Climate Report for Austria

More than 120 scientists are currently working on a new, comprehensive climate report for Austria. The contents and goals have now been presented.

"The consequences and impacts of the climate crisis reach us in almost all areas of life. Periods of heat stress our health, extreme weather events cause enormous economic damage and great suffering for the people affected. The status report provides us with a well-founded analysis of this and the consequences we can expect in the future. This supports us in our preparations, enabling us to take the right steps to adapt," emphasizes Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler.

The latest reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have made it clear: The effects of man-made climate change are already clearly noticeable on all continents and range from the increase in extreme events to drought or glacier melt to sea level rise. The Alpine region was and is massively affected by the consequences of global warming. But what do the data of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change mean at the national level? What concrete consequences will climate change have for Austria and how can they be countered?

Over the next three years, more than 120 scientists from all over Austria will address these questions. In a joint large-scale project, they will produce the 2nd Assessment Report on Climate Change in Austria (APCC Assessment Report on Climate Change in Austria, AAR2). The authors gathered at the University of Innsbruck from July 6 to 7 for a first major working meeting. In a press briefing, the four co-chairs and leaders of the AAR2 Harald Rieder (University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences BOKU), Margreth Keiler (University of Innsbruck and ÖAW), Daniel Huppmann and Keywan Riahi (both International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis IIASA) as well as Gernot Wörther from the Climate and Energy Fund informed about the structure and goals of the report, which will be completed in 2025.

Identifying adaptation options, closing knowledge gaps

The effects of climate change have long been felt in all areas and across society, such as in agriculture and forestry, in the healthcare system, in questions of mobility, in tourism or in relation to ecosystem services. In this sense, the authors of the Austrian Assessment Report aim at a scientific survey and assessment of the past, present and potential future impacts of climate change in Austria, focusing on both national and regional circumstances. A major concern of the experts from various disciplines is the identification of options for action: A significant part of the report will therefore be dedicated to the quantification of adaptation potentials as well as measures for the rapid reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. To this end, the authors will, in addition to the scientific review, enter into exchange with different parts of civil society, interest groups or political decision-makers in the various phases of the project and gather feedback.

Statements from the press conference

Harald Rieder, Institute of Meteorology and Climatology, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, APCC Co-Chair: "The Assessment Report will assess past and current impacts of climate change in Austria as well as the state of knowledge on the consequences of failing to meet the Paris climate targets. However, it is not only dedicated to the climate impacts in different economic and living sectors. The report will also show what contribution sectors can make, both individually and collectively, on the path to climate neutrality and what socio-economic effects are associated with this. The AAR2 thus elaborates very significant options for action that will allow climate goals to be achieved through targeted transformation."

Margreth Keiler, Institute of Geography at the University of Innsbruck and ÖAW, Project Leader and APCC Co-Chair: "Only a few nation states produce their own climate report. Austria takes an international pioneering role with this national analysis. The overall goal of the report is to provide an Austria-specific synthesis of scientific findings with national and international data. In this context, however, it will also be a matter of defining gaps in knowledge. From this, I expect a general booster for climate research in Austria beyond this report, because this interdisciplinary cooperation is unique so far."

Daniel Huppmann, coordinator of the Scenario Services & Scientific Software research area at IIASA: "Most of the population is already aware of the impacts of the climate crisis, and the recently completed Citizens' Climate Council showed that many people are ready for the necessary changes. It is now the task of science to work out the synergies and possible trade-offs of the different measures in dialogue with civil society and policy makers* to support evidence-based climate policies."

Keywan Riahi, APCC Co-Chair and Director of the Energy, Climate and Environment Program at IIASA: "An important contribution of the report will be to provide a scientifically sound basis and to elaborate the possible mitigation pathways for a climate neutral Austria. The AAR2 will therefore allow to scientifically evaluate the climate measures set by policy makers and to identify important adaptation and mitigation options."

Gernot Wörther, Program Manager at the Climate and Energy Fund: "Through our close cooperation with municipalities and regions, we know: The consequences of climate change are strongly felt in the regions, but financial resources are limited. Investments and decisions must therefore be made on the basis of sound facts. We will incorporate the report's findings-as we did in 2014-into our funding programs, enabling us to offer pinpoint support."

Background information

Project title: APCC Assessment Report on Climate Change in Austria (AAR2)

Laufzeit: 01.02.2022-30.06.2025

Following the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the Austrian Panel on Climate Change (APCC) was established at the Climate Change Centre Austria (CCCA) in the course of the preparation of the first comprehensive Austrian Assessment Report on Climate Change 2014 (AAR14). Under its umbrella, renowned scientists from the Austrian climate research community regularly compile the current state of research on climate change in Austria. The 2nd Austrian Assessment Report on Climate Change is funded by the Climate and Energy Fund, endowed by the Ministry of Climate Protection.

Website of the APCC: https://ccca.ac.at/apcc 

Participating institutions:

University of Bodenkultur Vienna: https://boku.ac.at/ 
University of Innsbruck: https://www.uibk.ac.at/ 
IIASA: https://iiasa.ac.at/ 
Climate and Energy Fund: https://www.klimafonds.gv.at/ 
Federal Ministry for Climate Protection, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology: https://www.bmk.gv.at/