The main factors driving eco-innovation in Austria are: 

  a flourishing environmental technology sector; 

  high environmental standards; 

  well-functioning environmental protection laws; 

20 European Commission, European innovation Scoreboard 2018. 
21 Eco-innovation Observatory: Eco-Innovation scoreboard 2017. 

 

 

6 

 
                                                                 
 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 — Austria 

Waste management  

Turning waste into a resource is supported by: 
(i)  fully 
legislation,  which 
implementing  EU  waste 
includes  the  waste  hierarchy,  the  need  to  ensure 
separate  collection  of  waste,  the 
landfill  diversion 
targets, etc.; 
(ii) reducing waste generation and waste generation per 
capita in absolute terms; and  
(iii)  limiting  energy  recovery  to  non-recyclable  materials 
and  phasing  out  landfilling  of  recyclable  or  recoverable 
waste. 

This  section  focuses  on  management  of  municipal 
waste22  for  which  EU  law  sets  mandatory  recycling 
targets23. 

Figure  5:  Municipal  waste  by  treatment  in  Austria 
2010-201724 

Municipal  waste  generation  in  Austria  has  remained  at 
constant  levels  over  the  past  years.  However,  it  is  still 
relatively  high 
average 
(570 kg/y/inhabitant in 2017 as against around 487 kg). 

compared 

the 

EU 

to 

Austria  is  among  the  top  performers  in  the  EU  with 
regard  to  waste  management.  Figure  5,  based  on  data 
from  Eurostat,  shows  municipal  waste  by  treatment  in 
Austria in terms of kg per capita. The statistics show that 
its  good  performance  has  stagnated  over  the  past  few 
in 
years.  There  have  been  some  small 

increases 

22 Municipal waste consists of mixed waste and separately collected 
waste from households and from other sources, where such waste is 
similar in nature and composition to waste from households. This is 
without prejudice to the allocation of responsibilities for waste 
management between public and private sectors. 
23 See Article 11.2 of Directive 2008/98/EC. This Directive was amended 
in 2018 by Directive (EU) 2018/851, and more ambitious recycling 
targets were introduced for the period up to 2035. 
24 Eurostat, Municipal waste by waste operations. 

7 

incineration,  recycling  and  composting  rates,  and  a 
significant fall in landfilling since the 2017 EIR report.  

Also,  as  the  graph  shows,  its  municipal  waste  landfilling 
rate  is  very  low  (2 %)  and  far  below  the  EU  average 
(24 %). Austria remains the only Member State where the 
revenue  from  the  landfill  tax  (around  EUR 1.2 billion  in 
total  up  to  2014) 
is  used  exclusively  to  clean  up 
contaminated sites. It complies with the landfill diversion 
landfilling  of 
the  ban  on 
target 
biodegradable  municipal  waste  that  it  introduced  in 
2009.  

thanks 

the 

to 

The municipal waste recycling rate (57.7 %, of which 32 % 
is  composting)  was  well  above  the  EU  level  in  2017. 
Figure 6 shows that Austria has already met the EU 2020 
recycling target for municipal waste25. 
Figure 6: Recycling rate of municipal waste 2010-201726 

Additional  efforts  will  be  needed  to  meet  the  new 
(post-2020)  recycling  targets.  Austria  should  now  focus 
on  prevention  and  diverting  waste  from  incineration  to 
recycling27.  

In December 2017, Austria adopted a new federal waste 
management  plan,  updating  the  2011  plan.  The  waste 
prevention  programme  provides  for  further  expansion 
and consolidation of the reuse networks, more collection 
(for  reuse)  of  old  electrical  appliances,  and  for  other 
usable goods. With Flanders, Austria is considered to be 

25 Member States may choose a method that differs from that used by 
Eurostat (and referred to in this report) to calculate their recycling rates 
and track compliance with the 2020 target of 50 % recycling of 
municipal waste. 
26 Eurostat, Recycling rate of municipal waste. 
27 Directive (EU) 2018/851, Directive (EU) 2018/852, Directive (EU) 
2018/850 and Directive (EU) 2018/849 amend the previous waste 
legislation and set more ambitious recycling targets for the period to 
2035. These targets will be taken into consideration to assess progress 
in future Environmental Implementation Reports.  

 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 — Austria 

among the front-runners in initiating reuse networks that 
offer high-quality second-hand products to consumers28. 

The PET-to-PET recycling scheme has been showcased in 
the circular economy platform. Bottles which are part of 
this scheme contain a minimum of 30 % recycled content. 

Extended  producer  responsibility  (EPR)  systems  are  in 
place  for  various  waste  streams,  but  more  could  be 
covered,  as  in  some  other  Member  States.  Incentive 
systems  to  favour  prevention  and  participation 
in 
separate  collection  schemes  (‘pay  as  you  throw’  (PAYT) 
systems) are in place, but could be strengthened.  

2019 priority actions 

 

 

 

Improve policy instruments, including economic ones 
to focus on prevention. 
Improve  the  functioning  of  Extended  Producer 
Responsibility  Systems  by  covering  more  waste 
streams. 
Shift  reusable  and  recyclable  waste  away  from 
incineration. 

Climate change  

The EU has committed to undertaking ambitious climate 
action internationally as well as in the EU, having ratified 
the Paris Climate Agreement on 5 October 2016. The EU 
targets are to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 
20 % by 2020 and by at least 40 % by 2030, compared to 
1990.  As  a  long-term  target,  the  EU  aims  to  reduce  its 
emissions  by  80-95 %  by  2050,  as  part  of  the  efforts 
required by developed countries as a group. Adapting to 
the adverse effects of climate change is vital to alleviate 
its  already  visible  effects  and  improve  preparedness  for 
and resilience to future impacts. 

The EU emissions trading system (EU ETS) covers all large 
greenhouse  gas  emitters  in  the  industry,  power  and 
aviation  sectors  in  the  EU.  The  EU  ETS  applies  in  all 
Member States and has a very high compliance rate. Each 
year,  installations  cover  around  99 %  of  their  emissions 
with the required number of allowances.  

For emissions not covered by the EU ETS, Member States 
have  binding  national  targets  under  the  effort  sharing 
legislation.  Austria’s  emissions  were  below  its  annual 
emission allocations (AEAs) every year between 2013 and 
2016.  According  to  preliminary  data,  emissions  were  3 
percentage points higher than the AEAs in 2017. Austria’s 
national target under the EU Effort Sharing Decision is to 
reduce emissions by 16 % by 2020 compared to 2005. For 
2030, 
its  national  target  under  the  Effort  Sharing 
Regulation will be to reduce emissions by 36 % compared 
to 2005.  

28 European Environment Agency, Waste prevention in Europe — 
policies, status and trends in reuse in 2017, 2018. 

Austria has projected that without additional measures it 
may  miss  its  2020  target  (16%  below  2005  levels)  by  2 
percentage  points.  It  has  also  projected  it  may  miss  its 
2030 
target  by  15  percentage  points.  Significant 
additional efforts will therefore be needed in all sectors. 
This concerns in particular the area of the road transport, 
which  accounts for approx. 45% of total GHG emissions. 
Transport  represents  almost  a  quarter  of  Europe's 
greenhouse  gas  emissions  and  is  the  main  cause  of  air 
pollution 
in  Austria 
in  cities.  Transport  emissions 
increased by 8 % from 2012 to 2016. 

Figure  7:  Change  in  total  GHG  emissions  1990-2017 
(1990=100 %)29  

The  Climate  Change  Act  (Klimaschutzgesetz)  establishes 
the  administrative  framework  for  climate  policy 
in 
Austria,  which  includes  a  climate  change  committee, 
involving  around  35  stakeholders  from  all  parliamentary 
parties,  relevant  government  ministries,  the  Länder, 
social  partners  and  industry  representatives.  It  also  sets 
national GHG reduction targets by sector. All Länder have 
their own regional climate strategies and policies.  

from 

The  Austrian  Forest  Strategy  2020+  (developed  by 
stakeholders 
the  Austrian  Forest  Dialogue) 
incorporates a range of existing forest-related strategies, 
intended  to  help 
programmes  and  processes.  It 
safeguard  the  multifunctional  services  of  the  forest  for 
present  and 
is  structured 
future  generations  and 
according to seven forest policy fields of action, including 
the  contribution  that  Austria’s  forests  make  to  climate 

is 

29 Annual European Union greenhouse gas inventory 1990–2016 (EEA 
greenhouse gas data viewer). Proxy GHG emission estimates for 2017. 
Approximated EU greenhouse gas inventory 2017 (European 
Environment Agency). Member States national projections, reviewed by 
the European Environment Agency. 

8 

                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 — Austria 

protection,  in  line  with  international  and  EU  legislation 
related to forests and agricultural lands (see below). The 
measures  are  to  be  implemented  in  the  period  to  2020 
and beyond. 

Figure  8:  Targets  and  emissions  for  Austria  under  the 
Effort Sharing Decision and Effort Sharing Regulation30 

forest  management  of,  on  average, 

-
credits  by 
2.79 Mt CO2-eq per year are capped at -2.76 Mt CO2-eq. 
per  year.  Austria  could  be  one  of  eight  Member  States 
that exceed the  cap of 3.5 % from emissions in the base 
year (1990), in case the current trend will continue. 

Figure 9: Greenhouse gas emissions by sector (Mt. CO2-
eq.). Historical data 1990-2016. Projections 2017-203031. 

and 

Energy 

Climate 

Austrian 

Strategy 
The 
“#mission2030”,  adopted  by  the  Federal  Government  in 
May  2018,  is  the  roadmap  towards  the  Austrian  climate 
and  energy  targets.  It  establishes  tasks  and  flagship 
projects  and  serves  as  the  basis  for  the  development  of 
the  national  energy  and  climate  plan  (NECP)  as  well  as 
long-term climate and energy strategy, which have to be 
prepared by every Member State under the energy union 
initiative  

The  F-gas  Regulation  requires  Member  States  to  run 
training and certification programmes, introduce rules for 
penalties  and  notify  these  measures  to  the  Commission 
by  2017.  Austria  has  notified  the  Commission  of  both 
measures.  

Special  rules  for  accounting  of  emissions  and  removals 
from forests and agricultural lands have been developed 
within  the  frame  of  the  Kyoto  Protocol.  Reported 
quantities  under  the  Protocol  for  Austria  show  net 
removals  of  (on  average)  -5.0 Mt CO2-eq.  in  2013-2016. 
Austria thus contributed 1.3 % of the EU’s annual average 
sink of -384.4 Mt CO2-eq. Accounting for the same period 
shows net credits of (on average) -4.3 Mt CO2-eq., which 
corresponds  to  3.7 %  of  the  EU’s  accounted  sink  of  -
115.7 Mt CO2-eq. Reported net removals are highest  for 
they  decreased  slightly,  while 
2014,  after  which 
accounted  net  credits  show  no  notable  trend.  In  this 
preliminary  simulated  accounting  exercise,  potential 

30 Proxy GHG emission estimates for 2017.Approximated EU greenhouse 
gas inventory 2017 (European Environment Agency). Member States 
national projections, reviewed by the European Environment Agency. 

9 

The  EU  Strategy  on  adaptation  to  climate  change, 
adopted  in  2013,  aims  to  make  Europe  more  climate-
resilient, by promoting action by Member States, better-
informed  decision  making,  and  promoting  adaptation  in 
key vulnerable sectors. By adopting a coherent approach 
and  providing  for  improved  coordination,  it  seeks  to 
enhance the preparedness and capacity of all governance 
levels to respond to the impacts of climate change.  

The  Federal  Government  of  Austria  adopted  a  National 
Adaptation Strategy (NAS) in October 2012 (the Länder in 
May  2013),  which  was  revised  based  on  latest  findings 
and  adopted  in  August  2017.  The  strategy  contains  two 
elements:  A  Strategic  Framework,  and  an  Action  Plan 
(NAP).  Based  on  a  qualitative  vulnerability  assessment, 
adaptation  options  for  the  following  14  areas  of  action 
are presented: agriculture, forestry, water resources and 
water  management,  tourism,  energy  with  focus  on  the 
electrical  industry,  construction  and  housing,  protection 
from  natural  hazards,  disaster  management,  health, 
infrastructure 
ecosystems  and  biodiversity,  transport 
including  aspects  of  mobility, 
spatial  planning, 
business/industry/trade, and cities with a focus on urban 
green  and  open  spaces.  A  monitoring  and  reporting 
system is in place and in 2015, the first progress report to 
assess  the  implementation  of  adaptation  measures  for 
these vulnerable sectors has been published.  

31 Annual European Union greenhouse gas inventory 1990–2016 (EEA 
greenhouse gas data viewer). Proxy GHG emission estimates for 
2017Approximated EU greenhouse gas inventory 2017 (European 
Environment Agency). Member States national projections, reviewed by 
the European Environment Agency. 

 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 — Austria 

Representatives from all Länder were actively involved in 
the development of both strateguy and action plan.. The 
Länder  have  either  developed  regional  adaptation 
strategies 
(Oberösterreich,  2013;  Steiermark,  2015; 
Vorarlberg,  2016;  Salzburg,  2017), integrated adaptation 
and mitigation strategies (Tirol, 2015), or have integrated 
adaptation  into  existing  climate  mitigation  strategies 
(Niederösterreich,  2011;  Wien,  2009).  Kärnten  is  in  the 
process  of  preparing  a  climate  adaptation  strategy  and 
published  a  draft  in  2018.  In  Burgenland,  adaptation 
measures 
sectoral 
programmes  and  strategies.  The  Länder  propose,  enact 
and implement measures. For adaptation on the regional 
and local level the KLAR! funding programme for climate 
adaptation  model  regions  was  established  in  2016,  as 
well  as  an  adaptation  advisory  service  for  municipalities 
supported  by  an  online  platform  with  tools  and 
guidelines.  To  date,  progress  can  be  observed  in  the 
implementation  and  mainstreaming  of  adaptation  in 
Austria.  

are  directly 

integrated 

into 

In  addition  Austria  is  also  closely  engaged  in  macro 
regional  adaptation  work  (Alpine  and  Danube  macro 
regions)  and  in  fostering  synergies  between  climate 
change  adaptation  and  disaster  risk  reduction  (Placard 
project). 

from 

revenues 

the  auctioning  of  emission 
Total 
allowances  under  the  EU  ETS 
in  2013-2017  were 
EUR 405 million.  Austria  does  not  earmark  auctioning 
revenues  for  specific  uses,  but  reports  that  actual 
climate-related spending exceeds total revenues.  

