Chapter 6: Climate Governance: Political, Legal, Economic and Societal Aspects

Current Austrian climate policies are insufficient to meet Paris-aligned targets: existing instruments, implementation and political commitment fall short of the reductions required by EU law and the Paris goals. Achieving deep decarbonization requires comprehensive, vertically and horizontally integrated climate governance with explicit prioritization where targets conflict, combined with robust adaptation measures and just-transition policies to mitigate social impacts and build public acceptance. Austria's legally binding targets are driven primarily by EU energy and environmental law; international treaties have had no direct legal effect domestically, as illustrated by the absence of a binding national Climate Protection Act. Structural barriers – entrenched power relations, counterproductive subsidies, and reluctance to green fiscal instruments – have produced an implementation gap in which ambitious targets exist without sufficient measures to realize them (high confidence). Education, media framing, and the largely neglected links between climate and migration are critical cross-cutting issues that must be addressed to enable equitable, effective climate action.