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Environmental Policy
Focus on Austria: EU Commission Launches Four Infringement Proceedings
The European Commission has today launched four new infringement proceedings against Austria as part of its monthly package of measures against Member States. The proceedings concern critical areas such as the environment, banking, and transport and underline the need to correctly implement European directives.
July 25, 2024
Plants as Climate-Friendly Air Conditioning: City of Vienna Promotes Greening of Buildings
The positive effect of green buildings on the climate is undisputed. To promote the implementation of green buildings, the City of Vienna provides generous subsidies of up to € 20,200. Interested parties can obtain free advice on this subject from Eco Counselling (DIE UMWELTBERATUNG) in Vienna.
July 23, 2023
NEFI Study Shows Paths to Climate-Neutral Industry in Austria
A recent study by the innovation network NEFI - New Energy for Industry has provided important impetus for a climate-neutral future for Austrian industry. In 2021, the domestic manufacturing industry was responsible for more than one-third of the total CO2 emissions in Austria. The NEFI experts have now developed three scenarios that show concrete ways to transform the industrial energy system.
June 11, 2023
Austrian President Van der Bellen Welcomes Slovenia's First Female President on Inaugural Visit
The new Slovenian President, Nataša Pirc Musar, paid her inaugural visit to Vienna, where she was welcomed by Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen with military honors. "It is an honor to receive today in Vienna the first female head of state of Slovenia," Van der Bellen said.
May 2, 2023
Austria Establishes a National Task Force to Combat Environmental Crime
The ministers of agriculture, justice, finance, social affairs, environment, and interior established an interagency task force on April 12, 2023.
April 12, 2023
Fracking Is Causing Tensions in the Austrian Parliament
Fracking has caused tensions in the Austrian parliament. Climate protection Minister Leonore Gewessler from the Green Party tried to pass a law banning Fracking in Austria. However, the party’s coalition partner in the government, the Austrian People's Party (OEVP) declined the law.
January 18, 2023 · Sponsored Content
Vienna Plans to Build its First Geothermal Plant by 2026
A geothermal plant, Vienna's first, is to supply 20,000 households with emission-free district heating. Wien Energie wants to set a milestone toward a climate-neutral city by 2026. An important milestone on the path to a climate-neutral major city is the use of deep geothermal energy. Wien Energie has now presented the concrete plans for this at a press conference with Peter Hanke, City Councillor for Economic Affairs.
November 14, 2022
Austrian President Van der Bellen Met with Delegation of the Sauti-Kuu Foundation
The climate crisis affects the entire world and environmental protection is an important component of future-oriented development policy. In the course of Austrian development policy, Austria's President Alexander Van der Bellen met with the delegation of the Sauti-Kuu Foundation from Kenya.
June 13, 2022
Austrian Ministry of Justice Wants Better European Cooperation in the Area of Justice
Justice and Home Affairs Ministers are discussing stricter environmental criminal law, better international cooperation on criminal offenses and Russia sanctions in the European Council. The Austrian Ministry of Justice under Alma Zadic welcomes stricter prosecution of environmental crimes and a united effort to sanction Russian oligarchs.
June 9, 2022
ICPDR: Contracting Parties Renew Commitment to Protect the Danube
The contracting parties to the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) reaffirmed their commitment to protecting the Danube River Basin at a Ministerial Meeting in Vienna. Read about the Management Plans adopted by the Commission and what this means for the Danube.
February 10, 2022
IAEA to Assess Safety of Japan Dumping Fukushima's Radioactive Cooling Water into Sea
A team of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will go to Japan to conduct a review of the safety of the Japanese government's decision to dump radioactive cooling water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station into the ocean. Read about the review and who opposes Japan's decision.
February 7, 2022
Luxury Goods Group: Swarovski Drops Further in Ranking
The famous Austrian crystal glass manufacturer Swarovski has fallen a further 3 places on the global ranking of luxury goods sales. The company's sales also halved between 2017 and 2020 from 3.5 billion euros to 1.7 billion euros. Read about Swarovski's decline in sales and the general downturn in the luxury goods industry.
December 8, 2021
Greenpeace: 80% of Austrian Short-haul EU Flights are Substitutable by Train
According to a Greenpeace report, 80 percent of Austria's short-haul flights can be replaced by rail travel. For 53 percent of all top-30 short-haul flights within the EU, there are direct overnight train connections, the report states.