2019 priority action 

In this report, no priority actions have been included on 
climate action, as the Commission will first need to assess 
the  draft  national  energy  and  climate  plans  which  the 
Member  States  needed  to  send  by  end  of  2018.  These 
plans  should  increase  the  consistency  between  energy 
and climate policies and could therefore become a good 
example  of  how  to  link  sector-specific  policies  on  other 
interlinked themes  such as agriculture-nature-water and 
transport-air-health.  

10 

 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 — Austria 

2. Protecting, conserving and enhancing natural capital 

Designating Natura 2000 sites and setting conservation 
objectives and measures 

On  the  basis  of  the  information  officially  reported  by 
Austria  in  relation  to  the  proportion  of  habitats  and 
species  occurring  in  Natura  2000,  its  designation  of 
Natura 2000 sites under the Habitats Directive must  still 
be considered insufficient. This is currently the subject of 
an  infringement  procedure.  The  Commission  has  had 
bilateral  contacts  with  each  Land  to  address  the 
outstanding issues on species and habitat types.  

requirements 

(SAC)  designation 

As  competence  for  nature  conservation  is  devolved  to 
the  Länder, Austria does not  have a  unified approach to 
setting  site-level  conservation  objectives  and  measures. 
While it broadly complies with the formal special area of 
that 
conservation 
concern the SCIs that were proposed more than six years 
ago, there are still concerns about the way conservation 
objectives are established. Some Länder have established 
detailed  and  specific  site-level  conservation  objectives 
that  are  appropriately  tailored  to  the  species  and 
habitats  for  which  the  sites  are  designated,  but  others 
use only a generic standard sentence to define site-level 
conservation objectives. Generic objectives are not useful 
as  a  baseline  for  Article  6(3)  procedures,  nor  as  a 
reference 
conservation  measures  or 
setting 
estimating financing needs for the network.  

for 

Progress 
restoring 
in  maintaining  or 
conservation status of species and habitats 

favourable 

Member  States  report  only  every  six  years  on  progress 
under both Directives, so no new information is available 
on  the  state  of  natural  habitats  and  species,  or  on 
progress, as compared to the 2017 EIR country report.  

Overall,  reporting  under  Article  17  of  the  Habitats 
Directive  indicates  that  the  conservation  status  of  a 
considerable  proportion  of  species  and  habitats  of 
Community  importance  is  unfavourable  and  that  the 
number  of  habitats  and  species 
is 
deteriorating  further  far  exceeds  that  of  those  showing 
positive  trends.  Austria  will  therefore  have  to  seriously 
step  up  its  level  of  investment  in  the  protection  and 
management of the Natura 2000 network and measures 
that could lead to a recovery of these features. 

for  which 

it 

Nature and biodiversity  

in  the  EU  by  2020. 

The  EU  biodiversity  strategy  aims  to  halt  the  loss  of 
full 
biodiversity 
implementation  of  the  Birds  and  Habitats  Directives  to 
achieve  favourable  conservation  status  of  protected 
species and habitats. It also requires that the agricultural 
improve 
and  forest  sectors  help  to  maintain  and 
biodiversity. 

It  requires 

Biodiversity strategy 

Austria adopted its national Biodiversity Strategy Austria 
2020+ in 201432. 

It  has  no  federal  legislation  on  nature  conservation,  so 
competence  for  implementing  the  Birds  and  Habitats 
Directives is entirely devolved to the Länder.  

Setting up a coherent network of Natura 2000 sites 

On  the  basis  of  the  latest  update,  Austria’s  terrestrial 
Natura  2000  network  under  the  Birds  and  Habitats 
Directives is now considered to be complete.  

By  December  2017,  15.1 %  of  Austrian  territory  was 
covered by Natura 2000 (EU average: 18.1 %), with Birds 
Directive special protection areas (SPAs) covering 12.1 % 
(EU  average:  12.4 %)  and  Habitats  Directive  sites  of 
Community 
(EU 
there  are  substantial 
average:  13.9 %).  However, 
variations  among  the  nine  Länder  and  two  have 
coverages of only around 6 %. 

(SCIs)  covering  11.0 % 

importance 

32 Bundesministerium für Land- und Forstwirtschaft, Umwelt und 
Wasserwirtschaft (BMLFUW), Biodiversitätsstrategie Österreich 2020+, 
2014. 

11 

 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 — Austria 

While  the  Austrian  Spatial  Planning  Strategy34  does  not 
mention multifunctional use of land or the application of 
green  infrastructure  (GI),  it  does  highlight  zoning  (for 
example)  as  the  most  important  measure  to  preserve 
flood  retention  areas  in  the  long  term.  As  regards 
transport, wildlife corridors are mandatory for every third 
kilometre of new road or railway posing a barrier. 

The EU has provided guidance on the further deployment 
of  green  and  blue  infrastructure  in  Austria35  and  a 
country page on the Biodiversity Information System for 
Europe  (BISE)36.  This  information  will  also  contribute  to 
the  final  evaluation  of  the  EU  Biodiversity  Strategy  to 
2020. 

Austria  and  Slovakia  have 
long  cooperated  on 
cross-border spatial planning and habitat management to 
establish  a  120-km  wide  ecological  corridor  along  the 
Alps-Carpathians  passage  (a  major  wildlife  migration 
route).  

Two Interreg projects submitted in 2017 aim to improve 
the  connectivity  of  rivers  in  the  Austrian-Slovak  border 
region and to re-establish the Northern Limestone Alps - 
Czech Republic wildlife migration route.  

Austria  is  also  part  of  the  European  Green  Belt,  an 
ecological  network  that  stretches  along  the  former  ‘iron 
curtain’.  Several  projects 
restoration  of 
near-natural  river  dynamics  and  floodplain  habitats  in 
Austria  are  financed  under  the  EU  LIFE  programme.  The 
Lower Austrian Nature Protection Strategy37 was updated 
in 2015 with the addition of a topic ‘green infrastructure 
– wildlife corridors – habitat connectivity’. 

the 

for 

Some of Austria’s big cities are systematically developing 
green infrastructure. For example, Vienna aims to create 
a green network with a maximum mesh of 250 m in order 
to  improve  recreation,  city  structure,  orientation  and 
identity  functions,  and  ecosystem  services  such  as 
climate and water regulation, air purification, habitat and 
connectivity.  
The  thematic  areas  of  the  Austrian  Forest  Programme38 
include  forests’  contribution  to  climate  mitigation  and 
adaptation,  health  and  sustainability,  productivity, 
biodiversity,  protection  against  disasters  and  extreme 
weather events, and social and economic aspects. About 
a fifth of Austria’s forests are protected for the purposes 
of natural hazard control, recreation and tourism, general 
socio-economic functions, etc. Without these ‘protection 

34 Oerok, The Austrian Spatial Development Concept 2001. 
35 The recommendations of the green infrastructure strategy review 
report and the EU Guidance on a strategic framework for further 
supporting the deployment of EU-level green and blue infrastructure. 
36 Biodiversity Information System for Europe. 
37 Naturschutzkonzept Niederösterreich.  
38Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water 
Management, The Austrian Forest Programme.  

is  that 

A particular aspect of Austria’s approach to Natura 2000 
designation 
‘contemporary  agricultural  and 
forestry  practices’  are  generally33  exempt  from  site 
protection  requirements  in  the  legal  acts  designating 
certain  sites.  For  habitats  and  species  that  depend  on 
specific agricultural practices, the exemptions mean that 
the 
in  practice 
non-existent. There is strong growing evidence that they 
lead 
systematic) 
deterioration  of  agricultural  and  forest  habitats  and  to 
the decline of the populations of many species for which 
sites have been designated. 

legal  protection  of  these  sites 

to  widespread 

(and  perhaps 

is 

2019 priority action 

  Complete  the  SAC  designation  process,  put  in  place 
clearly  defined  conservation  objectives  and  the 
necessary  conservation  measures  for  the  sites  and 
provide 
their 
implementation in order to maintain/restore species 
and  habitats  of  Community  interest  to  a  favourable 
conservation status across their natural range. 

resources 

adequate 

for 

Maintaining  and  restoring  ecosystems  and 
their services 

The EU biodiversity strategy aims to maintain and restore 
ecosystems  and  their  services  by 
including  green 
infrastructure  in  spatial  planning  and  restoring  at  least 
15 %  of  degraded  ecosystems  by  2020.  The  EU  green 
infrastructure  strategy  promotes  the  incorporation  of 
green infrastructure into related plans and programmes. 

The Austrian Biodiversity Strategy 2020+ includes actions 
to strengthen biotope connectivity, promote biodiversity 
in  newly  established  settlements,  trade  and  industry 
areas  and  preserve  unfragmented  areas  and  migration 
corridors.  

33 In Tryol several regulations are in place to ensure that these 
exemptions are applicable under very specific conditions only. The 
Lower Austrian nature protection law (Naturschutzgesetz) does not 
foresee an exemption for those practices according to the Land's site 
designation act (Verdordnung über die Europaschutzgebiete). 

12 

 
                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 — Austria 

re-establishing the  wildlife corridor from the Alps to the 
Carpathians 
been 
implemented44.  

initial  measures 

have 

and 

Figure 10: Implementation of MAES (September 2018) 

it  has  been  estimated  that  an  additional 
forests’, 
EUR 600 million  would  need  to  be  invested  in  technical 
solutions  every  year  to  achieve  the  same 
level  of 
protection  against  natural  hazards,  such  as  avalanches 
and  rock  slides.  In  the  Tyrol,  the  value  of  the  protective 
function  of  such 
forests  has  been  estimated  at 
EUR 100 000/ha. 

At  the  EUSALP  Ministerial  Conference  in  October  2017, 
the  Alpine  states  and  regions  adopted  a  declaration  on 
Alpine 
their 
green 
commitment to: 

infrastructure39, 

expressing 

  raising the profile of GI in European, national, regional 

and local policies; 

  acting as ambassadors for other sectors;  

  making the Alpine region a model for GI;  

  mobilising resources; and  

 

intensifying 
cooperation. 

transnational 

and 

cross-territorial 

Austria  is  encouraged  to  share  its  positive  experience, 
e.g. in the integration of GI into urban planning. 

Business  and  biodiversity  platforms,  networks  and 
communities of practice are key tools for promoting and 
facilitating  natural  capital  assessments  among  business 
and  financial  service  providers,  e.g. via  the  Natural 
Capital Coalition’s protocol45. Austria has yet to establish 
such  a  platform  at  national  level,  but  Lower  Austria’s 
Energy and Environment Agency is running an initiative at 
Land level that seeks to promote cooperation and foster 
new initiatives with its member organisations committed 
to preserving ecological diversity. 

Estimating natural capital 

2019 priority action 

The  EU  biodiversity  strategy  calls  on  Member  States  to 
map  and  assess  the  state  of  ecosystems  and  their 
services40 in their national territories by 2014, assess the 
economic  value  of  such  services  and  integrate  these 
values  into  accounting  and  reporting  systems  at  EU  and 
national level by 2020. 

Austria has not  yet  provided  updated information on its 
work  on  mapping  and  assessing  ecosystems  and  their 
services on its MAES webpage on the BISE platform41 (see 
Figure 10), as the mapping of 15 ecosystem services has 
been completed only recently.  

help 

implement 

the  Austrian 

To 
Biodiversity 
Strategy 2020+, the  Lebensraumvernetzung project42 has 
established  a  web  portal  with  information  and  spatial 
data 
habitat 
defragmentation. The  extent  of implementation and the 
methodology used vary by region. A proposal covering all 
regions was made in 201843.  

connectivity 

ecological 

and 

on 

On  the  basis  of  the  Interreg  project  Alps-Carpathians 
Corridor  project,  an  action  plan  has  been  developed  for 

39 EUSALP, 1st EUSALP Conference on Alpine Green Infrastructure. 
40 Ecosystem services are benefits provided by nature such as food, 
clean water and pollination on which human society depends. 
41 BISE, MAES country fiches: Austria. 
42 Bundesministerium für Nachhaltigkeit und Tourismus, 
Lebensraumvernetzung. 
43 Bundesministerium für Nachhaltigkeit und Tourismus, 
Lebensraumvernetzung –About. 

13 

  Austria  is  encouraged  to  provide  information  about 

its progress on MAES. 

Invasive alien species 

Under  the  EU  biodiversity  strategy,  the  following  are  to 
be achieved by 2020:  
(i) invasive alien species identified;  
(ii) priority species controlled or eradicated; and  
(iii)  pathways  managed  to  prevent  new  invasive  species 
from disrupting European biodiversity.  
This  is  supported  by  the  Invasive  Alien  Species  (IAS) 
Regulation, which entered into force on 1 January 2015. 

The  report  on  the  baseline  distribution  of  invasive  alien 
species (Figure 11), for which Austria is still reviewing its 
grid-level  data,  shows  that  13  of  the  37  species  on  the 
first Union list have been observed in the environment in 
Austria; 11 are established. Austria is facing high invasion 
pressure from raccoon (Procyon lotor) from Germany.  

Coypu  (Myocastor  coypu)  is  still  at  the  early  invasion 
stage  and  Austria  is  advised  to  attempt  to  eradicate  it 
now to avoid long-term management costs. 

Austria has fulfilled its notification obligations under the 
Regulation,  but  the  respective  competences  of  the 

44 Alpen-Karpaten-Korridor. 
45 Natural Capital Coalition, Natural capital protocol. 

                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 — Austria 

to 
regional  and 
implementing the IAS Regulation still need to be clarified. 

federal  authorities  with 

regard 

Figure  11:  Number  of  IAS  of  EU  concern,  based  on 
available georeferenced information for Austria46 

2019 priority action 

  Austria  is  encouraged  to  clarify  the  respective  legal 
competences of the regional  and federal authorities 
implementation  of  the  IAS 
with  regard  to  the 
Regulation. 

Soil protection  

The  EU  soil  thematic  strategy  underlines  the  need  to 
ensure a  sustainable use of soils.  This  entails preventing 
further  soil  degradation  and  preserving  its  functions,  as 
well as restoring degraded soils. The 2011 Roadmap to a 
Resource Efficient Europe states that by 2020, EU policies 
must  take  into  account  their  direct  and  indirect  impact 
on land use. 

Soil  is  a  finite  and  extremely  fragile  resource  and  it  is 
increasingly degraded in the EU. 

