Totschnig warns of bureaucratic costs in climate protection: An outcry!

Totschnig warns of bureaucratic costs in climate protection: An outcry!

In the ORF “press hour”, Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig (ÖVP) spoke extensively about the challenges and strategies in environmental and climate policy. Totschnig emphasized the importance of an eco-social approach to achieve climate goals. He called on all actors, especially business, to actively participate in climate protection measures. This is a central demand of his political agenda, which implies broad cooperation on climate protection. Loud NOEN Totschnig did not express any direct criticism of the EU “Green Deal”, but he did criticize the excessive bureaucracy associated with it.

A concrete example of this bureaucracy is the deforestation regulation, where carpenters require different application numbers to process different types of wood. Totschnig emphasized that such a regulation is perceived as a hindrance and makes the wood processing process unnecessarily complicated. The deforestation regulation is not the only bureaucratic hurdle: extensive applications are also required for the use of small areas of forest or fruit trees. These points were made by both VOL.at as well as by the NOEN, which indicates a broad consensus on the problem.

Climate law and economic policy

An important aspect of Totschnig's speech was the climate law, which is currently being worked on. This law is intended to create clarity regarding the responsibilities of the ministries and ensure that states and municipalities are also included in climate protection. He pointed out that climate neutrality is enshrined in the government program by 2040. Totschnig emphasized that the EU guidelines have priority. This multidimensionality in the goals is reflected in the challenges that Austria is currently facing.

Strengthening the business location is another central concern of Totschnig. After three years of economic recession, the minister sees the need to combine the conversion to renewable energy with a strong economy. He pointed out that the annual costs of six billion euros cannot be covered by public money alone. In particular, Totschnig viewed the abolition of the climate bonus as critical because the associated costs were higher than the income from CO2 pricing and had no real climate relevance.

Criticism from politics

The political reactions to Totschnig's statements were mixed. The Greens were disappointed with his appearance and criticized the fact that his statements did not promise any progress in climate protection. In contrast, the FPÖ expressed concerns that Totschnig was not clearly positioning himself against the EU “Green Deal” and saw the ÖVP as a mediator between reason and green ideology. Totschnig also emphasized that 90 percent of Austria's agricultural foreign trade flows into Europe and expressed skepticism about the planned Mercosur agreement, in which the ÖVP is against a conclusion, but will carefully examine the draft.