Linz: Climate Protection Initiative

Abstract:

Through its "Climate Protection Initiative," the City of Linz has provided financial incentives to households and businesses to switch their energy supply to renewable, alternative energy sources. The project has several remarkable points which are listed below:

• policy integration and an inter-sectoral approach
• self-commitment of the municipality to the principles of sustainable development
• contributing to the attainment of environmental, economic and social goals
• improving air quality
• contributing to the prevention of global warming while supporting alternative and renewable energy sources
• encouraging sustainable industrial and commercial processes

Description

In January 1991, the Municipality of Linz became a member of the Climate Alliance of European Cities with Amazonian People. As a member of this Alliance the City is committed to climate protection, and is implementing a Climate Protection Initiative made up of a number of activities. These initiatives include the promotion of alternative energy use, a purchasing policy promoting informed purchasing of tropical timber, and a ban on the purchase of chemicals harmful to the atmosphere. Additional initiatives include improvements in the public transport sector and direct support to rain forest protection projects. Through this programme the Municipality of Linz aims to achieve a 50% reduction of CO₂ emissions in the community, or a 15% reduction of CO₂ emissions when the industrial sector is included by the year 2000.

A final initiative, described here, involves the promotion of community use of energy supplies from low carbon energy generation systems. These include conversion to natural gas, the use of district heating derived from industrial waste and municipal power stations and solar energy generation. The fact that two major industrial plants located in the area use industrial waste to provide energy offered an immediate alternative via district heating. The Climate Protection Initiative provides incentives to private households and local business in the form of cash grants to put the necessary infrastructure in place to use these alternatives in their buildings. Grants are provided through municipal funds. Households may receive grants to pay for hook-up to the district heating system or for the installation of solar energy systems. The level of financial support provided takes into account a family's economic status and size. Commercial business may receive grants to reduce the interest payments on commercial loans for district heating or solar installations.

It is anticipated that the use of household energy demanded from networked supplies will increase from 60% to 90% by the year 2000. In 1991 there were 873 financial assistance applications for natural gas, 29 for district heating and none for solar systems were accepted. In 1995 there were 212 applications for natural gas, 270 for district heating and 41 for solar energy. The programme demonstrated that a considerable portion of low-income households in an industrial area of the city could be motivated with grants to switch to low-pollution heating systems.

To support an initiative aimed at having households and businesses switch to alternative energy sources, a great deal of public relations work and information dissemination was necessary. It was found that the most efficient way of informing the public about the project was through information provided directly by the energy suppliers. It was important that interested households could receive assistance from local power company employees in completing application forms for grants.

The Linz steelworks contributes approximately 10% of all Austrian CO₂ emissions. As this industry is nationalised the City of Linz has very little influence over a great portion of CO₂ emissions in its boundaries. An aggressive programme to reduce emissions from households and commercial business is therefore very important.

The city of Linz has experienced emissions reductions in nearly every area. A variety of measures implemented in the area of Linz’s heavy industry – especially in regard to air pollution prevention – resulted in a sensational drop in annual dust, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions amounting to over 70%. In 1997 Linz won a major prize in the international ”5 Milestones Campaign” competition for its efforts in the area of energy savings and greenhouse gas reductions. Because of the city’s progress toward sustainable development it was also awarded an EU special prize in Brussels in 1997.

Source of Information

SOURCES: ICLEI International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, 1993: Local Initiatives ICLEI
Members In Action 1991-1992, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Magistrat der Stadt Linz, Amt für Natur- und Umweltschutz, Bericht Nr. 2/96: Aktivitäten der Stadt Linz auf dem Gebiet des Klimaschutzes

Magistrat der Stadt Linz, Amt für Natur- und Umweltschutz, Bericht Nr. 3/98: Energiebedarf der Haushalte sowie Emissionen des Hausbrandes in der Landeshauptstadt Linz für den Zeitraum 1994 bis 1997

Magistrat der Stadt Linz, Amt für Natur- und Umweltschutz, Bericht Nr. 1/99: Air Quality Data 1998 – Austrian and International Comparison of Cities and Regions

Contact:

Cities:

Linz :

Linz is the centre of one of Austria's federal states, Upper Austria. Covering an area of 96 km² it lies between the Danube and Traun rivers. Linz is an industrial centre with an important inland port on the Danube. Iron and steel smelting, chemical manufacture, machine tools and clothing are amongst the main industrial fields. The federal state government has its seat in Linz; it is also home to several higher education establishments, including university level and national schools of mechanical and electrical engineering.

Population:

Project was added at 01.06.1995
Project was changed at 22.08.2001

• SURBAN home
• Search cases
• See a list of all the cases
• Order the SURBAN database
• Back to the EA.UE homepage