Built-up  land  in  Austria  is  regularly  monitored  on  the 
basis  of  cadastre  data.  In  2015,  such  land  amounted  to 
6.6 % of the national area. The high annual landtake rate 
(growth  of  artificial  areas)  was  decreasing  slightly  in  the 
latest  available  figures,  from  8 150 ha  in  2009-2012  to 
5 916 ha in 2012-201547. 

46 Tsiamis K., Gervasini E., Deriu I., D`amico F., Nunes A., Addamo A., De 
Jesus Cardoso A., Baseline distribution of invasive alien species of Union 
concern, Ispra (Italy), Publications Office of the European Union; 2017, 
EUR 28596 EN, doi:10.2760/772692. 
47 Austrian Environment Agency, Flächeninanspruchnahme.  

14 

The  annual  landtake  rate,  as  provided  by  CORINE  Land 
Cover,  was  947.5 ha/yr  in  2006-2012,  i.e. 0.21 %,  as 
compared with an EU average of 0.41 %48.  
The  percentage  of  artificial  land  cover49  (Figure 12)  can 
be seen as a measure of the relative pressure on nature 
and  biodiversity,  and  of  the  environmental  pressure  on 
people living in urbanised areas. 
Figure 12: Proportion of artificial land cover, 201550 

is  105.9/km2, 

Austria  ranks  around  the  EU  average,  with  4.2 %  of 
artificial  land  cover  (EU  average:  4.1 %).  The  population 
density 
just  below  the  EU  average 
(118/km2)51.  However,  only  39%  of  Austria’s  surface  is 
suitable  for  settlements  due  to  its  topography  (risk  of 
earth slides and avalanches)52 53. 

48 EEA, Draft results of CORINE land cover (CLC) inventory 2012; mean 
annual landtake in 2006-2012 as a percentage of 2006 artificial land. 
49 Artificial land cover is defined as the total of roofed built-up areas 
(including buildings and greenhouses), artificial non-built-up areas 
(including sealed area features, such as yards, farmyards, cemeteries, 
car parking areas, etc. and linear features, such as streets, roads, 
railways, runways, bridges) and other artificial areas (including bridges 
and viaducts, mobile homes, solar panels, power plants, electrical 
substations, pipelines, water sewage plants, and open dump sites). 
50 European Commission, Land covered by artificial surfaces by NUTS 2 
regions.  
51 Eurostat, Population density by NUTS 3 region. 
52 ÖROK Atlas, Anteil des Dauersiedlungsraumes.  
53 Eurostat, Population density by NUTS 3 region. 

                                                                 
 
                                                                 
 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 — Austria 

In Austria land-take is closely linked to economic growth 
and 
is  currently  one  of  the  biggest  environmental 
concerns  of  the  country.  According  to  2018  Statistics 
Austria54  report,  land-take  increased  by  25 %  between 
2001 and 2017, while the population grew by 9.1 %. Soil 
protection  and 
the 
responsibility of the nine Länder. 

spatial  planning  are  under 

Contamination  can  severely  reduce  soil  quality  and 
threaten  human  health  or  the  environment.  A  recent 
report  of  the  European  Commission  estimated  that 
potentially  polluting  activities  have  taken  or  are  still 
taking place on approximately 2.8 million sites in the EU. 
At EU level, 650 000 of these sites have been registered 
in national or regional inventories.  65 500  contaminated 
sites  already  have  been  remediated.  Austria  has 
registered  68 569  sites  where  potentially  polluting 
activities have taken or are taking place, and has already 
remediated or applied aftercare measures on 203 sites.  

Soil erosion by water is a natural process, but this natural 
process can be aggravated by climate change and human 
activities  such  as  inappropriate  agricultural  practices, 
deforestation,  forest  fires  or  construction  works.  High 
levels  of  soil  erosion  can  reduce  productivity 
in 
agriculture  and  can  have  negative  and  transboundary 
impacts  on  biodiversity  and  ecosystem  services,  and  on 
rivers and lakes (due to increased sediment volumes and 
transport of contaminants).  

The  soil  erosion  rate  in  Austria  in  2009  was  3.8  tonnes 
per  ha  per  year,  some  above  the  EU-28  average  of  2.46 
tonnes  per  ha.  Not  published  modelling  studies  in  2012 
results55:  Soil  protecting 
and  2014  show  similar 
cultivation  supported  by  the  Austrian  agri-environment-
programme already lead to an increased humus content 
in  Austria’s  agricultural  soils  and  as  well  to  a  lower  soil 
t ha−a yr−y.56  Relevant  agri-
erosion 
environmental  measures  are  employed  to  prevent  soil 
erosion, soil compaction, the loss of organic substance as 
well as local and diffuse pollution. 

for  3.4 

rate 

Soil organic matter plays an important role in the carbon 
cycle and in climate change. Soils are the second largest 
carbon sink in the world after the oceans.  

54 Statistik Austria, Wie geht es Österreich?, Report 2018, p. 122.  
55 wpa, 2009: Abschätzung des Bodenabtrags in Österreich und 
Integration der Daten in die INVEKOS-Datenbank. Beschreibung der 
Berechnungsmethode und Ergebnisse für die Jahre 2007 und 2008. wpa 
Beratende Ingenieure GmbH, Wien; and: wpa, 2010: Abschätzung des 
Bodenabtrags in Österreich. Ergänzende Berechnungen für das Jahr 
2009. wpa Beratende Ingenieure GmbH, Wien. 
56 AGES, Bodenschutz durch umweltgerechte Landwirtschaft, 2011 p. 9. 

15 

 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 — Austria 

3. Ensuring citizen’s health and quality of life 

Air quality  

EU clean air  policy and legislation require the  significant 
improvement  of  air  quality  in  the  EU,  moving  the  EU 
closer to the quality recommended by the World Health 
Organisation.  Air  pollution  and  its  impacts  on  human 
health,  ecosystems  and  biodiversity  should  be  further 
reduced with the long-term aim of not exceeding critical 
loads  and  levels.  This  requires  strengthening  efforts  to 
reach  full  compliance  with  EU  air  quality  legislation  and 
defining strategic targets and actions beyond 2020. 

The  EU  has  developed  a  comprehensive  body  of  air 
legislation57,  which  establishes  health-based 
quality 
standards and objectives for a number of air pollutants. 

Emissions  of  several  air  pollutants  have  decreased 
significantly  in  Austria58.  The  reductions  in  1990-2014 
(see  previous  EIR)  continued 
in  2014-2016,  with 
emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) decreasing by 4.62 %, 
fine  particulate  matter  PM2.5  by  0.42 %  and  sulphur 
(SOx)  by  6.92 %.  Meanwhile,  emissions  of 
oxides 
ammonia  (NH3)  increased  by  1.78 %  and  emissions  of 
volatile  organic  compounds  (NMVOCs)  by  1.69 %  (see 
also  Figure  13  on  total  PM2.5  and  NOx  emissions  per 
sector). 

Despite  these  reductions,  additional  efforts  are  needed 
to meet the emission reduction commitments (compared 
with 2005 emission levels) laid down in the new National 
Emissions Ceilings Directive59 for the period 2020 to 2029 
and any year from 2030. 

57 European Commission, 2016. Air Quality Standards. 
58 See EIONET Central Data Repository and Air pollutant emissions data 
viewer (NEC Directive). 
59 Directive (EU) 2016/2284. 

16 

The 2017 EIR detailed health-related external costs from 
air pollution. Air quality in Austria continues to give cause 
for  concern.  For  2015,  the  EEA  estimated  that  about 
5 900  premature  deaths  were  attributable  to  fine 
particulate  matter60  concentrations,  380  to  ozone61 
to  nitrogen  dioxide62 
concentration 
concentrations63.  
Figure 13: PM2.5 and NOx emissions by sector in Austria64  

and  1 200 

According to the European Court of Auditors (ECA)65, EU 
action to protect human health from air pollution has not 
delivered  its  expected  impact.  There  is  a  risk  that  air 
pollution  is  being  underestimated  in  some  instances 
because  it  may  not  always  be  monitored  in  the  right 
places.  Member  States  are  now  required  to  report  both 
real-time  and  validated  air  quality  data 
the 
Commission66. 

to 

For 2016, the daily target values for ozone and those for 
benzo(a)pyrene  were  exceeded  in  several  air  quality 
zones67.  For  2017,  exceedances  related  to  the  annual 

60 Particulate matter (PM) is a mixture of aerosol particles (solid and 
liquid) covering a wide range of sizes and chemical compositions. PM10 
(PM2.5) refers to particles with a diameter of 10 (2.5) micrometres or 
less. PM is emitted from many human sources, including both 
combustion and non-combustion sources. 
61 Low-level ozone is produced by photochemical action on pollution. 
62 NOx is emitted during fuel combustion, e.g. from industrial facilities 
and the road transport sector. It is a group of gases comprising nitrogen 
monoxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). 
63 EEA, Air quality in Europe – 2017 report. See details in this report as 
regards the underpinning methodology. 
64 2016 NECD data submittes by Member State to the EEA. 
65 European Court of Auditors, Special report no 23/2018, Air pollution: 
Our health still insufficiently protected, p.41. 
66 Article 5 of Commission Implementing Decision 2011/850/EU 
(OJ L 335, 17.12.2011, p. 86) requires Member States to provide 
up-to-date data. 
67 EEA, EIONET Central Data Repository. 

 
 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 — Austria 

limit value for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in 7 (out of 11) air 
quality  zones  (including  in  Salzburg,  Linz,  and  Vienna). 
Exceedances  have  also  been  registered  related  to 
particulate  matter  (PM10)  in  1  air  quality  zone  (Graz). 
Furthermore,  the  target  values  regarding  ozone  and 
benzo(a)pyrene  concentrations  are  not  being  met  in 
some instances.. See also Figure 14 on the number of air 
quality  zones  with  excessive  levels  of  NO2,  PM2.5,  and 
PM10.  

The Commission is following up persistent breaches of air 
quality  requirements  (for  NO2),  which  have  severe 
negative effects on health and the environment, through 
infringement  procedures  against  all  the  Member  States 
concerned, including Austria. The aim is to have suitable 
measures put in place to bring all zones into compliance. 

Figure  14:  Air  quality  zones  exceeding  EU  air  quality 
standards in 2017 68 

and PM10) emissions and concentrations by reducing 
emissions  from  energy  production  and  from  heat 
generation  using  solid  fuels.  It  will  also  require  the 
promotion of efficient and clean district heating. 

Industrial emissions 

The  main objectives of EU policy on industrial  emissions 
are to: 
(i) protect air, water and soil; 
(ii) prevent and manage waste; 
(iii) improve energy and resource efficiency; and  
(iv) clean up contaminated sites.  
To  achieve  this,  the  EU  takes  an  integrated  approach  to 
the  prevention  and  control  of  routine  and  accidental 
industrial emissions. The cornerstone of the policy is the 
Industrial Emissions Directive69 (IED). 

The  below  overview  of  industrial  activities  regulated  by 
the  IED  is  based  on  the  ‘industrial  emissions  policy 
country profiles’ project70. 

Figure 15: Number of IED industrial installations by 
sector, Austria (2015)71 

The  tax  system  can  be  used  as  an  environmental  policy 
tool  while  also  generating  revenue:  further  alignment 
and equal treatment of transport fuels (e.g. diesel) would 
lead  to  environmental  improvements  and  incentives  to 
reduce NO2 pollution.  

2019 priority actions 

 

Take,  in  the  context  of  the  National  Air  Pollution 
Control  Programme 
towards 
reducing the main emission sources - and meet all air 
quality standards. 

(NAPCP),  actions 

  Reduce  ammonia  (NH3)  emissions  to  comply  with 
currently  applicable  national  emission  ceilings,  for 
example by introducing or expanding the use of low-
emission agricultural techniques. 

  Accelerate  reductions 

in  nitrogen  oxide 

(NOx) 
emissions and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations 
by further reducing transport emissions, in particular 
in urban areas. It may also require proportionate and 
targeted restrictions on vehicle access to urban areas 
and/or fiscal incentives. 

  Accelerate  reductions  in  particulate  matter  (PM2.5 

68 EEA, EIONET Central Data Repository. Data reflects the reporting 
situation as of 26 November 2018. 

17 

industrial 

In  Austria,  around  665 
installations  are 
required  to  have  a  permit  under  the  IED.  The  industrial 
sectors  with  the  most  IED  installations  in  2015  were 
non-hazardous  waste  management  (27 %  of  the  total), 
chemicals 
(7.3 %), 
hazardous waste management (6.8 %), surface treatment 
of metals and plastic (6.8 %) and energy/power (6.5 %). 

(9.8 %),  minerals 

(16 %),  metals 

69 Directive 2010/75/EU covers industrial activities carried out above 
certain thresholds. It covers energy industry, metal production, mineral 
and chemical industry and waste management, as well as a wide range 
of industrial and agricultural sectors (e.g. intensive rearing of pig and 
poultry, pulp and paper production, painting and cleaning). 
70 European Commission, Industrial emissions policy country profile – 
Austria. 
71 European Commission, Industrial emissions policy country profile – 
Austria. 

 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 — Austria 

The  sectors  contributing  most  to  emissions  to  air  (see 
Figure 16) are:  

  energy/power  for  sulphur  oxides  (SOx),  nitrogen 
oxides (NOx), heavy metals (cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), 
mercury (Hg)); 

  energy-refining and coke for Cd; 

 

 

iron  and  steel  production  for  heavy  metals  (Cd,  Pb 
and Hg); and  

‘other  activities’  –  in  particular,  coating  applications 
for NMVOCs and manure management from intensive 
poultry and pig rearing for NH3.  

Figure  16  :  Emissions  to  air  from  IED  sectors  and  all 
other national total air emissions, Austria (2015) 

The  metals,  energy/power,  chemicals  sectors  and  ‘other 
activities’ cause significant emissions to water, while the 
metals, chemicals and waste management sectors mainly 
contribute to hazardous waste generation.  

The enforcement approach under the IED creates strong 
rights  for  citizens  to  access  relevant  information  and 
participate  in  the  licensing  process  for  IED  installations. 
This  empowers  NGOs  and  the  general  public  to  ensure 
that  permits  are  granted  as  appropriate  and  their 
conditions respected.  

Best available techniques (BAT) reference documents and 
BAT conclusions are developed through the exchange of 
information  between  Member 
industrial 
associations,  NGOs  and  the  Commission.  This  ensures  a 
good  collaboration  with  stakeholders  and  a  better 
application of the IED rules. 

