Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan for Austria 2021-2030 pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action Vienna, 18 December 2019 Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan for Austria 2 of 268 Contents Part 1 ................................................................................................................... 5 SECTION A: NATIONAL PLAN ............................................................................... 6 1. OVERVIEW AND PLAN DEVELOPMENT PROCESS .................................................... 6 1.1. Summary ............................................................................................................. 6 1.2. Current policy and administrative structures ...................................................... 18 1.3. Stakeholder consultation at national and EU level – outcomes .......................... 55 1.4. Regional cooperation in drawing up the plan ..................................................... 59 2. NATIONAL TARGETS AND OBJECTIVES .................................................................. 71 2.1. Dimension 1: Decarbonisation ........................................................................... 71 2.2. Dimension 2: Energy efficiency .......................................................................... 83 2.3. Dimension 3: Security of energy supply .............................................................. 88 2.4. Dimension 4: Internal energy market ................................................................. 91 2.5. Dimension 5: Research, innovation and competitiveness ................................. 98 3. POLICIES AND MEASURES ..................................................................................... 105 3.1. Dimension 1: Decarbonisation ......................................................................... 106 3.2. Dimension 2: Energy efficiency ........................................................................ 170 3.3. Dimension 3: Security of energy supply ............................................................ 175 3.4. Dimension 4: Internal energy market ............................................................... 177 3.5. Dimension 5: Research, innovation and competitiveness ................................. 187 SECTION B: ANALYTICAL BASIS ....................................................................... 208 4. Current situation and projections ‘with existing measures’ (WEM) .......................... 208 4.1. Projected evolution of main exogenous factors influencing energy system and GHG emissions .......................................................................................................... 208 4.2. Dimension: Decarbonisation ............................................................................ 210 4.3. Dimension: Energy efficiency ........................................................................... 216 4.4. Dimension: Security of energy supply .............................................................. 226 4.5. Dimension: Internal energy market .................................................................. 235 4.6. Dimension: Research, innovation and competitiveness ................................... 238 Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan for Austria 3 of 268 5. Impact assessment of planned policies and measures ............................................. 250 Part 2 ................................................................................................................ 265 List of parameters and variables to be reported in Section B of National Plans .............. 265 Legal information ............................................................................................. 266 Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan for Austria 4 of 268 Part 1 Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan for Austria 5 of 268 SECTION A: NATIONAL PLAN 1. OVERVIEW AND PLAN DEVELOPMENT PROCESS 1.1. Summary i. Political, economic, environmental and social context Austria is a federal republic built on the economic principles of the social market economy. Balancing the interests of employers and employees plays an essential role in political discourse, although the ‘social partnership’ has undergone changes in recent years. The standard of living is very high, even by European standards, and the long-term average unemployment rate is relatively low. Social benefits and the progressive taxation of wages and income have an equalising effect on society. Since 1990, population growth in Austria has accelerated significantly, in particular due to immigration from EU Member States and third countries. This growth is concentrated primarily in metropolitan areas, while some of the surrounding rural areas are exhibiting downward population trends. The environmental situation in Austria can be described as positive in terms of essential parameters such as water quality, air quality (with the exception of certain regions) and the use of renewable energy resources. Furthermore, by European standards a very high percentage of agricultural land is farmed in an ecological or environmentally appropriate way, and there are very high levels of sustainable forest use. There are, however, areas for improvement, such as the development of transport, in particular in conurbations and along transit routes, and the accompanying immission levels. This problem area is being addressed, including on a long-term basis, through the continuous development of rail infrastructure. Currently, Austria already has the highest share of rail transport within the European Union. Austria is also currently intensifying its efforts to achieve CO2 savings in the area of private transport. The Tax Reform Act 2020 [Steuerreformgesetz 2020] that has been adopted implements additional ecological measures in the area of mobility and introduces the taxation of sustainable fuels. The intention, among other things, is to provide a price signal as early as the point at which the purchase decision is made by introducing a registration tax that is dependent on price and emissions (with a tax rate of up to 32% and a penalty for particularly emission- intensive passenger cars). A CO2 component will also be introduced in the area of engine-related insurance tax (current motor vehicle tax), thereby steering a course towards low-emission motor vehicles. In addition, electric bicycles will become eligible for input tax deduction and tax incentives will be provided for biogas, sustainable hydrogen and liquefied natural gas. Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan for Austria 6 of 268 Together with companies and private households, public budgets are the main sources of financing for measures focussing on the climate and energy. Sustainable public finances thus create the room for manoeuvre needed to develop strategic options for meeting climate and energy targets. In view of the long-term challenges of decarbonisation, the Austrian government is therefore committed to sustainably consolidating public budgets and permanently reducing the general government debt. In order to do so, it is necessary to critically examine whether the existing expenditure and revenue structure is compatible with the climate and energy targets. It is also important to minimise the risk to public budgets from missed or delayed action (cost of inaction), as this is counterproductive to the objective of permanently reducing general government debt. For the first time since 1954, the government will spend less than it receives. This means the end of the debt management policy, without introducing any new taxes. These sustainable budget and tax policies must also be pursued for the rest of the 2020s. In the interests of budgetary sustainability, it is therefore necessary to ensure that a system of reciprocal financing is provided for measures that are relevant in terms of budgets and tax policy. In several regions, land use is a critical issue. Alongside population trends and economic prosperity, the primary reason for this is the lack of adequate spatial planning tools at local and regional level. In connection with the economic, environmental and social context of the plan, the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are also of paramount importance. These goals are to be implemented in Austria through mainstreaming in all policy areas, thus ensuring sustainable economic, environmental and social development, while explicitly taking into account the principle of budgetary sustainability. As one of the basic prerequisites for sustainable development, real equality between the genders is anchored in the SDGs as a cross-cutting issue. These state that the 17 Sustainable Development Goals are geared towards achieving gender equality, and achieving this equality will in turn make a decisive contribution to the progress of all of the goals. One of the key factors is that women have political participation and decision-making power at all levels on an equal footing with men. In the Austrian constitution, the federal government, provinces and municipalities have committed themselves to real gender equality. Austria implements this through the strategy of gender mainstreaming, which involves taking into account the impact on both sexes from the outset of all decision-making processes. The aim is to achieve equality between women and men by keeping the gender perspective in mind in all areas and at all levels of policy making and corresponding