The first “Austrian Soil Protection Strategy” should have been adopted on Tuesday as part of the Austrian Regional Planning Conference (ÖROK). But nothing comes of that, the decision was postponed indefinitely.
The aim of the strategy is to reduce land use by 80 percent to 2.5 hectares per day by 2030. Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler (Greens) announced “clear goals” to the states on Monday, while Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig (ÖVP) relied on “a discussion of the previous proposal”.
About 20 months have passed since the strategy was announced and the draft was criticized by NGOs beforehand. “At tomorrow’s ÖROK political meeting, we will discuss the proposal that is on the table again in detail,” Totschnig announced Monday afternoon.
An analysis by the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) shows that the daily land use was about eleven hectares, the paved area slightly more than half. Greenpeace criticizes that the target of 2.5 hectares was already mentioned in 2002 in the sustainability strategy of the federal government, but that no political decision has yet been made.
After the postponement became known, the WWF called for “a credible reboot of land policy”.
no solution in sight
In Austria, supra-local spatial planning is essentially a matter for the Länder, while the highest building authority in municipalities is the mayor. That is precisely why land use is also a problem of federalism. In the run-up to ÖROK, Vice Chancellor Kogler announced to the country’s leaders that the government would take on “locked-in federalism” and some countries with a blockade attitude.
This also applies to measures for the energy transition, as well as to the topic of “area consumption” – here Austria is the negative European champion – there will be clear goals: “We let the federal states take the Austria-wide targets.” Apparently the discussion continues now. A new date has not yet been announced.
At EU level, there is currently no legally binding policy target with regard to land take and soil sealing. However, the new EU Soil Protection Strategy asked individual states to set land use targets by 2030 – ultimately the goal is to achieve land use neutrality by 2050.
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.