States, 

Thanks  to  the  national  competent  authorities’  efforts  to 
apply the legally binding BAT conclusions and associated 
BAT  emission  levels  in  environmental  permits,  pollution 
has decreased considerably and continuously in the EU.  

For  example,  by  applying  the  recently  adopted  BAT 
emission levels for large combustion plants, emissions of 
sulphur dioxide will be cut  on average by between 25 % 
and  81 %,  nitrogen  oxide  between  8 %  and  56 %,  dust 

18 

between 31 % and 78 % and mercury between 19 % and 
71 % at the EU level. The extent of the reduction depends 
on the situation in individual plants. 

2019 priority action 

  Review  permits  and 

strengthen  control  and 
to  ensure  compliance  with  BAT 

enforcement 
conclusions. 

Noise 
The  Environmental  Noise  Directive72  provides  for  a 
common  approach  to  avoiding,  preventing  and  reducing 
the harmful effects of exposure to environmental noise. 

Excessive noise from aircraft, railways and roads is one of 
the main causes of environmental health-related issues in 
the  EU73.  Based  on  a  limited  set  of  data74,  the  EEA 
calculated  in  2017  that  environmental  noise  causes  at 
least  500  premature  deaths  per  year  in  Austria  and  is 
responsible  for  around  2 800  hospital  admissions.  Noise 
also  disturbs  the  sleep  of  roughly  380 000  people  in 
Austria75. 

The  noise  mapping  for  the  previous  reporting  round 
(reference year 2011) is complete, as are the action plans 
(reference  year  2013).  Austria  has  reported  that  the 
noise  mapping  for  the  current  period,  for  2017,  is  also 
complete.  

These  instruments,  adopted  after  a  public  consultation 
had  been  carried  out,  should  include  the  measures  to 
keep noise low or reduce it.  

Water quality and management 

EU  legislation  and  policy  requires  that  the  impact  of 
pressures  on  transitional,  coastal  and  fresh  waters 
(including  surface  and  ground  waters)  be  significantly 
reduced.  Achieving,  maintaining  or  enhancing  a  good 
status  of  water  bodies  as  defined  by  the  Water 
Framework Directive will ensure that EU citizens benefit 
from good quality and safe drinking and bathing water. It 
will  further  ensure  that  the  nutrient  cycle  (nitrogen  and 
phosphorus)  is  managed  in  a  more  sustainable  and 
resource-efficient way. 

legislation76  puts  in  place  a 
The  existing  EU  water 
protective  framework  to  ensure  high  standards  for  all 

72 Directive 2002/49/EC. 
73 WHO/JRC, 2011, Burden of disease from environmental noise, 
Fritschi, L., Brown, A.L., Kim, R., Schwela, D., Kephalopoulos, S. (eds), 
World Health Organisation, Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, 
Denmark. 
74 EEA, Noise fact sheets 2017. 
75 European Environment Agency, Noise Fact Sheets 2017. - Austria 
76 This includes the Bathing Waters Directive (2006/7/EC), the Urban 
Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) (on discharges of 

 
                                                                 
 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 — Austria 

water  bodies  in  the  EU  and  addresses  specific  pollution 
sources  (for  example,  from  agriculture,  urban  areas  and 
industrial  activities).  It  also  requires  that  the  projected 
into  the 
impacts  of  climate  change  are 
risk 
corresponding  planning 
management  plans  and  river  basin  management  plans, 
including  programme  of  measures  which  include  the 
actions  that  Member  States  plan  to  take  in  order  to 
achieve the environmental objectives. 

instruments  e.g. flood 

integrated 

Water Framework Directive 

Austria  has  adopted  and  reported  its  second  generation 
of  river  basin  management  plans  (RBMP)  under  the 
Water  Framework  Directive,  which  have  subsquently 
been assessed by the European Commission. 

The most significant pressure on Austrian surface water 
bodies  is  atmospheric  deposition  (affecting  all  water 
bodies), followed by dams, barriers and locks (27 %). For 
groundwater  bodies 
the  most  significant  known 
pressures are agriculture.  

Chemical  pollution  is  the  most  significant  impact  on 
surface  water  bodies  (affecting  100%  of  surface  water 
bodies), 
to 
morphological changes (43%). 

followed  by  altered  habitats  due 

A  significantly  higher  number  of  rivers  are  now 
monitored for ecological status in surface water bodies. 
The  ecological  status  or  potential  of  Austrian  water  is 
generally above EU-average, especially as regards lakes 
although  the  share  of  lakes  with  good  or  high  quality 
has fallen from 95% to 89 %. As regards rivers, there is a 
slight  improvement  as  illustrated  in  figure  17.  Many  of 
the changes in ecological status or potential at the water 
body  level  were  reported  to  be  due  to  a  significant 
change in monitoring (sites, methodology). 

The  major  challenges 
facing  Austrian  waters  are 
pressures resulting from changes to the physical shape of 
water  bodies,  mainly  as  a  result  of  hydropower  and 
efforts to regulate water flow.  

None  of  the  water  bodies  has  good  chemical  status 
anymore.  The  reason  for  this  deterioration 
is  that 
mercury  was  assessed  in  biota  in  the  second  RBMP, 
which, however, reflects a more accurate assessment. All 
groundwater bodies have good quantitative status.  

improvements 

Reported 
in  the  second  RBMPs  are 
modest.  Notably,  no  improvements  are  expected  for 
atmospheric deposition and mercury. The programmes of 
measures  address  the  majority  of  pressures,  although 

gap  analyses  have  only  been  carried  out  for  2015  and 
2021.  

Figure 17: Ecological status or potential of surface water 
bodies in Austria77 

Furthermore,  the  budget  for  programmes  of  measures 
has  been  reduced  considerably  compared  to  the  first 
RBMP. Sufficient funding is a critical factor of success for 
implementation of the programme of measures.  

Austria  has  used  LIFE  funding  very  well  for  river 
(renaturation)  projects.  For  example, 
the  Untere 
March-Auen  project  (restoration  of  the  Lower  Morava 
floodplains  to  near-natural  river  dynamics  and  new 
land-use  practices).  The  LIFE+  Traisen 
(floodplain 
restoration) project aims to replenish the lively floodplain 
habitats  of  the  River  Traisen  between  Traismauer  and 
Zwentendorf. The LIFE Lech project aims to conserve the 
natural  dynamics  of  the  River  Lech  system  and 
surrounding 
its 
characteristic habitats and species. 

landscapes,  along  with 

riparian 

Nitrates Directive 

To implement the Nitrates Directive, Austria has decided 
to  apply  the  nitrates  action  programme  on  its  whole 
territory.  A  revised  nitrates  action  programme  entered 
into  force  in  2018  introducing  stronger  measures  in 
designated  areas.  As  regards  nitrate  concentrations  in 
groundwater,  the  slight  improvement  observed  in  2008-
2011  was  confirmed  in  2012-2015.  However,  trends  in 
terms  of  nutrients  surplus,  the  nitrate  concentration  in 
groundwater  in  the  agriculture-intensive  north-east  of 

municipal and some industrial wastewaters), the Drinking Water 
Directive (98/83/EC) (on potable water quality), the Water Framework 
Directive (2000/60/EC) (on water resources management), the Nitrates 
Directive (91/676/EEC) and the Floods Directive (2007/60/EC). 

77 EEA, WISE dashboard. 

19 

                                                                                                        
 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 — Austria 

Austria  and  eutrophication  in  inland  waters,  show  the 
need for further improvements78. 

Austria  has  adopted  and  reported  its  first  flood  risk 
management plans under the Directive.  

In  2017,  the  Commission  emphasised  to  Member  States 
that  both  water  and  agriculture  legislation  must  ensure 
the  long-term  goal  of  making  EU  agriculture  sustainable 
while  securing  the  good  status  of  water  bodies,  as 
defined by the Water Framework Directive79. 

Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive 

Austria  has  excellent  compliance  rates  on  urban 
wastewater treatment80. 

Bathing Water Directive 

Similarly,  Austria’s  record  on  bathing  water  is  excellent 
(see Figure 18). Of its 263 bathing waters, 95.1 % were of 
excellent  quality,  3.8 %  of  good  quality  and  0.8 %  of 
sufficient quality. In 2017, it had no bathing water of poor 
quality81.  Detailed 
information  on  Austrian  bathing 
waters  is  available  via  a  national  portal82  and  an  EEA 
interactive map viewer83. 
Figure 18: Bathing water quality, 2014–201784 

Floods Directive  

The  Floods  Directive  established  a  framework  for  the 
assessment and management of flood risks, aiming at the 
reduction  of  the  adverse  consequences  associated  with 
significant floods. 

78 European Commission, Report on the implementation of Council 
Directive 91/676/EEC concerning the protection of waters against 
pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources based on Member 
State reports for the period 2012–2015 (COM(2018) 257) and staff 
working document SWD(2018) 246. 
79 SWD(2017) 153, p. 3. 
80 COM(2016) 105 and SWD(2016) 45. 
81 EEA (2017), European bathing water quality in 2016, p. 17. 
82 Bathing waters national portal.  
83 EEA, State of bathing waters. 
84 EEA, European bathing water quality in 2017, 2018, p. 21. 

20 

In  its  assessment  the  European  Commission  found  that 
good efforts were made in setting objectives and devising 
focusing  on  prevention,  protection  and 
measures 
preparedness. But Austria’s flood risk management plans, 
as  those  of  other  Member  States,  do  not  yet  include 
concrete  enough  and  clearly  prioritised  measures  linked 
the  set  objectives.  The  cost  estimation  and 
to 
identification  of  specific  sources  of  funding  is  not  fully 
complete.  In  addition,  there  is  scope  for  developing  a 
more detailed methodology for assessing the overall cost 
effectiveness of measures. 

2019 priority actions 

 

 

 

Ensure  timely  adoption  of  the  third  river  basin 
management  plans  in  accordance  with  the  Water 
Framework Directive. 
Ensure  that  water  pollution,  by  agriculture  among 
other  sectors,  is  effectively  addressed  under  the 
Nitrates Directive.  
Take steps to develop a more detailed methodology 
for  assessing  the  overall  cost  effectiveness  of 
measures in relation to the floods risk  management 
plans. 

Chemicals 

The  EU  seeks  to  ensure  that  by  2020  chemicals  are 
produced and used in ways that minimise any significant 
adverse  effects  on  human  health  and  the  environment. 
An  EU  strategy  for  a  non-toxic  environment  that  is 
conducive  to  innovation  and  to  developing  sustainable 
is  being 
substitutes, 
prepared. 

including  non-chemical  options, 

legislation85  provides  baseline 
The  EU’s  chemicals 
protection for human health and the environment. It also 
ensures  stability  and  predictability 
for  businesses 
operating within the internal market. 

(ECHA) 
In  2016,  the  European  Chemicals  Agency 
published  a  report  on  REACH  and  the  CLP  Regulation86 
that showed that enforcement activities are still evolving. 
Member  States  cooperate  closely  within  the  Forum  for 
Exchange of Information on Enforcement87. This dialogue 
has  shown  that  there 
increase  the 
effectiveness  of  enforcement  activities,  particularly  for 

is  scope  to 

85 Principally for chemicals: REACH (OJ L 396, 30.12.2006, p.1.); for 
Classification, Labelling and Packaging, the CLP Regulation (: OJ L 252, 
31.12.2006, p.1.), together with legislation on biocidal products and 
plant protection products. 
86 European Chemicals Agency, 2016 report on the operation of REACH 
and CLP. 
87 ECHA, On the basis of the projects REF-1, REF-2 and REF-3. 

 
                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 — Austria 

registration obligations and safety data sheets where the 
level of non-compliance is still relatively high.  

While progress has been made, there is room to further 
improve and harmonise enforcement activities across the 
EU,  including  controls  on  imported  goods.  Enforcement 
remains  weak  in  some  Member  States,  particularly  for 
controls  on  imports  and  supply  chain  obligations.  The 
enforcement  architecture 
in  most  EU 
countries and enforcement projects reveal differences in 
compliance between Member States. 

is  complex 

A  2015  Commission  study  already  emphasised  the 
importance  of  harmonised  market  surveillance  and 
enforcement  when  implementing  REACH  at  Member 
State  level,  deeming  it  to  be  a  critical  success  factor  in 
the operation of a harmonised single market88.  

In March 2018, the Commission published an evaluation 
of  REACH89.  The  evaluation  concludes  that  REACH 
delivers  on  its  objectives,  but  that  progress  made  is 
slower  than  anticipated.  In  addition,  the  registration 
dossiers often are incomplete. The evaluation underlines 
the need to enhance enforcement by all actors, including 
registrants,  downstream  users  and 
in  particular  for 
importers,  to  ensure  a  level  playing  field,  meet  the 
objectives  of  REACH  and  ensure  consistency  with  the 
actions envisaged to improve environmental compliance 
and  governance.  Consistent  reporting  of  Member  State 
enforcement  activities  was  considered  important  in  that 
respect. 

In  Austria,  the  governors  of  the  nine  Länder  are 
responsible  for  enforcing  chemicals  legislation,  acting 
indirectly  for  the  federal  administration  under  the 
supreme  authority  of  the  the  Federal  Ministry  for 
Sustainability  and  Tourism.  The  enforcement  authorities 
and  inspectors  are  located  in  the  Länder  government 
services90.  Each  Land  has  at  least  one  inspection  organ 
and  one  (at  least  part-time)  legal  expert  available  for 
cases 
enforcement 
(companies,  branches,  products),  on  which 
the 
enforcement  authorities 
their  activities  and 
measures, are selected on a regular basis. The competent 
authority  cooperates  with  a  number  of  institutions  to 
raise awareness. The Austrian Economic Chamber (WKO) 
and  the  Austrian  Chemical  Industry  Federation  (FCIO) 
plays  an  active  role  in  informing  companies  and  helping 
them to meet their REACH and CLP obligations91. 

inspection 

activities. 

Special 

focus 

In  November  2018,  Austria  organised  a  stock-taking 
event  on  the  implementation  of  ECHA’s  substitution 

strategy,  which  aims  to  encourage  the  replacement  of 
harmful  chemicals  by  boosting  the  availability  and 
adoption of safer alternatives and technologies. 

