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Emissions

Austria's emissions are expected to have fallen by around 6% in 2023 compared to the previous year.
Compared to the rest of Europe, Austria has reduced its emissions relatively little in recent decades.
In terms of population, Austria's emissions are above the global average.
The increased concentration of greenhouse gases has warmed the planet by +1.1 degrees in the last 120 years.

Emissionen →

-15,5 %

Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions between 1990 and 2024

Umweltbundesamt 2024

CO₂ concentration →

426 ppm

Global Warming →

1,4 °C

Degree of global warming in October 2024 compared to historic average

+2.9 °C is the increase in the average annual temperature in Austria by 2023 since pre-industrial times.

Copernicus, Geosphere Austria (HISTALP)

Sectors →

28 %

of Austrian emissions are caused by traffic

34% Industry
11% Agriculture

Umweltbundesamt 2022

Detailed Emissions

Where do emissions in Austria come from?

How are greenhouse gas emissions in Austria composed? How much do cars contribute, and how much comes from the burps and flatulence of livestock? In this graphic, we present for the first time a detailed representation of the emissions produced in Austria. The square visualization shows the emissions of one year, divided by sector. By clicking on a sector, you can see which subsectors it consists of. A total of 46 subsectors are displayed. Clicking on a subsector again opens a short description explaining the subsector. A second diagram provides historical context. The visualization was inspired by the Swedish climate transformation platform.

CRF Dataset from the Austrian Environment Agency (data status including 2022, Open Data).

Translation of sector names & for more detailed explanations:
Germany's Inventory Report (German),
Austria’s National Inventory Report 2023 (English)

The graphic can be downloaded in PDF and PNG formats.

Global Emissions per Capita

Measured by population, Austria's emissions are well above the global average.

In this chart, the per capita greenhouse gas emissions of different countries are shown. This is calculated by dividing the annual greenhouse gas emissions by the population. Even within individual countries, greenhouse gas emissions are often very unevenly distributed, for example, due to income or living conditions.

Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research, Crippa et al. GHG emissions of all world countries - 2023 Report Some regions in the data source have been combined.

EN: Production-Based Emissions

Austria's Emissions Have Been Decreasing in Recent Years.

This chart shows the annual emissions of all greenhouse gases from Austria since 1990. These figures are calculated on a production basis. This means that only emissions within the national borders are taken into account.

Austria's total emissions consist of emissions from different sectors and federal states, which can be displayed through the selection bar and the dropdown menu. The emissions data from the Environmental Agency are used for representation, which annually creates the national greenhouse gas inventory. The sectors are based on the Climate Protection Act. Transport emissions only include domestic air traffic, so the share of international air traffic can also be displayed.

Environmental Agency: Greenhouse Gas Emissions according to CSA

For the year 2024:
Nowcast UBA (Nov. 2024)

Population: Statistics Austria

Emissions of the federal states in comparison

The federal states face different challenges on the path to a climate-neutral Austria. While Upper Austria produces particularly high emissions due to its local industry, in federal states like Vienna or Lower Austria, the challenges lie more in the energy and transport sectors. The areas of the rectangles represent the total emissions of the federal states. The X-axis shows emissions per capita and the Y-axis shows the population size. Emissions per capita and population can be sorted by clicking on the corresponding axes. Individual sectors can be selected and deselected to compare different federal states over a period of 30 years.

Environment Agency: Greenhouse Gas Emissions by KSG

Population: Statistics Austria

Consumption-Based Emissions

Austria Imports Emissions.

This diagram shows the consumption-based emissions for four years compared to production-based emissions from 1990 onwards in CO₂ equivalents. In the consumption-based calculation, emissions arising from the production of goods imported to Austria are included. At the same time, emissions from export goods produced in Austria are subtracted. This results in greenhouse gas emissions approximately 50% higher than the production-based calculation, meaning Austria imports emissions. In other countries, such as China, the balance is reversed, indicating that more emission-intensive goods are exported than imported.

Consumption-Based Emissions:
Steininger, K. et al. (2018). Austria’s consumption-based greenhouse gas emissions: Identifying sectoral source and destinations. Global environmental change, 48, 226-242.;

Production-Based Emissions:
Umweltbundesamt

Historical Emissions

Austria's historical responsibility for the climate crisis is significant.

In this diagram, Austria's production-based emissions since 1800 are shown. In 2022, they amounted to 75 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents. Austria is among the early industrialized countries and has been emitting greenhouse gases for a long time. This entails a historical responsibility for the climate crisis, especially towards countries in the Global South, which started emitting greenhouse gases late but are already suffering massively from the consequences of global warming today.

The data in the diagram are from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). The emission levels for the years from 1990 differ slightly from the diagram of production-based emissions, where we visualize the data from the Austrian Environment Agency. The breakdown of total emissions in this diagram into sectors follows a slightly different logic compared to the classification of the Environment Agency. For example, the transport sector and the energy sector are combined in this representation, while the Environment Agency presents these sectors separately.

Gütschow, J.; Pflüger, M.; Busch, D. (2023): The PRIMAP-hist national historical emissions time series v2.5.1 (1750-2022). zenodo. doi:10.5281/zenodo.10705513.

Further information

You can find out how many emissions Austria is still allowed to emit in order to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees as agreed in the Paris Climate Agreement on the Greenhouse Gas Budget page.

What are greenhouse gas emissions and how are they produced?

Greenhouse gas emissions are gases that are released into the atmosphere and contribute to the greenhouse effect. The most important greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrogen oxide (N2O). Their increased concentration in the atmosphere absorbs heat energy from solar radiation and leads to global warming.

At 421ppm, the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere today is higher than it has been in the last 800,000 years. This increased concentration is caused by human activity, such as the burning of fossil coal, oil and gas, our industrial production, agriculture or truck and car traffic.

What is the difference between production-based and consumption-based emissions?

Production-based emissions only include those greenhouse gases that are emitted within Austria. In other words, cows in Austrian fields, steel production in Upper Austria, traffic on Austrian highways, etc. These are the figures that are usually the focus of attention.

But these are not all the emissions for which we are responsible: our consumption also generates emissions in other countries, e.g. when we buy a product that was manufactured in China. At the same time, consumption-based emissions do not take into account emissions that occur in Austria but are consumed abroad.

However, as we consume far more from other countries, Austria's consumption-based emissions are around 50% higher than its production-based emissions. Our responsibility does not stop at national borders; our consumption in other countries must also be taken into account for our greenhouse gas balance. If they are not taken into account, the outsourcing of emissions-intensive production abroad leads to an apparent improvement in the greenhouse gas balance.

Referenzen

Wir danken dem Umweltbundesamt für die Bereitstellung der detaillierten Daten. Der Detail-Explorer ist inspiriert vom schwedischen Panorama-Tool.