Eisenstadt, 11 May 2026. Deputy Governor and Regional Minister for Climate Protection Anja Haider-Wallner, together with Marcus Keding, Managing Director of Forschung Burgenland, and Project Manager Marcus Hofmann, today presented a new calculation tool for greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption and energy generation in Burgenland. This tool provides, for the first time, a comprehensive, quantifiable and annually verifiable overview of the province’s path towards net-zero emissions by 2030 and full climate neutrality by 2040. “This was a key requirement of the Burgenland Climate Protection Act,” emphasised Haider-Wallner. “The path to climate neutrality by 2040 must be measurable and verifiable on an annual basis. Our goal is ambitious – which is why it is crucial that we can see transparently whether our measures are having an effect and that we can make adjustments where necessary.”
A transparent data foundation for effective climate action
The tool, developed on behalf of the Province of Burgenland, is based on data published annually by the Federal Environment Agency and the provincial reports. It provides a detailed sector-by-sector breakdown of emissions and energy consumption, thereby making the implementation of Burgenland’s climate strategy objectively traceable. Project manager Marcus Hofmann explained how the tool works as a comprehensive impact assessment: “For the first time, we can use it to systematically illustrate which measures have what effects on emissions, energy consumption and the use of renewable energy.” “Due to the complex accounting methodology and the fact that only final, detailed statistics are used for the calculations, the figures for 2024 represent the most up-to-date data, which has only recently been published.”
Significant progress on emissions and renewable energy
The year 2019 serves as the baseline for tracking progress towards these targets. Since then, the data has shown a positive trend: in 2024, greenhouse gas emissions in Burgenland stood at 1.55 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent – a 5.1 per cent decrease compared with 2023 and the lowest figure since 1990. The transport sector remains the largest emitter at 52 per cent, followed at a considerable distance by the agriculture (16 per cent) and buildings (13 per cent) sectors. “In the buildings sector, significant successes are already evident thanks to the switch to climate-friendly heating systems,” said Haider-Wallner.
According to Hofmann, the picture regarding energy consumption is more nuanced: The transport and buildings sectors are almost neck and neck in 2024, followed by industry. Overall, energy consumption has fallen since 2019, though it has risen slightly compared with the previous year. It is important to emphasise that there has been no major shift within the energy mix. The share of fossil fuels such as gas, oil and diesel is falling, which is consistent with the reduced emission figures.
A clearly positive trend is evident in energy generation: the expansion of wind power and photovoltaics is progressing rapidly, whilst biogenic heat production from wood and biogas is also rising steadily. “This development underlines Burgenland’s growing importance as a renewable energy region with rapidly expanding electricity production and a stable, biogenic heat supply,” said Hofmann.
Research as a Partner in the Transition
Research Burgenland supports the Burgenland Provincial Government not only with scientific expertise and the CO₂ tool, but also with further projects that contribute to implementing the province’s climate strategy. Keding highlights a few exemplary projects in this context: “Climate-neutral administration – how can the provincial administration itself become climate-neutral?”, “FTech4Klimate – Use of satellite data for Burgenland”, “WWEU – Heat transition in the Eisenstadt region” and “Green Sentry – climate-related challenges in the Seewinkel region, in particular drought and water scarcity”.
Marcus Keding, Managing Director of Forschung Burgenland, commented: “The effects of climate change have long been a reality. That is why it is crucial to develop and expand innovative research approaches now. Forschung Burgenland has been working for several years on sustainable solutions at the interface between digitalisation, energy and agriculture. Projects such as these demonstrate how we can use our expertise and technological know-how to provide concrete answers to pressing questions about the future,” emphasises Managing Director Marcus Keding.
Haider-Wallner concluded by emphasising the importance of cooperation between politics and science: “This is a very good example of collaboration between the Province of Burgenland and Forschung Burgenland. I am confident that we will achieve our climate targets – and with this tool, we now have a clear annual overview of where we stand, what is working and where we need to step up our efforts.”
