How Decarbonization and the Circular Economy Interact: Benefits and Trade-offs in the Case of the Buildings, Transport and Electricity Sectors in Austria

  • Willi Haas
  • André Baumgart
  • Nina Eisenmenger
  • Doris Virág
  • Gerald Kalt
  • Mark Sommer
  • Kurt Kratena
  • Ina Meyer

The widely heralded decarbonization of economies is a significant intervention in countries' societal metabolism, which eliminates the use of fossil fuels but also requires renewing societal stocks such as buildings, vehicles and power plants, which in turn requires materials and energy. The circular economy (CE) shifts a country's metabolism towards less material demand, waste and emissions, moving away from a linear resource flow pattern to one that narrows and slows flows and closes loops, in order to support climate protection. This article uses the example of Austria to examine how decarbonization and CE interact in the buildings, transport and electricity sectors. We use scenarios to analyse the contribution of decarbonization and CE strategies to achieving targets set by Austrian policy: firstly, carbon neutrality by 2040, secondly, ambitious reductions in material consumption, and thirdly, limiting annual land take.