EU 2020 Targets and Energy Efficiency Opportunities in Austria

Introduction

The EU’s Climate and Energy Package was introduced in 2009 to ensure that the region meets its 20-20-20 targets. The EU plans to reduce its GHG emissions by 20% and increase the share of renewable energy consumption to 20%. As per EU’s Effort Sharing Directive launched in 2006, each member country has committed to an indicative 9% reduction in energy usage by 2016 compared to 2005 levels.

Features and benefits

• Analysis of key facets of the EU 20-20-20 targets and Austria's interpretation of the same.
• Benchmarking of Austria's performance against that of other major European countries in terms of energy efficiency and target achievement.
• Analysis of Austria's performance with respect to its set targets for emissions control and energy efficiency.
• Key business opportunities generated by Austria through policies and measures undertaken to achieve its emissions and efficiency targets.

Highlights

While the absolute size of Austria's efforts needed to achieve its 20-20-20 targets is small, it is a dynamic renewable energy market that offers excellent opportunities in the near future for businesses that offer low-carbon solutions.

In 2009 the European Energy Agency advised that Austria urgently needed to step up its efforts in order to achieve its Kyoto targets by 2012. Given this assessment, Austria must now invest in energy efficiency and greenhouse gas-reducing measures with a comprehensive set of actions to achieve its EU 2020 targets.

The Austrian federal and local governments have been providing a multitude of grants for businesses, legal persons, private persons, and communities to overcome the initial expenditure needed. This removal of finanical barriers will provide significant business opportunities in the area of energy efficiency.

Your key questions answered

• Assess Austria's potential for investment in sectors involving energy efficiency and emissions mitigation.
• Analyze trends for energy usage, emissions control and legislations in place in Sweden in order to meet its EU 20-20-20 targets.
• Identify sectors with high levels of legislative support and their future outlook.