Climate- and Environment-related Public Spending in Austria

The public sector, as a producer and consumer of goods and services, plays an important role for progress towards the ecological development of a country. This working paper focuses on the coverage of environmentally relevant public expenditures in Austria, with a special focus on climate-related expenditures. The data bases available in Austria on public climate and environmental spending are presented and scrutinised with regard to their relevance and limi-tations. Also, the data bases on the costs of climate inaction, on ecologically counterproductive public subsidies as well as on the green public investments required for the green transformation in Austria are discussed. The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of the existing data on public expenditures in Austria that are relevant for environmental and climate policy, to identify their limitations and to point out data gaps and requirements. Finally, requirements regarding the institutional framework for the implementation of public climate protection expenditures are addressed.