Renewable energy in Austria

Over the past years, Austria has set exemplary standards in the reduction of carbon emissions. Not only has this been accomplished with outstanding effectiveness and great speed, but also with an innovational drive which aims at so much more than simply meeting renewable energy targets. A feed-in tariff was introduced in 2002, and since the uptake, or feed-in, was more than twice as high as what was originally expected, Austria managed to not only meet its renewable electricity target of 4% in 2006, but doubled it! With over 22% overall primary energy consumption already coming from renewables, Austria is one of the leading countries in renewable energy production and technologies. This percentage is set to rise to 34% by 2020, and at the rate they’re going, who knows! They might just double it again!

Austria has also set so called “passivhaus”, or energy efficient building standards which all new homes in Vienne will have to attain in 2011. Apart from setting certain eco standards, the “passivhaus” policy also awards home owners who comply with a grant of €12,000 to aid them financially in the construction. So far, around 2 500 homes have already been completed in accordance with this policy.

Perhaps Austrians also have their culture to thank for their generally widespread and natural green thinking. A traditional, conservative way of life,farming, hunting, and a strong connection with the outdoors has been passed down from generation to generation. It’s a combination of this, and the new environmental movement triggerd by global warming which has fused and turned Austria into such an environmentally friendly country. To put a final cherry on top of this, it should be noted that Austria was recently recognised in the World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourirm Competitiveness Report as one of the world’s best destinations for sustainable tourism.