Austria has a good record of implementing EU and national environmental rules, and high environmental awareness among its citizens. Its environmental technology and services sector is strong, and the country is the EU leader in organic farming. However, there are compliance issues on strategic and environmental impact assessments and restrictions on access to justice in the field of environment.
Highlights
Austria adopted its Circular Economy Strategy and has launched several initiatives to reduce waste generation.
Austria has the highest share of organic farming in the EU, covering more than 25% of agricultural land.
Main Challenges
Nature and Biodiversity
Despite Austria's progress in its level of protection and restoration efforts related to its Natura 2000 sites, the status of many habitats and species continues to deteriorate.
Pollution
Land-take and soil sealing remain very high in the country but will be significantly reduced by 2030 if the newly adopted “Soil strategy for Austria” is implemented effectively.
Governance and investment
Austria’s investment gap is estimated to be €2.9 billion per year, which is equal to around 0.65% of national GDP – lower than the EU-average (0.77%).
An infringement procedure is ongoing relating to the insufficient implementation of the Aarhus Convention, in particular the right of recognised NGOs to have access to an effective judicial review of self-executing ordinances. The matter could be referred to the Court of Justice of the EU if Austria does not remedy the breaches identified by the Commission.