While environment minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) wants to legally end the controversial gas extraction method of fracking, coalition partner ÖVP is still reluctant – they do not want to comment on the minister’s plans, it said on Tuesday.
As the “Krone” quoted from Gewessler’s draft on Monday, “fracking should not be an option worth pursuing in Austria, whether from an energy, economic, environmental or climate policy point of view”. The government should therefore commit itself to “sustainable, ecologically responsible and rapid expansion of renewable energy sources”.
However, Gewessler’s design did not agree with the ÖVP. The party headquarters of the ÖVP told the “Krone” that nobody in Austria wanted to do fracking anyway – a ban was therefore not necessary.
Concept already submitted?
“At the end of last week, we submitted a proposal for a Council of Ministers speech on a commitment against fracking in Austria,” Gewessler’s climate protection ministry said in a statement to APA. “This reading of the Council of Ministers is currently being coordinated within the government.”
Fracking can have “far-reaching consequences for the environment and nature” and “because of the long lead time it also makes no contribution to security of supply”. For this reason “we are convinced that the people of the Weinviertel deserve a clear policy here. We want to take care of that,” said Gewessler.
ÖVP strives for restraint
The Turkish government partner took a cautious attitude on Tuesday and did not want to comment further on the matter. At APA’s request, only the internal reconciliations were referred to. A decision on fracking in the Council of Ministers on Wednesday seems unlikely, according to APA intelligence.
Meanwhile, the ÖVP Lower Austria rejected fracking on Tuesday: According to the “Wiener Zeitung”, the office of Deputy Governor Stephan Pernkopf (ÖVP) made it clear on request that fracking in Lower Austria was not an option: “The local mayors don’t want to it is not and even experts speak out against it.”
ÖVP currently without fracking plans
Fracking “does not feature in our energy roadmap. We tend to rely on green gas,” the paper quoted Pernkopf’s office as saying. At a government meeting last week, the course was set for climate-friendly alternatives without fracking plans. When asked specifically about the ban Gewessler was seeking, Pernkopf’s office remained “vague”.
In the recent past, the governor of Lower Austria, Johanna Mikl-Leitner (ÖVP), who is currently campaigning for the state elections in Lower Austria, has been skeptical to negative. “This procedure requires a unanimous opinion of the experts. And a clear position from the Ministry of the Environment,” she said in November.
Upper Austria wants to investigate “bio-fracking”.
For example, the Industry Federation flirted with the controversial gas extraction method in the Weinviertel in the past and also demanded a feasibility study. The FPÖ Lower Austria also spoke out in favor of this method last October.
And also on the part of the ÖVP, in view of the energy supply crisis, considerations had been raised in this direction: in July of the previous year, the governor of Upper Austria, Thomas Stelzer (ÖVP), called for the possibilities of “bio fracking”. research and – where appropriate – implement.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
