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Main drivers
What are the main drivers?
National surveys show the priority given by the Austrian population to environmental problems; see Figure 4 (STATISTIK AUSTRIA 2007).
The close match between the importance of environmental problems in terms of physical/technical assessment parameters and how they are evaluated by the public is striking. Only the importance attributed to the consumption of energy/natural resources, a main driver, is underrated. (BMLFUW [Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management] 2009B)
During the 1990s, Domestic Material Consumption (DMC) rose by an average of 0.5% per year, and between 2000 and 2006 by 0.9% per year (Figure 5).
Since 1990, primary energy consumption in Austria has increased by 36%, amounting to 1.429 PJ in 2008. The share of fossil fuels, to meet this consumption, is as high as 72%.
In 2008, the transport sector was the largest end-consumer of energy with 34%, of which almost 95% was from fossil fuels. Industry accounted for 29% of final energy consumption, private households for 25% and the services sector for 10%. Agriculture accounted for 2%. Final consumption of electricity rose between 1990 and 2008 by 39%, with the highest rise in manufacturing (STATISTIK AUSTRIA 2009A).
Related to this the development of GHG emissions are shown in Figure 7.
(The data are based on figures for sold fuels and therefore include fuel exports. Emissions produced by fuel export (passenger cars and heavy duty vehicles) are displayed separately. The difference in fuel prices between Austria and other countries has affected the data, particularly since 2001.)
A total of 31,373 km2 (37.4%) of the country's territory is currently available as permanent settlement area, i.e. as space available for agriculture, settlement and transport infrastructure. The associated areas used for building and transport purposes have increased by more than 6% since 2004 (BEV 2010). In contrast, the population has risen by 2.6% over a comparable period (STATISTIK AUSTRIA 2009B). Around 5 hectares per day are being sealed (BEV 2010).
The main reasons for making demands on the land are the increased standard of living and changes in the structure of society and the economy. The average living area per person rose from 22 m2 in 1971 to 36 m2 in 2001 (STATISTIK AUSTRIA 2004). Land designated for transport infrastructure purposes is increasingly being used for roads, with approximately 40% of the areas for building and transport purposes (BEV 2010).
The measures necessitated by dense settlement to protect against natural hazards and the intensive use of hydroelectric energy with the associated interference in aquatic ecology have resulted in some 63% of the waters failing to achieve the 'good status' required under the EU Water Framework Directive (BMLFUW 2010B).
The main Alpine crest acts as a natural barrier in Austria and, as such, is particularly exposed to long-haul air freight. Unlike other EU countries, this affects the sensitive high-Alpine regions (Source: Austria and global environmental protection). Air currents from the north-east and south-east are frequently associated with above-average SO2 and fine particulate air pollution in Austria.
The calculation models for modelling ambient air quality produce much less reliable results for Austria than for regions that are less strongly divided in orographical terms.