22.05.2024
The Upper Austrian approach to Climate Leadership
On Tuesday and Wednesday last week, May 14 and 15, 2024, representatives of the REMARKABLE project brought climate leaders of local communities from seven EU countries – Austria, Ireland, Croatia, Slovenia, Spain, France and Norway – to Linz, Austria. The purpose of the meeting was for leaders and representatives of the project to exchange good practices and ideas that pave our common European path to a sustainable future.
The meeting was opened by a host representative, the regional energy agency of Upper Austria OÖ Energiesparferband (ESV), with a presentation of their federal state (Ober Österreich) and an emphasis on their vision of local climate neutrality. With a total population of around 1.5 million people (a good 15% of Austria’s population), the region boasts the classic Austrian Alpine countryside – high mountains, vast forests, lakes, rivers and green pastures. The image of an Alpine idyll is not only a cornerstone of local tourism but a part of the local identity, but the locals are also proud of their highly developed industry. They produce as much as 25% of annual exports at the national level, a large part at the expense of the steel industry. Linz is the capital of the federal state, and although it is considered the third largest Austrian city with just over 200,000 inhabitants, more than half of the inhabitants of Upper Austria live outside urbanized areas.
Despite the high development of energy-intensive industry and relatively dispersed population (or perhaps due to these factors?), Upper Austria is considered one of the leading regions in the field of energy transition, both within Austria and in the wider region. “In Upper Austria today a new solar power plant is connected to the electricity grid every twenty minutes… every twenty minutes, day and night!” emphasized Christiane Egger, representative of the ESV and one of the key driving forces of the transition to a sustainable future both at the local and European level. “If we want people to accept the energy transition, we have to explain to them what it means,” she added, “we need to explain how it improves the quality of their lives, what implications it has for the industry, for their local community, and to show to the key industry representatives and local community leaders that if we don’t go in this direction, in the long run, we all lose”.
That the above points are not mere platitudes but knowledge based on years of experience and hard work, with which Christiane and her colleagues contribute to the realization of the goals for the sustainable future of Europe, the participants of the meeting saw during a visit to two municipalities near Linz. First, in Sankt Martin im Mühlkreis, where the mayor presented us with their vision of the transition to a sustainable future with an emphasis on a biomass-powered district heating system using wood chips. The second location was the municipality of Kronstorf, where the mayor focused mainly on the role of attracting investments from large companies (e.g. Google) and on strict negotiations with real estate developers, as well as the importance of smart contracting, which must be in line with the long-term vision of local sustainable development. Although in different words, both hosts emphasized energy production as the main challenge for Upper Austria on its way to a sustainable future. Energy production represents 75% of the greenhouse gases in the region, and according to the Austrian climate leaders, there is only one answer to this problem – to end our dependence on fossil fuels!
ESV invited event participants to the international educational seminar for the development of biomass-powered local district heating systems, which will take place from September 23 to 26, 2024 in Linz. Find more information about registration fees and possible financial support for representatives of public services at the link above. In addition, they also invite to a seminar on development of energy communities (registration deadline is June 1!), which ESV organizes under the patronage of the European Commission’s ManageEnergy initiative. It will take place in several phases, the main part of which is a physical meeting on 1 and 2 October 2024 in Brussels. Financial support in the amount of EUR 550 is available to interested participants, find more information at the link above.
In addition to the organizers, participants also contributed to the event, which we will write about in more detail in the following news. In a series of presentations, climate leaders and representatives of energy agencies shed light on topics such as climate neutrality, e-mobility, photovoltaics, energy communities, energy transition in the manufacturing industry, smart energy systems and, of course, the end of fossil fuels, especially in the mobility sector. Don’t miss the continuation of this short, follow us and the REMARKABLE project on Twitter and LinkedIn!