October 27, 2021
Austria Opposes Further Expansion of Hungarian Nuclear Power Plant Paks II
All five Austrian parliamentary parties are opposed to the expansion of the Paks II Nuclear Power Plant in Hungary due to serious safety concerns. The Environment Committee in parliament has unanimously called on the government to take all possible actions to oppose its construction. Read why Austria considers the power plant's expansion dangerous.
October 25, 2021
Are "Green Bonds" also Coming to Austria?
At the European Forum Alpbach, Austrian Finance Minister Gernot Blümel announced that Austria wants to issue a so-called "green bond" in the first half of 2022. The Ministry of Finance and Federal Financing Agency (OeBFA) have already completed the necessary technical work to issue the bonds. Read more about "green bonds" and Austria's plans to begin issuing them.
September 1, 2021
Miss Europe: The Most Beautiful Woman in Europe to be Crowned in Vienna
Some 30 beauties from 21 nations, including three finalists from Austria, are vying for the title of "Miss Europe".
August 17, 2021
World's Most Influential Climate Scientist Works in Research Institute Near Vienna
The Laxenburg-based research institute IIASA - International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis is proud to announce that its Director of Energy, Climate and Environment, Keywan Riahi, has been ranked first on the Reuters Hot List of the Worlds Top Climate Scientists. In total, nine IIASA researchers made it onto the ranking of the 1,000 most influential scientists. Read about who these researchers are and why they made it onto the list.
May 13, 2021
Austria Continues to Invest In Bicycle Transportation
Austria's Ministry of Climate Protection continues to support the purchase of e-bicycles and transport bikes. Enterprises, associations and individuals will benefit from the increased subsidy amount and a reduction of value-added tax for bicycle repair services.
February 26, 2021
Austria Ranks Fifth in Share of Renewable Energy Sources
In a newly published report by the European statistics office Eurostat, Austria is one of the most environmental-friendly EU member countries with regard to energy sources. Austria ranks fifth in a statistics that gathers data about the share of renewable energy sources in the total gross energy consumption of a country.
December 21, 2020
City of Vienna And Global 2000: Clean Drinking Water for Children From Chernobyl
The City of Vienna together with the environmental protection organization Global 2000 will provide another 15 drinking water purification systems that will be installed in the eastern Ukraine. These installations will provide fresh drinking water for thousand of children and their families.
November 17, 2020
Environmental Support Act: 1 Billion for Climate Protection Support until 2022
The National Council is in favor of a budget increase dedicated to climate protection. In detail, the Environment Committee wants to raise the amount of funding to EUR 1 billion by 2022 which will be invested in biogenic heating networks, renovation of buildings and other measures.
September 17, 2020
Opening of the Salzburg Festival in the Context of the Climate Crisis
The Salzburg Festival (Salzburger Festspiele) is the world's most important festival of classical music and the performing arts. The opening speeches in 2019 were dominated by the themes of climate change and environmental protection. The keynote speaker was US director Peter Sellars.
July 30, 2019
Official Visit of President of Hungary - Criticism of Expansion of Paks Nuclear Power Plant
President János Áder of Hungary paid an official visit to Austria. The main topic of discussion between Áder and Austrian Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen was climate protection.
February 25, 2019
Vienna is Europe's Greenest Capital City
A new study has ranked 25 of Europe’s capitals on 10 green factors to reveal the continent’s most eco-friendly capital cities. Vienna - how else could it be expected - has once again emerged as the number one.
January 30, 2019
Environment Day: The World Must Unite to Beat Plastic Pollution
The world is being ‘swamped’ by harmful plastic waste says United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, marking Environment Day. Microplastic particles in the ocean, now outnumber stars in our galaxy.
June 5, 2018
OSCE: Disaster Risk Reduction and Sustainable Water Governance are Priorities
The experience and knowledge of local communities are crucial to effectively reduce the risks of disasters, Chairperson of the OSCE Permanent Council Ambassador Vuk Žugić and OSCE Secretary General Ambassador Lamberto Zannier said today, on the occasion of the International Day for Disaster Reduction.
