Policy Brief: Financing the Implementation of the Nature Restoration Regulation

The study published on 6 September 2024 by Margit Schratzenstaller and Franz Sinabell on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology deals with the Nature Restoration Regulation, which came into force on 18 August 2024. It aims to improve the condition of natural habitats.

Based on to the existing distribution of responsibilities and tasks across governmental levels in Austria, the federal provinces are entrusted with the relevant tasks in nature conservation. However, they currently only have limited possibilities to finance relevant measures. As the responsibility for implementing the regulation and the financing options do not match perfectly, coordination between the governmental levels is essential in order to achieve the objectives of the regulation. The existing intergovernmental relations in Austria can be used to bring about the desired changes.