Viennese experts warn: climate goals at risk - action is now in demand!

Viennese experts warn: climate goals at risk - action is now in demand!

Wien, Österreich - In Vienna, the topic of climate protection is being discussed hotly. On May 31, 2025, two experts spoke in an exciting round about the challenges and solutions for sustainable energy supply and traffic. One central goal: the climate neutrality of the city until 2040. It is clear that Vienna has to turn numerous adjustment screws, since 30 percent of urban emissions are currently in the building sector, such as the Kurier reported.

An important point that came up is the "out-out gas" strategy that has already been initiated to decarbonize the city's heat supply. However, a higher boiler exchange rate and a stronger commitment to thermal renovation are required for a successful implementation. Because despite the initiatives, the city has only limited say in existing buildings in terms of achieving climate goals.

suggestions for a greener future

To better address the challenge, some interesting suggestions were made. This includes the determination of minimum standards for renovation work and the thermal renovation in the building code as well as improved communication via the gas exit to the owners. This could support the city to achieve the climate goals more effectively.

Another large problem child is the mobility area, where 35 percent of emissions come from. Despite a defined goal of reducing the proportion of car journeys in the city to 20 percent by 2025, he is currently stagnating at 25 percent. The experts advocate measures to reduce car traffic. This includes the regulation of the parking spaces, a reduction in public parking spaces-the number of parking spaces in Vienna is currently 480,000-and the introduction of a comprehensive speed 30 limits on main roads.

If these measures are successfully implemented, the car traffic component could drop to remarkable 15 percent. This would even make the praise tunnel superfluous, a plan that has been under discussion for years.

A look outside the box

In the context of climate protection, it is also exciting to see how other cities, such as Berlin, tackle comparable challenges. Berlin was able to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by around a third from 1990 to 2016, but still faces enormous challenges in view of global warming. While the trend of the CO2 emission reduction last stagnated, further efforts are urgently needed to meet the climate goals, reports berlin.de .

It shows that cities only make up 3 percent of the solid land interface, but accommodate 50 percent of the world's population. Nevertheless, they are responsible for around 70 percent of CO2 emissions. This means that they are at the center of efforts to protect climate and sustainable development.

The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development has also developed a comprehensive strategy to support cities in creating climate -based structures. An integrated approach is pursued to use the development potential of the cities and reduce social and economic inequalities. These comprehensive efforts should help not only to increase the quality of life of the city dwellers, but also to support global climate goals, so the BMZ .