Economic Policy Options to Handle a Shortfall of Natural Gas Supplies

This Research Brief proposes economic policy options that are potentially applicable in the short term in order to minimise the economic damage of a significant reduction of the gas available in Austria. Special attention is given to not slowing down the desired green transformation. The focus is on economic mechanisms for gas allocation to companies and the implementation of incentives for consumption savings. The outline of possible options is intended to steer the debate towards issues that have hardly been considered so far in Austria in order to enable better-informed decisions and to initiate in-depth interdisciplinary analyses that would be necessary for a practical implementation.