Making cities more sustainable  

EU policy on the urban environment encourages cities to 
put  policies  in  place  for  sustainable  urban  planning  and 
design.  These  should  include  innovative  approaches  to 
sustainable 
urban  public 
buildings,  energy  efficiency  and  urban  biodiversity 
conservation. 

transport  and  mobility, 

Europe  can  be  seen  as  a  union  of  cities  and  towns. 
Around  75 %  of  the  EU  population  live  in  urban  areas92 
and  this  figure  is  projected  to  rise  to  just  over  80%  by 
205093.  Urban  areas  pose  particular  challenges  for  the 
environment  and  human  health,  but  they  also  provide 
opportunities for using resources more efficiently. The EU 
encourages  municipalities  to  become  greener  through 
initiatives  such  as  the  Green  Capital  Award94,  the  Green 
Leaf Award95 and the Green City Tool96. 

Financing greener cities 

Austria  has  assigned  EUR 26.8 million,  or  5 %  of  its 
allocation  under  the  European  Regional  Development 
Fund (ERDF), for sustainable urban development (Vienna 
and  Upper  Austria)  to  help  resolve  use  conflicts  in  cities 
and urban areas. Support will be given to measures such 
sustainable  mobility 
as  CO2 
strategies, 
integrated  sustainable  development  and 
efficient use of resources. 

reduction  strategies, 

Austria participates in the European Urban Development 
Network97,  which  includes  more  than  500  cities  across 
the EU responsible for taking integrated action based on 
sustainable  urban  development  strategies  financed  by 
the ERDF in 2014-2020. 

Participation in EU urban initiatives and networks 

Austrian  municipalities  are  actively 
environment protection and climate change initiatives.  

involved 

in  EU 

Six  Austrian  municipalities  are  take  part  in  the  URBACT 
initiative  to  support  sustainable  urban  development 
through  nine  different  thematic  networks98.  Austrian 
cities  lead  three  of  the  networks  currently.  The  city  of 
Weiz  is  the  lead  partner  of  the  Active  Travel  Network, 
which  aims  to  tackle  transport  problems  caused  by  solo 
car  use  in  small/medium-sized  cities  by  encouraging 

88 European Commission, Monitoring the Impacts of REACH on 
Innovation, Competitiveness and SMEs, Final Report, 2015. 
89 COM(2018) 116. 
90 ECHA, National Inspectorates – Austria. 
91 European Commission, Member States Reporting under REACH art. 
117 / CLP art.46. 

93 European Commission, Eurostat, Urban Europe, 2016, p.9. 
93 European Commission, Eurostat, Urban Europe, 2016, p.9. 
94 European Commission, European Green Capital. 
95 European Commission, European Green Leaf Award.  
96 European Commission, Green City Tool. 
97 European Commission, The Urban Development Network.  
98 URBACT, Associated networks by country.  

21 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 — Austria 

walking/cycling.  Graz  led  the  CityRegion.Net  project  on 
integrated  city  planning  to  identify  best  practices  for 
improving  multilevel  governance  and  counteracting 
urban sprawl.  

Several Horizon 2020 network projects have contributed 
to  the  sustainability  of  Austrian  cities.  For  example,  the 
CIVITAS  network,  of  which  several  Austrian  cities 
(Friesach,  Graz,  Klagenfurt,  Krems,  Leoben,  Villach)  are 
members,  is  committed  to  introducing  an  ambitious, 
sustainable urban transport policy. 
The EU-funded STREFOWA project99 is raising awareness 
of the need for better food waste management practices 
along the supply chain, including among consumers, local 
authorities,  restaurants,  retailers,  teachers  and  waste 
facilities. Lower Austria, Tyrol and Vienna are part of this 
initiative. 

Austrian cities are also actively involved in initiatives such 
as  Eurocities  and  the  EU  Covenant  of  Mayors.  In  all,  26 
Austrian  cities  were  signed  up  to  the  latter  in  June 
2018100. 

These urban initiatives and networks may contribute to a 
better  urban  environment.  In  2017,  15.8 %  of  Austrian 
city-dwellers said the area where they lived was affected 
by  pollution,  grime  or  other  environmental  problems 
(16 %  in  2016  and  16.2 %  in  2015).  These  figures  are 
below  the  EU-28  average  (20 %  in  2017,  18.9 %  in  2016 
and 19.2 % in 2015)101. 

Figure 19: Proportion of Natura 2000 network in 
Functional Urban Areas (FUA)102 

Nature and cities 

More than 24 % of the Natura 2000 network in Austria is 
to  be  found  in  functional  urban  areas103,  well  above  the 
EU average of 15 % (see Figure 19). This represents huge 
potential,  as  cities  can  and  must  play  a  stronger  role  in 
the  management  of  vulnerable  ecosystems  and 

99 STREFOWA project. 
100 Covenant of Mayors. 
101 European Commission, Eurostat, Pollution, grime or other 
environmental problems by degree of urbanisation. 
102 European Commission, the 7th Report on Economic, Social and 
Territorial Cohesion, 2017, p. 121. 
103 European Commission, Definition of Functional Urban Areas. 

22 

biodiversity. 

In (high-density) urban areas, green spaces are important 
for  recreation  and  ecological  compensation.  Austria’s 
Biodiversity Strategy includes targets  for more grassland 
in urban areas, abandoned buildings and the provision of 
features  that  promote  biodiversity  in  newly  established 
green areas. 

As  part  of  its  updated  urban  development  plan  (STEP 
2025)104,  Vienna  has  a  detailed  programme 
for 
developing GI and open spaces. By building a network of 
high-quality  green  and  open  spaces,  it  aims  to  ensure 
that inhabitants are never more than 250 m away from a 
green space. The plan also covers innovative approaches 
to  greening  densely  populated  areas,  including  façade 
greening  –  measures  also 
for  climate 
adaptation. 

important 

Grünes  Netz  Graz  is  a  green  network  within  and  around 
the  city  of  Graz  with  multiple  functions:  ecological  and 
climate  and  air  quality  regulating  functions,  green  along 
roads, bike and walking routes, recreation and a safe and 
comfortable route to recreation areas, and aesthetic and 
identity  functions105.  Some  measures  have  also  received 
EU 
Graz, 
Funds 
Stadtbaudirektion, 2006).  

Structural 

support 

(Stadt 

Urban sprawl 

Austria  had  a  weighted  urban  proliferation  (WUP)  of 
1.70 UPU/m2 in 2009, compared to a European (EU-28+4) 
average  of  1.64 UPU/m2;  this  represents  an  increase  of 
5 % from 2006-2009106107. 

Traffic congestion and urban mobility 

The  total  number  of  cars  in  Austria  keeps  growing, 
reaching  4.9 million  in  2017,  i.e. 555  vehicles  per  1 000 
inhabitants  on  average,  up  from  547  in  2014.  However, 
there are large regional variations. In Vienna, the rate is 
371 per 1 000 inhabitants108 (now the lowest in Austria), 
thanks to the excellent public transport system.  

This  development  has  translated  into  a  rise  in  the 
number of hours spent annually in road congestion, from 
27.03 per person in 2014 to 27.21 in 2016109.  

According  to  the  International  Association  of  Public 
Transport110,  public  transport  demand  in  Austria  has 

104 Stadt Wien, Step 2025.  
103 Stadt Graz, Grünes Netz Graz.106 Urban Permeation Units measure 
the size of the built-up area as well as its degree of dispersion 
throughout the region. 
106 Urban Permeation Units measure the size of the built-up area as well 
as its degree of dispersion throughout the region. 
107 EEA, Urban Sprawl in Europe, Annex I, 2014, pp.4-5. 
108 Statistik Austria, Kraftfahrzeuge - Bestand. 
109 European Commission, Hours spent in road congestion annually.  
110 International Association of Public Transport (UITP), Statistics brief 
on local public transport in the European Union, 2016. 

 
                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 — Austria 

grown  relatively  fast  since  2003,  by  over  2 %  per  year, 
surpassing the growth in the number of urban residents. 
As  a  result,  the  country  had  the  third  highest  level  of 
public  transport  demand  per  capita  in  2014,  after  the 
Czech Republic and Hungary. 

Among  the  main  challenges  observed  in  this  report,  air 
quality  (to  an  extent  related  to  traffic  congestion)  in 
particular requires priority action at local level.  

Innovative  traffic  management  solutions  are  being 
developed  and  tested.  An  example  from  Graz  (Styria)  is 
‘tim’, an innovative mobility model involving car sharing, 
car rental and e-taxis. All rental locations can be reached 
easily  by  bike  or  public  transport  in  order  to  ensure 
environment-friendly mobility. Once registered, users can 
rent  vehicles  by  the  hour.  Also,  private  e-cars  can  be 
charged  for  free  at  tim  locations.  In  2017,  tim  was 
awarded the state prize for mobility.  
Through  Mobilität  der  Zukunft111  (the  current  research 
programme  on  sustainable  transport),  EUR 15-20 million 
is  made  available  for  sustainable  mobility  each  year  to 
2020.  Urban  mobility  labs  are  being  set  up  to  test 
different urban mobilty solutions.  

The proportion of cars with alternative-fuelled engines is 
still  well below the EU average. Despite Austria’s efforts 
to  reduce  CO2  emissions,  transport  fuel  taxation  is  still 
comparatively 
low.  Austria  could  use  environmental 
taxes to encourage progress on reducing emmissions and 
improving  air  quality  and  Incentives  exist  for  electric 
vehicles,  but  those  for  other  alternative  fuels  could  be 
more systematic. 

111 Bundesministerium für Verkehr, Innovation und Technologie, 
Mobilität der Zukunft, 2012. 

23 

 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 — Austria 

Part II: Enabling framework: implementation tools 

4. Green taxation, green public procurement, environmental 
funding and investments 

rate  than  petrol  (EUR 397/1 000 l  vs  EUR 482/1 000 l)115, 
even  though  it  emits  more  air  pollutants,  in  particular 
NOx. Energy tax rates have remained unchanged in recent 
years,  which  weakens  their  environmental 
incentive 
effect. 

Figure  20:  Environmental  tax  revenues  as  %  of  GDP, 
2017116 

Green  taxation  and  environmentally  harmful 
subsidies 

incentives, 

Financial 
taxation  and  other  economic 
instruments  are  effective  and  efficient  ways  to  meet 
environmental  policy  objectives.  The  circular  economy 
action  plan  encourages  their  use.  Environmentally 
harmful  subsidies  are  monitored  in  the  context  of  the 
European  Semester  and  the  energy  union  governance 
process. 

Austria’s  revenue  from  environmentally  relevant  taxes 
remains  close  to  the  EU  average.  Environmental  taxes 
stood at 2.39 % of GDP in 2017 (EU-28 average: 2.4 %), as 
shown  in  Figure  20,  and  energy  taxes  at  1.5 %  of  GDP, 
against  an  EU  average  of  1.84 %.  In  the  same  year,  the 
environmental tax came to 5.64 % of total revenues from 
taxes and social security contributions (slightly below the 
EUaverage of 5.97 %). 

Labour tax continues to account for a high proportion of 
total  tax  revenues  in  Austria’s  taxation  structure;  it  was 
the  third  highest  in  the  EU  in  2016  (55.7 %)112.  The  tax 
burden  on  labour  was  also  the  third  highest  in  the  EU 
(41.2 %)113.  Consumption  taxes  remained  relatively  low 
(27.5 %),  pointing  to  considerable  potential  for  shifting 
taxes 
(in  particular, 
environmental) taxes.  

labour  to  consumption 

from 

In  2015,  Austria  enacted  a  comprehensive  reform  of  its 
tax  system,  mainly  to  reduce  the  tax  wedge  on  labour. 
However,  it  did  not  use  the  opportunity  to  overhaul  its 
environmental  taxes;  the  only  environment-related 
measures  were  an  increase  in  the  taxable  income  from 
the private use of company cars from 1.5 % to 2 % of the 
total acquisition cost of the car, and the introduction of a 
right  to  deduct  tax  for  CO2  emission-free  cars.  No 
measures  were  taken  to  reduce  the  preferential  tax 
treatment  of  diesel  fuel,  which  is  unjustified  from  the 
environmental point of view114. Diesel is taxed at a lower 

112 Eurostat, Shares of environmental and labour taxes in total tax 
revenues (sdg_17_50). 
113 European Commission, Taxation Trends in the European Union, 
2018. 
114 European Commission, based on Harding M., The diesel differential: 
differences in the tax treatment of gasoline and diesel for road use, 
OECD Taxation Working Papers, 2015, No. 21. 

Green public procurement  

The  EU  green  public  procurement  policies  encourage 
Member  States  to  take  further  steps  to  apply  green 
procurement  criteria  to  at  least  50 %  of  public  tenders. 
The European Commission is helping to increase the use 
of  public  procurement  as  a  strategic  tool  to  support 
environmental protection. 

115 European Commission (2018), Excise duty tables (situation as of 
1 January 2018). 
116 Eurostat, Environmental tax revenues, 2018. 

24 

 
 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 — Austria 

The purchasing power of public procurement amounts to 
around  EUR 1.8  trillion  in  the  EU  (approximately  14%  of 
GDP).  A  substantial  proportion  of  this  money  goes  to 
sectors  with  a  high  environmental 
impact  such  as 
construction  or  transport.  Therefore,  green  public 
procurement  (GPP)  can  help  to  significantly  lower  the 
negative  impact  of  public  spending  on  the  environment 
and  can  help  support  sustainable  innovative  businesses. 
The Commission has proposed EU GPP criteria117. 
Austria’s  national  action  plan  (NAP)  for  GPP118  requires 
the Federal Procurement Agency, by instruction from the 
Ministry  of  Finance, 
implement  national  GPP 
requirements  for  14  products  for  which  criteria  were 
established.  

to 

requirements 

for  minimum 

In  addition,  the  Länder  passed  a  resolution  in  2016 
recommending that the GPP  criteria  in the NAP be used 
for  all 
as  a  basis 
municipalities  and  provinces.  In  Vorarlberg,  Tyrol  and 
Lower  Austria,  local  public  procurers  have  access  to  a 
procurement  service to bundle procurements and foster 
sustainability (nachhaltiges Beschaffungsservice). 
A  specific  platform  including  a  helpdesk119  has  been 
established  to  facilitate  the  exchange  of  experience 
between  procurement  officers  at  different  levels  of 
government (federal, regional and local). 

A  European  Parliament  study  shows  that  Austria  has 
achieved  the  best  results  in  implementing  the  NAP120. 
Austria  is  among  the  most  advanced  Member  States  as 
regards  training  and  information,  cooperation,  product 
group  databases, 
tender  models  and  monitoring 
activities. However, it lacks a systematic approach when 
linking  procurement  and  the  circular 
it  comes  to 
economy.  

