In Austria, not only measures for climate protection, but also climate-damaging activities are financially supported. On behalf of the government, the Economic Research Institute (WIFO) surveyed how high these “climate counterproductive subsidies” are.
After a request for transparency from the environmental protection organization WWF, the ministry has now published the study. According to this, the climate-damaging subsidies in recent years have amounted to four to 5.7 billion euros annually. The WIFO was also able to determine “no systematic reform or reduction in the area of subsidies”.
Survey expanded
The subsidies raised include, for example, the diesel privilege, the commuter allowance and the tax exemption of fossil fuels for energy companies. WIFO had already prepared a corresponding report in 2016. At that time, the institute calculated climate-damaging subsidies of up to 4.7 billion euros.
In the new study, the maximum value of 5.7 billion euros is noticeably higher. This also has to do with the fact that the survey was more extensive and now also includes the areas of agriculture, buildings and waste management.
However, according to the WWF, the sum might be significantly higher. Especially in the areas of agriculture and housing, important data from the federal states would be missing, said Karl Schellmann from the WWF to the Ö1-Morgenjournal. He called for more transparency from the government.
The largest chunk – namely around 60 percent of the subsidies – makes up the transport sector this year. Around three quarters of the funding in this area goes to road traffic. In addition to the diesel privilege and commuter allowance, tax exemptions for certain vehicles such as taxis and rental cars also come into play here.
WWF: Clear order to act for the government
For the WWF, the subsidies are at odds with political climate protection efforts. The environmental protection organization sees in the WIFO study a “clear mandate for the federal government to take action – both nationally and through EU initiatives”. Almost 56 percent of the subsidy volume recorded lies within national competence.
The ÖVP-FPÖ government had originally announced an up-to-date list of climate-damaging subsidies for June 2019. However, these were never published. The turquoise-blue coalition also stated that it was working to phase out such subsidies by 2030. At least she submitted this plan to the EU.
