2024-10-22 04:00:00
On the occasion of today’s brownfields summit in Salzburg, Greenpeace warns of the devastating ecological consequences of commercial and industrial vacancies in Austria. Around 11.2 hectares of fertile soil are developed every day, a large part of which is used for new logistics centers and business parks. At the same time, many commercial and industrial buildings are empty. Greenpeace demands that new commercial and industrial buildings may only be built in the future if old buildings have been inspected beforehand. The states must also introduce a regionally adjusted vacancy tax on long-unused commercial and industrial areas, according to the environmental protection organization.
Melanie Ebner, Greenpeace soil protection expert: “Currently, hectares of natural and agricultural areas are being built and sealed for commercial and industrial use, while elsewhere huge industrial parks are falling into disrepair. It is an important step that a tool for recording commercial vacancies throughout Austria will be presented at today’s brownfields summit. The ecological and social consequences of this inefficient system are devastating.” If new industrial and commercial buildings are built instead of using existing structures, valuable areas are lost, which nature and agriculture then miss out on. Likewise, new construction requires a lot of construction resources. Vacant industrial buildings and business parks also influence the social fabric of entire communities, as they often contribute to inner-city decay, migration and the loss of jobs. Although there is currently no systematic monitoring of commercial vacancies in Austria, individual surveys by the trade association suggest enormous proportions: in smaller cities such as Bruck an der Mur or Horn, the vacancy rate is sometimes 20 percent or more.
Greenpeace is demanding that the federal states compulsorily record commercial vacancies in the future. Existing industrial and commercial areas must also be examined before every new designation and every new building. As a result, the federal states must introduce a regionally adjusted vacancy tax on commercial and industrial areas that have been vacant for a long period of time, according to Greenpeace. “We have to stop the wasteful use of our soil – for nature, agriculture and our cities,” says Ebner.
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