Environmental funding and investments 

European  Structural  and  Investment  Fund  (ESIF)  rules 
oblige  Member  States  to  promote  environment  and 
climate  in  their  funding  strategies  and  programmes  for 
rural 
economic, 
development and maritime policy. 

social  and 

territorial 

cohesion, 

117 In the Communication ‘Public procurement for a better 
environment’ (COM (2008) 400) the Commission recommended the 
creation of a process for setting common GPP criteria. The basic 
concept of GPP relies on having clear, verifiable, justifiable and 
ambitious environmental criteria for products and services, based on a 
life-cycle approach and scientific evidence base. 
118 Aktionsplan zur nachhaltigen öffentlichen Beschaffung, 2010.  
119 Ministry of Sustainability and Tourism, National GPP helpdesk. 
120 European Parliament, Green public procurement and the action plan 
for the circular economy, 2017, pp. 79-80. 

25 

Achieving  sustainability  involves  mobilising  public  and 
private  financing  sources121.  Use  of  the  European 
Structural  and  Investment  Funds  (ESIFs)122  is  essential  if 
countries  are  to  achieve  their  environmental  goals  and 
into  other  policy  areas.  Other 
integrate 
instruments such as Horizon 2020, the LIFE programme123 
and the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI)124 
may also support the implementation and spread of good 
practices. 

these 

According to the latest Eurobarometer on environmental 
attitudes,  86 %  of  Austrians  support  greater  EU 
investment  in  environmental  protection  (EU  average: 
85 %). 

European Structural and Investment Funds 2014-2020 

In  2014-2020,  Austria 
is  receiving  ESIF  funding  of 
EUR 4.9 billion125,  for  three  national  programmes  and  a 
common  regional programme. Of this, EUR 536.3 million 
(10.9 %)  is  from  the  ERDF,  EUR 3 938.0 million  (80.0 %) 
from 
for  Rural 
Development  (EAFRD),  EUR 7.0 million  (0.1 %)  from  the 
European  Maritime  and  Fisheries  Fund  (EMFF)  and 
EUR 442.1 million (9.0 %) from the European Social Fund 
(ESF). 

the  European  Agricultural  Fund 

through 

In total, EUR 1.2 billion is dedicated to thematic objective 
(TO) 6 – environment protection and resource efficiency 
the  EAFRD  programme; 
(EUR 1.24 billion 
EUR 4.9 million 
programme, 
In  addition, 
EUR 2.3 million 
EUR 214 million  is  earmarked  for  TO4  –  low  carbon 
economy (EAFRD, ERDF and EMFF) and EUR 1.2 billion for 
TO5  –  climate  change  adaptation  and  risk  prevention 
(EAFRD only). 

the  EMFF). 

through 

through 

ERDF 

Figure 21 shows the 2014-2020 ESIF budget allocation for 
Austria. 

Cohesion policy 

in  protecting  the 
EU  funds  are  a  key 
environment 
is  provided  for 
research  and  development  on  low-carbon  technologies, 

in  Austria126.  Funding 

instrument 

121 See, for example, Action plan on financing sustainable growth 
(COM(2018) 97).  
122 i.e. the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Cohesion 
Fund (CF), the European Social Fund (ESF), the European Agricultural 
Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the European Maritime and 
Fisheries Fund (EMFF). The ERDF, the CF and the ESF are referred to as 
the ‘cohesion policy funds’. 
123 European Commission, LIFE programme. 
124 European Investment Bank, European Fund for Strategic 
Investments, 2016. 
125 European Commission, ESIF country data for Austria. 
126 See Article 8 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013: ‘The objectives of the 
ESI Funds shall be pursued in line with the principle of sustainable 
development and with the Union's promotion of the aim of preserving, 
protecting and improving the quality of the environment, as set out in 
Article 11 and Article 191(1) TFEU, taking into account the polluter pays 
principle’. 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 — Austria 

increasing  energy  efficiency  and  the  use  of  renewable 
energies in enterprises, CO2 reduction strategies, as well 
as  sustainable  mobility  concepts.  There  is  also  support 
for sustainable urban (in  Vienna  and Upper Austria) and 
urban-rural development (in Styria), based on integrated, 
place-based 
looking  at  environmental, 
economic and social aspects. In Vienna, the Danube Rver 
Research  Management  Centre 
fostering  knowledge 
transfer between science and river management, will be 
supported with EUR 26 million EU funds.  

strategies 

It is too early to draw meaningful conclusions as regards 
the  use  of  ESIFs  and  results  for  2014-2020,  as  the 
still  being 
relevant  operational  programmes  are 
implemented.  

Figure  21:  ESIF  2014-2020  –  EU  allocation  by  theme, 
Austria (EUR billion)127 

In 2017, around 80% of farms (approx. 93 000) and 80% 
of  the  agricultural  area  (approx.  1.85  million  ha) 
participated in the agri-environmental programme ÖPUL, 
through  which  Austria  positioned  itself  as  one  of  the 
leading EU Member States. ÖPUL consists of 24 different 
measures  covering  the  following  rural  development 
measures:  (1)  agri-environment-climate  measure,  (2) 
organic  farming,  (3)  animal  welfare,  and  the  (4)  Natura 
2000 and Water Framework Directive.  

Austria has  elaborated and implemented  further actions 
to 
improve  the  design  and  effectiveness  of  the 
environmental  measures  (including  more  attention  to 
training, advice and cooperation). It should continue this 
approach  in  order  to  generate  the  best  environmental 
value  for  money  in  the  implementation  of  the  NRP  and 
make  it  fully  coherent  with  identified  environmental 
needs and the RDP strategy. 

Austria’s  direct  payments  envelope  for  2015-2020  is 
is 
EUR 4.15 billion,  30 %  of  which  (EUR 1.25 billion) 
allocated  to  greening  practices  beneficial 
for  the 
ambitious 
environment. 
implementation of first-pillar greening would clearly help 
to  improve  the  environmental  situation  in  areas  not 
covered  by  rural  development,  including  intensive  area, 
its 
and, 
implementation of this. 

appropriate,  Austria 

environmentally 

review 

could 

An 

if 

Rural development 

The  total  amount  for  the  approved  national  rural 
development  programme  (RDP)  is  EUR 3 937.6 million. 
Planned 
is 
(ecosystems) 
EUR 2 478 million, i.e. 63 % of the total EU envelope. 

spending  on  priority 4 

EUR 1 048 million, or 27 % of the budget, is dedicated to 
agri-environment-climate  measures.  EUR 398.5 million 
(10 %)  is  allocated  to  organic  farming  measures,  under 
Austria’s 
programme. 
EUR 874.4 million,  or  22.2  %  of  the  total  budget  is 
dedicated  to  payments  to  areas  facing  natural  or  other 
specific constraints. As a result, the RDP allocates a very 
large  part  of  the  total  budget  to  enhancing  natural 
resources and the environment.  

agri-environment 

European Maritime and Fisheries Fund 

Although  Austria  is  a  landlocked  country,  it  receives 
around  EUR 7 million  in  co-financing  from  the  EMFF128, 
mainly to improve aquaculture production. 

The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) 

The  CEF  is  a  key  EU  funding  instrument  developed 
specifically  to  direct 
investment  towards  European 
transport,  energy  and  digital  infrastructure  to  address 
identified  missing  links  and  bottlenecks  and  promote 
sustainability. 

By  the  end  of  2017,  Austria  had  signed  agreements  for 
EUR 755 million for projects under the CEF129. 

127 European Commission, ESIF data by country. 

128 European Commission, EMFF fact sheet - Austria. 

26 

 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 — Austria 

EUR 107 million,  of  which  EUR 38.5 million  has  come 
from the EU. 

Completed  projects  have  dealt  mainly  with  sustainable 
building, water, the sustainable use of demolition waste, 
air  quality,  noise  abatement,  wastewater  treatment  and 
the  reduction  of  GHGs  in  the  construction  sector.  There 
are two ongoing projects: 

  the  first,  carried  out  by  the  City  of  Vienna, 

is 
developing  strategies  to  reduce  the  vulnerability  of 
the  ‘Old  Danube’  (Alte  Donau)  to  the  effects  of 
climate change and anthropogenic pressures; and 

  the second seeks to demonstrate innovative building 
approaches  that  significantly  reduce  CO2  emissions 
and  contain  a  minimum  of  grey  energy  over  their 
entire lifecycle. 

The  ‘Demonstration  and  dissemination  of  climate  and 
environment-friendly 
renovation  and  building  with 
renewable  resources  and  ecological  materials’  (RENEW 
BUILDING)  project  successfully  demonstrated  that  the 
use of renewable and sustainable construction materials 
for  the  renovation  of  existing  buildings  can  lead  to 
impressive savings in terms of CO2 emissions and waste.  

To date, the LIFE ‘nature and biodiversity’ component has 
co-financed  50  projects  in  Austria.  These  represent  a 
total 
investment  of  EUR 186  million,  of  which 
EUR 88 million was contributed by the EU. 

Projects  have  focused  on  the  protection,  management 
and  restoration  of  habitats  and  species.  One  project 
specifically aimed to demonstrate possible ways to strike 
a  balance  between  ecological  improvement  and  water 
management  guidelines  in  the  River  Gail  area.  The  Gail 
water  development  project,  an  integrated  model  for 
Natura  2000  (LIFE+  Gail),  selected  three  pilot  stretches 
totalling 2 km of stream length along the Gail Valley and 
between  existing  flood  dykes,  to  demonstrate  the  best 
improvement.  The  project 
solutions 
contributed  to  nature-based 
flood  protection  and 
retained existing flood prevention dams. 

for  ecological 

There  are  10  ongoing  LIFE  Nature  projects  in  Austria. 
These aim inter alia to: 

 

 

improve and restore river habitats;  

improve the structural diversity of forests; and 

  restore sterlet populations in the Austrian Danube. 

There  is one ongoing biodiversity project, which  aims to 
reintroduce  the  critically  endangered  northern  bald  ibis 
into Europe and establish a pattern of migration that will 
ensure the survival of the species. 

Horizon 2020 

Austria  has  benefited  from  Horizon  2020  funding  since 
the programme started in 2014. As of January 2019, 956 
participants  have  been  granted  a  maximum  amount  of 
the  Societal 
for  projects 
EUR 311.2  million 
Challenges 
with 
work 
environmental issues130 131.  

programmes 

dealing 

from 

In  addition  to  the  abovementioned  work  programmes, 
climate and biodiversity expenditure is present across the 
entire  Horizon  2020.  In  Austria,  projects  accepted  for 
funding  in  all  Horizon  2020  working  programmes  until 
December  2018  included  EUR  319  million  destined  to 
climate  action  (28.7 %  of  the  total  Horizon  2020 
contribution  to  the  country)  and  EUR  29  million  for 
biodiversity-related  actions  (2.6 %  of  the  Horizon  2020 
contribution to the country)132. 

A  number  of  Horizon  2020  projects  in  Austria  (or  with 
Austrian  participation)  are  designed  to  have  positive 
environmental 
impacts.  For  example,  the  eCAIMAN 
project133 aims to develop a new high-voltage lithium-ion 
battery for electric vehicles and the CHEM21 project134 is 
exploring  environment-friendly  chemistry  processes  for 
drug manufacturing. 

LIFE programme 

Since the launch of the LIFE  programme in 1992, a  total 
of  110  projects  have  been  co-financed 
in  Austria, 
generating total investment of EUR 305 million, of which 
EUR 133  million  has  come  from  the  EU.  For  2014-2017, 
the  EU  allocated  EUR  16  million  to  Austrian  projects135, 
including  LIFE  Sterlet,  a  project  for  the  restoration  of 
in  the  Austrian  Danube,  with  a 
sterlet  populations 
requested EU contribution of over EUR 6 million136.  

To  date,  the  LIFE  priority  ‘environment  and  resource 
efficiency’,  which  is  aimed  at  developing,  testing  and 
demonstrating  best  practices,  solutions  and  integrated 
approaches to environmental challenges, has co-financed 
49 projects in Austria, representing a total investment of 

129 European Commission, European Semester Country Report for 
Austria, 2018, p. 14. 
130 European Commission own calculations based on CORDA (COmmon 
Research DAta Warehouse). A maximum grant amount is the maximum 
grant amount decided by the Commission. It normally corresponds to 
the requested grant, but it may be lower. 
131 i.e. (ii) Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine 
and maritime and inland water research and the bioeconomy; (iii) 
Secure, clean and efficient energy; (iv) Smart, green and integrated 
transport; and (v) Climate action, environment, resource efficiency and 
raw materials. 
132 European Commission own calculations based on CORDA (COmmon 
Research DAta Warehouse). 
133 eCAIMAN project. 
134 CHEM21 project. 
135 Commission services, based on data provided by EASME.  
136 European Commission, LIFE Sterlet. 

27 

                                                                                                        
 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 — Austria 

European Investment Bank 

National environmental financing 

In  2018  alone,  the  EIB  group  (the  European  Investment 
Bank  and  the  European  Investment  Fund)137  loaned 
Austrian  businesses  and  public 
institutions  EUR 1.25 
billion.  

Figure 22 shows that EUR 443.8 million (36 % of the total) 
was invested directly in environment-related projects. 
Figure 22: EIB loans to Austria in 2018138 

spent 

Austria 
environmental 
EUR 1.41 billion  on 
protection in 2016, an increase of 21 % from 2015140. Of 
this: 

  12.4 % was allocated to waste management activities 

(EU average: 49.7 %); 

  EUR 404.2 million (28.6 % of the total) to wastewater 

management;  

  EUR 464.4 million (33 %) to pollution abatement; and 

  EUR  80.6  million  (5.7 %)  to  the  protection  of 

biodiversity and the landscape.  

Between 2012 and 2016, general government funding for 
environmental protection came to EUR 7.3 billion141. 

Since 1985, several programmes have been developed to 
finance projects connected to environmental protection.  

it  was  mentioned 

As 
in  the  water  quality  and 
management  section,  the  budget  for  programmes  of 
measures  has  been  reduced  considerably  compared  to 
the first river basin management plans. Sufficient funding 
is  essential  for  successful 
implementation  of  these 
programmes. The section on nature protection points to 
the  importance  of  green  infrastructure,  in  particular, 
protective  forests.  Although  green 
is 
integrated  in  several  policy  areas,  continued  investment 
is  necessary  given  their  essential  role  for  climate 
mitigation  and  adaptation,  and,  protection  against 
disasters and extreme weather events. 

infrastructure 

2019 priority actions 

 

 

to 

Secure  continuity,  effectiveness  and  appropriate 
funding  in  implementing  the  measures  needed  for 
the  timely  achievement  of  the  WFD  objectives. 
Particular  focus  should  be  devoted  to  measures 
the  significant  amount  of 
reduce 
aimed 
hydromorphological pressures.  
Ensure  adequate  funding  for  green  infrastructure,  , 
e.g.  through  effective  integration  within  priority 
action  frameworks  and  agri-environment  measures, 
public and private funding sources. 