October 13, 2015
The Miss Earth Beauty Pageant is Coming to Vienna
Miss Earth, an annual international beauty pageant promoting environmental awareness is celebrating its 15th year in Vienna. Along with its rivals Miss Universe and Miss World, Miss Earth is one of the three largest beauty pageants in the world in terms of the number of national-level competitions to participate in the world finals and one of the most publicized beauty contests in the world. The reigning titleholders dedicate their year to promote specific projects and often address issues concerning the environment and other global issues. Climate Change will be the focus of Miss Earth for its Crystal Year celebration. Around 90 delegates from all over the world will be arriving on November 18, to start their activities and converge at the Marx Halle in Vienna on December 5, 2015 for the Coronation Night.
October 9, 2015
Poland: Reshufflement at Government
A major reshufflement is currently under way at the Polish government.
November 20, 2013
Austria: Kapsch Demands Reform Agenda From New Government
Georg Kapsch, President of the Federation of Austrian Industries (IV) demands the next federal government to introduce a comprehensive reform agenda.
September 27, 2013
Turkey: Government Alleged to Have Known About Project Fail
A week before the forceful clearing of Gezi Park in Istanbul, the Turkish government was supposed to know about the fact that it had lost before court with its constructions plans. Protests went on, despite of that.
July 5, 2013
OMV Continues Expansion in Norway
OMV has been awarded six additional offshore exploration licenses in Norway, acting as operator for two of them.
July 5, 2013
Poland To Enhance Supervision Over State Companies
Around twenty state-controlled enterprises will be watched more closely.
July 2, 2013
US: Active Investor in Romania
US companies remained active investors in Romania last year. Particulary the IT sector, automotive industry and oil/gas sector are increasingly strengthening their local position. Foreign direct investments from the US came at more than $ 1bn.
June 24, 2013
Eder Appeals for Reindustrialization in Europe
In an interview with Austrian daily „Kurier“, Wolfgang Eder, CEO of Austrian steel producer voestalpine talks about the future of the European steel industry and the differences to the US energy policy.
June 20, 2013
Turkey: Erdogan Gives In
In the dispute about Gezi Park in Istanbul, which has led to weeks of protests and even violence, the Turkish government leadership now wants to give in.
June 14, 2013
Turkey: Erdogan Considers Referendum
After international criticism was voiced for the use of tear gas by the Turkish police against tens of thousands of demonstrators, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised the issue of a referendum.
June 13, 2013
Turkey: Taksim Square Forcefully Cleared
Protests expected to continue despite of severe measures.
June 12, 2013
S Immo AG: Green Building Certification And Another Award In SEE
BREEAM certificate and SEE Green Building Award for S Immo properties.
June 4, 2013
Voestalpine Hopes for Participation in South Stream Project
CEO Eder announced the Austrian Steel Manufacturer was leading “intensive” talks with Russian energy company Gazprom.
May 16, 2013
Romania: US Chevron to Explore for Shale Gas
Chevron gets green light for exploration of shale gas in Dobrogea blocks.
May 2, 2013
FDI: Hungary Popular With German Enterprises
The majority of German companies would again choose Hungary for their investments
April 11, 2013
Gazprom to Be Joined By Shell
Russian energy giant Gazprom and British-Dutch oil producer Shell announced cooperation.
April 9, 2013
Austria Showing Less Reforming Zeal
According to the so-called „D-A-CH-Reformbarometer“, a study which was commissioned by the Chamber of Commerce, Austria’s will to reform has diminished.
March 20, 2013
Russia: Gazprom Runs the Risk of Losing Market Shares
According to the newspaper “RBC Daily”, Gazprom stands to lose a further market share for gas supply as German energy enterprises are prompting the government to start producing shale gas.
March 19, 2013
Bulgaria: EVN Under Surveillance
While the Austrian power supplier EVN is currently kept under surveillance of the Bulgarian judiciary and government, protests by the citizens all over the country continue.
March 11, 2013
Hungary: Expropriation of Foreign Farmers
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced further steps and plans the dispossession of foreign investors.
March 7, 2013
Bulgaria: Electricity Rate to be Reduced by 7 %
Experts still fear that the reduction in electricity prices will not help stopping protests.
March 6, 2013
Bulgaria: Protests About to Escalate
The political frustration of Bulgaria’s population comes to new high as the promised reduction of energy prices stays out.
March 5, 2013
Bulgaria: Stop of Constructing Nuclear Power Plant in Belene
Together with Russia, Bulgaria stopped the controversial construction of a nuclear power plant in Belene close to the Danube.
March 1, 2013
Austria: Economic Outlook Remains Cautious
Although Austria´s economy suffers from a number of major defects, the performance is still better than in the Eurozone.
February 25, 2013
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