
The City of Vienna plans to introduce its own climate protection law this year, following the federal government’s failure to do so, Vienna Mayor Michael Ludwig has announced.
Austria’s national coalition government, comprising the People’s Party (ÖVP) and the Green Party, had included a federal climate law in its 2020 government program. However, with just three weeks left before the parliamentary elections on 29 September, it is unlikely the law will be passed in time.
In an interview with the MeinBezirk news site, Ludwig stated he does not want to wait any longer and will initiate the process for Vienna to become Austria’s first federal state with its own climate protection legislation.
“Since the federal government is unable to achieve this, we will introduce our own Vienna climate protection law,” Ludwig said, adding that clean energy generation is of central importance to the city.
Vienna, like the rest of Austria, aims to become climate-neutral by 2040.
To reach this goal, 600,000 households will need to transition away from gas, opting for climate-friendly energy sources such as solar power, geothermal energy, and large heat pumps. Vienna’s solar power initiative plans to install photovoltaic systems equivalent to the size of 100 football pitches each year.