Support is being given to a wind farm project in the small 
town  of  Bruck,  where  12  turbines  with  a  total  power  of 
36 MW produce clean energy for 27 000 households. This 
innovative cooperative project involves 52 local investors 
and has created about 20 jobs.  

The  latest  deal  is  financed  with  a  loan  backed  by  the 
for  Europe,  the  EIB-implemented 
Investment  Plan 
scheme intended to trigger EUR 315 billion in additional 
investment  over  three  years.  The  plan  allows  the  EIB  to 
make investments it might not have made in the past. In 
this case, it is able to take on a larger portion of the deal. 
‘This  is  the  first  Investment  Plan  project  that  we’ve 
financed  in  Austria,’  says  Melchior  Karigl,  a  renewable 
energy  expert  at  the  EIB.  ‘As 
it’s  a  clean  energy 
investment,  we  were  able  support  the  project  with  a 
higher amount of EIB financing – almost 75 % of the total 
project cost.’ 

European Fund for Strategic Investments 

The  EFSI  is  an  initiative  to  help  overcome  the  current 
investment  gap  in  the  EU.  By  January  2019,  it  had 
mobilised  over  EUR 1.4  billion  in  Austria,  which  was 
expected  to  trigger  secondary 
investment  of  over 
EUR 4.3 billion139. 

The  nine  approved  projects  account  for  EUR 822 million 
in EIB financing under the EFSI, EUR 40 million from ESIF 
support investments in resource efficiency measures and 
the same amount in the area for renewable energy. 

137 The EIB Group includes EIB and EFSI investments and loans. 
138 EIB, Austria and the EIB, 2018. 
139 European Investment Bank, EFSI project map. 

140 Eurostat, General government expenditure by function, 2018.  
141 Ibid. 

28 

 
                                                                 
 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 — Austria 

5. Strengthening environmental governance 

Information, public participation and access to 
justice 

Citizens  can  more  effectively  protect  the  environment  if 
they  can  rely  on  the  three  ‘pillars’  of  the  Aarhus 
Convention:  
(i) access to information;  
(ii) public participation in decision making; and  
(iii) access to justice in environmental matters.  

It is of crucial importance to public authorities, the public 
and  business  that  environmental  information  is  shared 
efficiently  and  effectively142.  Public  participation  allows 
authorities  to  make  decisions  that  take  public  concerns 
into account. Access to justice is a set of guarantees that 
allows  citizens  and  NGOs  to  use  national  courts  to 
protect the environment143. It includes the right to bring 
legal challenges (‘legal standing’)144. 

Environmental information  

The  country’s  environmental  information  can  be  found 
on  the  website  of  the  Ministry  of  Sustainability  and 
Tourism145,  which  holds  most  of  the  legal  information, 
reports and assessments. 

The  majority  of  the  data  and  services  are  available 
through the INSPIRE geoportal146, the national open data 
portal147  and  the  website  of  the  Austrian  environment 
agency148. Links between the Ministry’s site and the other 
portals are provided for some domains, especially water, 
while for other topics links are either hard to find or non-
existent.  The  open  data  portal  and  a  separate  INSPIRE 
geoportal are not properly linked with the EIS. There are 
links to some data services, but not for all environmental 
domains.  The  same 
is  the  case  for  historical  and 
monitoring  datasets.  INSPIRE  data  are  usually  available, 
but there is no link from the main portal. Some thematic 

142 The Aarhus Convention, the Access to Environmental Information 
Directive, 2003/4/EC and the INSPIRE Directive, 2007/2 together create 
a legal foundation for the sharing of environmental information 
between public authorities and with the public. This EIR focuses on 
INSPIRE. 
143 The guarantees are explained in Commission Notice on access to 
justice in environmental matters, OJL 275, 18.8.2017 and a related 
Citizen's Guide. 
144 This EIR looks at how well Member States explain access to justice 
rights to the public, and at legal standing and other major barriers to 
bringing cases on nature and air pollution. 
145 Bundesministerium für Nachhaltigkeit und Tourismus. 
146 INSPIRE Österreich. 
147 data.gv.at 
148 Umweltbundesamt. 

viewing  services are available, but  some are not  easy to 
find. Some data  are available for download on the main 
portal. While the site is largely accessible and there is an 
English  version  available,  only  part  of  the  content  has 
been translated. 

in 

implementing  the 

Austria’s  performance 
INSPIRE 
Directive is good. It has been reviewed on the basis of its 
2016  implementation  report149  and  most  recent  (2017) 
monitoring  data150.  However,  additional  efforts  are 
needed  to  prioritise  environmental  datasets 
in  the 
identified  as 
implementation, 
high-value  spatial  datasets  for  the  implementation  of 
environmental legislation151. 

in  particular 

those 

Figure  23:  Access  to  spatial  data  through  view  and 
download services in Austria (2017) 

Public participation  

Austria  has  implemented  the  Aarhus  Convention  and 
related  European  legislation  to  allow  for  environmental 
impact  and  strategic  environmental  assessment.  As 
regards EIA, the procedures allow for public participation 
in two stages: 

  when  a  project  and  the  environmental 

impact 

assessment report is announced; and  

  after the environmental impact assessment expertise 

by the authority has been issued. 

Austria  has  issued  standards  and  guidelines  for  public 
participation. Also, efforts have been made to modernise 

149 INSPIRE country sheet - Austria, 2017. 
150 INSPIRE monitoring dashboard. 
151 European Commission, 2016.5 Priority list of data sets for 
eReporting. 

29 

 
 
 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 — Austria 

administration  –  also  via  e-government,  e-participation 
and  citizen-service  facilities,  e.g. through  a  website152 
that  provides  information  on  participation  in  Austria. 
Hence, it is not surprising that the Eurobarometer figures 
from  2017  show  that  many  respondents  (83 %)  agree 
that 
in  protecting  the 
environment.  This  is  an  improvement  compared  with 
2014.  Austria’s  single  portal  providing  information  on 
standards and procedures for public participation, and an 
initiative  on  e-participation  can  be  considered  a  good 
practice. 

individuals  can  play  a  role 

Access to justice  

There  is  no  website  information  on  access  to  justice  at 
the  Länder  level  whereas  at  federal  level,  a  number  of 
websites  provide  partial  information153.  However,  there 
is no information on how to bring legal challenges in the 
context of nature and air pollution cases. 

in  autumn  2018, 

Access to justice has traditionally been very restrictive in 
Austria.  However, 
the  Austrian 
Parliament (National and Federal Council) passed the so- 
called  “Aarhus-Beteiligungsgesetz  2018”  which  aims  to 
improve  access  to  justice  in  environmental  matters  for 
environmental  NGOs  and  individuals  in  the  areas  of 
waste, water and air quality154. A few Länder have started 
preparations  for  draft 
laws  amending  their  nature 
protection rules. 

Prior  to  this,  the  Austrian  courts  have  recognised 
individuals’ and NGOs’ right to bring legal challenges with 
regard  to  air  pollution155  and  Austrian  case-law  appears 
in  nature  cases156.  The 
to  support  NGOs’  standing 
willingness  of  Austrian  courts  to  uphold  Court  of  Justice 
case-law  on  legal  standing  in  air  pollution  and  nature 
cases is a good practice example.  

2019 priority actions 

 

Improve  access  to  spatial  data  and  services  by 
making  stronger 
federal 
INSPIRE  website  and  regional  portals,  identify  and 
document  all  spatial  datasets  required  for  the 

linkages  between  the 

implementation  of  environmental  law157,  and  make 
the data and documentation at least accessible ‘as is’ 
to  other  public  authorities  and  the  public  through 
the  digital  services  provided  for  in  the  INSPIRE 
Directive. 

  Better inform the public about their access to justice 
rights,  especially  in  relation  to  air  pollution  and 
nature. 

Compliance assurance  

to  ensure 

Environmental compliance assurance covers all the work 
undertaken  by  public  authorities 
that 
industries,  farmers  and  others  fulfil  their  obligations  to 
protect  water,  air  and  nature,  and  manage  waste158.  It 
includes  support  measures  provided  by  the  authorities, 
such as:  
(i) compliance promotion159;  
(ii) inspections and other checks that they carry out, i.e. 
compliance monitoring160; and  
(iii)  the  steps  that  they  take  to  stop  breaches,  impose 
sanctions  and  require  damage  to  be  remedied,  i.e. 
enforcement161.  
Citizen  science  and  complaints  enable  authorities  to 
liability162 
focus  their  efforts  better.  Environmental 
ensures that the polluter pays to remedy any damage. 

Compliance promotion and monitoring  

is  an 

information 

implementation  gaps.  The  Ministry 

Online information is given to farmers on how to comply 
with  obligations  on  nitrates  and  nature.  The  quality  of 
this 
indicator  of  how  actively 
authorities  promote  compliance  in  subject  areas  with 
serious 
for 
Sustainability  and  Tourism  regularly  publishes  guidelines 
for  appropriate  fertilisation  of  arable 
land  and  on 
grassland  on  its  website  written  and  updated  by  the 
Advisory  Body  for  Soil  Fertility  and  Soil  Protection,  a 
federal  and  Länder  experts, 
forum  composed  of 
scientists,  experts  from  the  Chamber  of  Agriculture 
etc.163  These  recommendations  are  the  basis  for  the 
nitrates action programme. Lower Austria has set up the 
information  service  (NID)  as  a  fertilization 
nitrate 

152  Partizipation. 
153 Unternehmens Service portal, Allgemeines zum Zugang zu Gerichten 
in Umweltangelegenheiten. 
154 The law seeks to amend the corresponding environmental laws at 
federal level, the Waste Management Act (Abfallwirtschaftsgesetz 
2000), the Water Right Act (Wasserrechtsgesetz 1959) and the Air 
Pollution Control Act (Immissionsschutzgesetz-Luft). On air quality, 
provisions on access to justice are also part of the corresponding 
legislative proposal for a recast of the National Air Emissions Act 
(Emissionsgesetz-Luft 2018). 
155 See VwGH, judgment of 28 May 2015, Zl. Ro 2014/07/0096-8 and 
VwGH, judgment of 19 February 2018, Ra 2015/07/0074-6. 
156 LVwG Niederösterreich, judgment of 9 April 2018, LVwG-AV-751/001-
2017. 

157 European Commission, 2016.5 Priority list of data sets for 
eReporting. 
158 The concept is explained in detail in the Communication on ‘EU 
actions to improve environmental compliance and governance’ 
COM(2018)10 and the related Commission Staff Working Document, 
SWD(2018)10. 
159 This EIR focuses on the help given to farmers to comply with nature 
and nitrates legislation. 
160 This EIR focuses on inspections of major industrial installations. 
161This EIR focuses on the availability of enforcement data and co-
ordination between authorities to tackle environmental crime. 
162 The Environmental Liability Directive, 2004/35, creates the 
framework. 
163 Bundesministerium für Nachhaltigkeit und Tourismus, Richtlinie für 
die sachgerechte Düngung im Ackerbau und Grünland. 

30 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 — Austria 

consulting  service  for  farmers.164  The  Ministry  for 
Sustainability and Tourism gives very general information 
on Natura 2000 that does not explain to landowners their 
related obligations.165 

information  on  environmental  crimes 

in 
statistical 
Austria,  noting  seven  convictions  in  2016174.  Published 
information  is  lacking  on  responses  to  cross-compliance 
breaches on nitrates and nature. 

industrial 

inspect  these 

installations  can  present  serious 
Major 
pollution  risks.  Public  authorities  are  required  to  have 
plans  to 
installations  and  to  make 
individual  inspection  reports  available  to  the  public166. 
The Ministry for Sustainability and Tourism publishes the 
inspection  plan167  and  the 
national  environmental 
provinces’  environmental  inspection  programmes168  on 
its  EDM  portal  (which  provides  documentation  and 
reporting  on  environmental  protection).  On  the  same 
website,  it  publishes  annual  environmental  inspection 
reports169 for each province.  

Citizen science and complaint handling  

Engaging  the  general  public  through  citizen  science  can 
promote knowledge about the environment and help the 
authorities in their work. No information has been found 
on the use of citizen science in Austria.  

The availability of clear online information about how to 
make  a  complaint  is  an  indicator  of  how  responsive 
authorities are to complaints from the public.  In Austria, 
complaint  handling  is  decentralised.  The  Administrative 
Procedures  Act  gives  citizens  the  right  to  file  a 
complaint170.  The  competent  district  authorities  usually 
have  a  contact  form  or  contact  information  that  can  be 
used for complaints and criticism in all areas171.  

In  2017,  Vienna  launched  an  app  (Sag’s  Wien172)  that 
enables citizens to file complaints. Environmental crimes 
can be reported to the Federal Criminal Police Office173. 

Enforcement 

identifies  problems,  a  range  of 
When  monitoring 
responses  may  be  appropriate.  While  inspection  reports 
are published via the EDM portal, information is missing 
on  the  issuing  of  warnings,  the  application  of  sanctions 
and  the  achievement  of  compliance  after  follow-up 
measures  and  enforcement  action.  The  Ministry  of  the 
Interior  publishes  annual  safety  reports  that  provide 

164 Nid, Nitratinformationsservice Niederösterreich. 
165 Bundesministerium für Nachhaltigkeit und Tourismus, Natura 2000. 
166 Article 23, Directive, 2010/75/EU. 
167 Bundesministerium für Nachhaltigkeit und Tourismus, 
Umweltinspektionsplan. 
168 Bundesministerium für Nachhaltigkeit und Tourismus, 
Umweltinspektionsprogramm. 
169 Bundesministerium für Nachhaltigkeit und Tourismus, 
Umweltinspektionsberichte. 
170 § 13 Allgemeines Verwaltungsverfahrensgesetz. 
171 See as one example the contact form of Kufstein, a district in Tirol: 
Tirol, Beratungs- und Beschwerdestelle. 
172 Stadt Wien, Sag's Wien - Die App für Ihre Anliegen an die Stadt. 
173 Bundeskriminalamt, Meldestellen. 

is  especially  challenging. 

