Austria to enshrine 2040 climate neutrality in law

Austria's government said Friday it would enshrine a target to reach climate neutrality by 2040 in law, as the country faces record drought and heat.

Finance minister Markus Marterbauer said the conservative-led coalition had agreed to pass a climate protection law while deciding on an aid package for farmers.

“We reaffirm that the goal is climate neutrality by 2040, enshrined in law,” Marterbauer told a press conference. He said a draft bill should be circulated “very soon” and that the government would present a roadmap by the end of next year with “concrete measures” to achieve the goal.

Austria has experienced its driest 12 months ever recorded, according to its weather service, hitting agriculture hard. Temperatures this summer reached an all-time record high of 41.2C earlier this month as much of Europe sweltered through successive heatwaves.

The European Union has a target of climate neutrality, meaning an economy with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, by 2050.

Climate and conservation groups welcomed Austria's announcement but warned the goal needed to apply to all sectors and be binding. WWF Austria said that without clear guidelines, climate neutrality by 2040 would remain “an empty promise without effect”.

Scientific experts say human-made climate change has made extreme weather events more intense and more frequent, and that Europe has become the world's fastest-warming continent.