Tackling  waste,  wildlife  crimes  and  other  environmental 
offences 
It  requires  close 
cooperation  between  inspectors,  customs  authorities, 
police  and  prosecutors.  No  information  on  formal  or 
informal  cooperation  arrangements  could  be  found  on 
the provinces’ websites. 

Environmental liability 

The  Environmental  Liability  Directive  (ELD)  establishes  a 
framework  based  on  the  ‘polluter  pays’  principle  to 
prevent  and  remedy  environmental  damage.  The  2017 
EIR  focused  on  better  information  on  environmental 
damage, financial security and guidance. The Commission 
is still collecting evidence on the progress made.  

2019 priority actions 

 

 

 

 

on 

public 

information 

compliance 
information 
Improve 
promotion,  monitoring  and  enforcement  by  at  least 
ensuring the availability of better online information 
for 
farmers  on  how  to  comply  with  nature 
obligations  
Publish 
of 
on 
administrative  enforcement  action  and  of  follow-up 
to  detected  cross-compliance  breaches  on  nitrates 
and nature. 
Ensure  more 
dealing with environmental crime work together. 
Improve  financial  security  for  liabilities  and  ELD-
guidance  and  publish  information  on  environmental 
damage. 

information  on  how  professionals 

outcomes 

the 

Effectiveness 
administrations 

of 

environmental 

in 

involved 

implementing 

Those 
environmental 
legislation at EU, national, regional and local levels need 
to have the knowledge, tools and capacity to ensure that 
the  legislation  and  the  governance  of  the  enforcement 
process bring about the intended benefits. 

Administrative capacity and quality  

Legislative  competence  is  shared  between  the  federal 
and the regional level, and implementation is spread over 
the  federal,  regional,  district  and  municipal  levels.  All 
levels  must  work  effectively  with  each  other  within  a 
system 
Compliance 
performance  on  the  environment  is  generally  good,  but 
experience  from  certain  infringements  shows  that  there 
are  few  mechanisms  to  encourage  under-performing 

of  multi-level 

governance. 

174 Bundesministerium Inneres, Sicherheitsbericht. 

31 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 — Austria 

regional  authorities  to  reach  the 
demonstrating best practice.  

level  of  those 

Adaptability, 
(eGovernment) 

reform 

dynamics 

and 

innovation 

Austria 
Environmental Performance Index175. 

ranks  eighth  out  of  180 

in 

the  2018 

Coordination and integration 

Environmental 

Impact  Assessment 

As  mentioned  in  the  2017  EIR,  the  transposition  of  the 
(EIA) 
revised 
Directive176  provides  an  opportunity  for  countries  to 
further  streamline 
framework  on 
environmental  assessments.  Austria  was  late  with  full 
transposition,  but  the  law  revising  the  Austrian  EIA  law 
(Umweltverträglichkeitsprüfungsgesetz  2000)  was  finally 
adopted in November 2018.177 Following notification the 
Commission is carrying out conformity checking.  

their  regulatory 

the 

streamlining  of 
The  Commission  encourages 
environmental  assessments  to  reduce  duplication  and 
avoid  overlaps 
for 
projects.  Streamlining  helps  to  reduce  unnecessary 
accelerates 
administrative 
decision-making,  without  compromising  the  quality  of 
the environmental assessment procedure178.  

in  environmental  assessments 

burden. 

also 

It 

issues 

spread 
levels,  a  ‘one-stop  shop’  principle 

As  Austria  is  a  federal  state  and  competence  for  many 
various 
is 
environmental 
administrative 
is 
difficult to implement. However, Austria has introduced a 
streamlined  procedure  for  the  EIA,  Habitats  and  Water 
Framework Directives.  

over 

For  many  issues,  although  authorisation  procedures  are 
conducted  at  local  level,  information  is  bundled  at 
federal  level.  Examples  include  web  portals  on  EIA179, 
SEA180 and sustainable public procurement181.  

strategy 

includes 

The  e-governance 
several  new 
initiatives to develop one-stop shops, e.g. electronic data 
management  (EDM),  a  central  system  through  which 
companies  and  administrative  bodies  can  apply  and 
report  on  issues  regarding  waste  management  and  the 
environment182. 

175 Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy, Environmental 
Performance Index,2018, p. 4 
176 Directive 2014/52/EU. 
177 Publication in Federal Law Gazette expected December. 
178 The Commission issued a guidance document in 2016 regarding the 
setting-up of coordinated and/or joint procedures that are 
simultaneously subject to assessments under the EIA, Habitats, Water 
Framework and the Industrial Emissions Directive (OJ C 273, 27.7.2016, 
p. 1). 
179 Umweltbundesamt, UVP – Umweltverträglichkeitsprüfung. 
180 Strategische Umweltprüfung. 
181 Österreichischer Aktionsplan zur nachhaltigen öffentlichen 
Beschaffung, NaBe-Aktionsplan. 
182 Bundesministerium für Nachhaltigkeit und Tourismus, Willkommen 
im Elektronischen Datenmanagement – Umwelt. 

32 

Austrian public authorities are increasingly adopting and 
using  electronic  services  to 
interact  with  public  or 
regulated  entities  online.  For  Digital  Public  Services, 
Austria  had  a  score  of  0.73/1  based  on  Europe's  Digital 
Progress  Report  2017,  this  is  higher  than  the  EU28 
average (0.55/1)183. In the DESI Report 2018, Austria had 
a score of 67 out of 100 on digital public services, higher 
than the EU average of 58184. 

Austria has been dealing with digitalisation for over two 
decades.  In  2017,  a  national  e-governance  strategy  was 
developed185  under  the  responsibility  of  the  Federal 
Chancellery186.  

is 

It 
increasingly  possible  to  conduct  administrative 
procedures online. Citizens and companies can fill in, sign 
and  submit  forms  online187.  The  EDM  system  enables 
companies and administrative bodies to apply and report 
on waste management  and environmental issues188. The 
internet  and  new  technologies  are  increasingly  used  for 
stakeholder participation processes189.  

Enabling financing and effective use of funds 

Twice  a  year,  the  Ministry  of  Sustainability  and  Tourism 
issues  a  magazine  (Ökoprojekt)  with  information  on 
public funding of environmental initiatives190. There is an 
extensive web portal on funding opportunities under the 
European Structural and Investment Funds191. 

2019 priority action 

  Austria can further improve its overall environmental 
citizen 
governance 
as 
engagement,  compliance  and  enforcement,  as  well 
as administrative capacity and coordination). 

transparency, 

(such 

International agreements 

The  EU  Treaties  require  the  EU  environmental  policy  to 
promote  measures  at  international  level  to  deal  with 
regional or worldwide environmental problems. 

The EU is committed to strengthening environmental law 
and its implementation globally. It therefore continues to 

183 European Commission, Europe's Digital Progress Report (EDPR) 2017 
Country Profile Austria, 2017, p. 9,  
184 European Commission, Digital Economy and Society Index Report 
2018, Digital Public Services. 
185 Federal Chancellery, Behörden im Netz - das österreichische E-
Government ABC, 2017.  
186 Digitales Oesterreich, Was ist E-Government?. 
187 Digitales Oesterreich, Was ist E-Government?. 
188 Elektronischen Datenmanagement – Umwelt. 
189 Digitales Oesterreich, Was ist E-Government?. 
190 ÖKO- PROJEKT.  
191 https://www.oerok.gv.at/esi-fonds-at/ 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 — Austria 

support  the  Global  Pact  for  the  Environment  process, 
which  was  launched  by  the  United  Nations  General 
Assembly  in  May  2018192.  The  EIR  is  one  of  the  tools  to 
ensure  that  the  Member  States  set  a  good  example  by 
respecting  European  Union  environmental  policies  and 
laws  and  international  agreements.  Austria  has  signed 
and  in  July  2018  ratified  the  Nagoya  Protocol193,  which 
was established to ensure the fair  and equitable sharing 
of  benefits  arising  from  the  utilisation  of  genetic 
resources.  It  has  neither  signed  nor  ratified  the  African-
Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement, which aims to 
stop the decline of migratory waterbird species and their 
in  the  geographical  area  covered  by  the 
habitats 
Agreement.  

Forests:  EU  Timber  Regulation  (EUTR)  /  Forest  Law 
Enforcement,  Governance 
(FLEGT) 
Regulation194 

Trade 

and 

The EU Timber Regulation is designed to ensure that only 
legally sourced timer is sold on the EU internal market. As 
required under the Regulation, Austria carries out checks 
on  timber  operators,  but  the  number  of  checks  remains 
low  compared  to  the  estimated  number  of  operators 
placing  timber  on  the  EU  market  for  the  first  time  in 
Austria195.  Between  March  2015  and  February  2017, 
Austria  performed  88 %  of  the  planned  979  checks  on 
operators for domestic timber and 56 % of the 50 checks 
planned  for 
imported  timber.  Between  March  and 
November 2017, it checked only seven of the more than 
4 100  operators  responsible  for  EUR 483.5 million  worth 
of timber imports in 2016.  

The  risk-based  approach  to  checks  seems  appropriate. 
Four of the seven timber importers checked  were found 
to  have  an 
inappropriate  due  diligence  system. 
Investigations  were  still  ongoing  at  the  end  of  the 
reporting  period.  To  date,  no 
interim  measures  or 
penalties for breaches of the EUTR have been reported as 
regards importers.  

However, substantiated concerns were raised as regards 
a  number  of  Austrian  traders196  and  Romanian  law 
enforcement  bodies  took  action  against  some.  Austria 
had not conducted any checks on these traders and their 
compliance  with  the  EUTR  traceability  obligation,  since 
risks of illegality had been deemed very low.  

192 UN General Assembly Resolution 72/277 and Organizational session 
of the ad hoc open-ended working group.  
193 Protocol to the Convention on Biological Diversity: Access to genetic 
resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from 
their utilisation. 
194 Regulation (EC) No 2173/2005. 
195 UN, Overview of Competent Authority EU Timber Regulation checks - 
It is estimated that 140 000 Austrian operators place domestic timber 
on the EU market and 4 100 - 6 000 import timber. June – November 
2017. 
196 Neslen, A. Romania breaks up alleged €25m illegal logging ring. The 
Guardian. May, 2018.  

33 

The  Austrian  authorities  regularly  exchange  data  with 
other  competent  authorities  and  engage 
in  various 
awareness-raising  activities.  They  have  also  provided 
voluntary contributions on EUTR overviews of checks and 
are  actively  involved  in  forming  a  central  and  eastern 
European network of competent authorities.  

Genetic  resources:  Nagoya  Protocol  on  Access  to 
Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of 
Benefits Arising (ABS)197  

Austria  has  identified  its  competent  authorities,  but 
adoption  of  the  formal  act  is  still  pending.  No  due 
diligence  declaration  has  been  submitted  and  it  has  still 
not laid down rules for penalties.  

International  wildlife 
the  Convention  on 
trade: 
International  Trade  in  Endangered  Species  of  Wild 
Fauna and Flora (CITES)198 
To  implement  the  CITES  Regulation199,  which  transposes 
into  EU  law  the  major  obligations  stemming  from  the 
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species 
of  Wild  Fauna  and  Flora  (CITES),  Austria  has  established 
national authorities and processes (requests for) import, 
(re-)export  and  intra-EU  trade  documents  on  a  regular 
basis.  Reports  of  seizures  of 
in 
particular those sent  every six months to TRAFFIC under 
its  contract  with  DG  ENV  and  those  exchanged  through 
the EU-TWIX platform, testify to the customs authorities’ 
activity.  

illegal  shipments, 

To  ensure  full  implementation  of  the  EU  Wildlife  Action 
Plan200  and  better  detection  of  illegal  activities,  Austria 
has  published  national  guidelines 
for  enforcement 
officers,  in  particular  to  help  them  identify  protected 
species, and set  up specific training and workshops. It is 
contributing  to  European  coordinated  action,  e.g. the 
‘Pannon Eagle’ LIFE project201, which aims to improve the 
protection  of  the  eastern  imperial  eagle  against  illegal 
killing, trapping and trading. Furthermore, Austria has set 
up  a  national 
taskforce,  which  also  comprises 
enforcement  officers  involved  in  investigative  work.  It 
focuses on a number of national priority objectives within 
the action plan. 

2019 priority action 

 

Increase  efforts  to  be  party  to  relevant  multilateral 
environmental  agreements,  by  signing  and  ratifying 
the remaining ones. 

197 Regulation (EU) No 511/2014. 
198 The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of 
Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). 
199 Regulation (EC) No 338/97. 
200 European Commission (2016), EU action plan against wildlife 
trafficking. 
201 Brief summary of the Pannon Eagle LIFE project goals. 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 — Austria 

Sustainable 
implementation of the UN SDGs 

development 

and 

the 

Sustainable development links environmental, social and 
economic policies in a coherent framework and therefore 
helps  to 
legislation  and 
policies. 

implement  environmental 

The  Federal  Government  adopted  its  first  sustainable 
development strategy in 2002202 and this was renewed in 
2010.203  The  2010  strategy  is  the  first  example  of  a 
federal  European  country  addressing  the  national  and 
regional level at the same time204. 

The  main  mechanism  for  implementing  the  SDGs  in 
Austria  is  their  mainstreaming  into  the  existing  policy 
framework. All federal ministries have been instructed to 
mainstream the principles of Agenda 2030 and the SDGs 
into  their  relevant  programmes  and  strategies,  and 
where  necessary  to  draft  specific  action  plans  involving 
stakeholders.  An  inter-ministerial  working  group  for  the 
implementation  of  Agenda  2030  under  the  lead  of  the 
Federal Chancellery and the Federal Ministry for Europe, 
Integration  and  Foreign  Affairs  (BMEIA)  is  in  charge  of 
monitoring  and  reporting  progress.  Public  awareness  is 
raised  through  a  new  central  website205  and  events, 
including parliamentary debates on SDGs. 

Every two years, Austria publishes an indicator report on 
the  monitoring  of  sustainable  development.  The  last 
report  is  from  2015206  and  no  new  report  has  been 
published since the SDG reporting scheme started. 

Along with Bulgaria, Austria is one of two Member States 
that have not yet submitted to the UN, or announced (for 
2019), a voluntary national review on the SDGs. 

202 The Austrian Strategy for Sustainable Development. 
203 Österreichische Strategie Nachhaltige Entwicklung (ÖSTRAT). 
204 European Sustainable Development Network, Austria country profile. 
205 www.sdg.gv.at 
206 BMLFUW, Indikatoren-Bericht MONE 2015: Auf dem Weg zu einem 
nachhaltigen Österreich, 2015. 

34