Including industry

Austrians consumed less energy in 2023

Austria's energy consumption fell by four percent last year (symbolic image).

(Bild: LiettaOraz - stock.adobe.com)

Energy consumption in Austria fell by four percent in the previous year. This was even below the level of the pandemic year 2020, as Statistics Austria announced on Thursday. The decline is mainly due to industry.

It reduced its consumption by around seven percent to 291 petajoules (PJ) in 2023. Private households, the service sector and road transport also consumed less energy in the previous year. According to Statistics Austria, this was due to warmer weather, lower production and the switch to renewable energy sources.

More biofuels, less heating oil
Private households increasingly relied on biofuels such as biodiesel in the previous year. Demand for firewood, heating oil and wood pellets fell.

Air travel consumed 40 percent more energy in 2023. This is the second-highest figure in Austrian aviation history.

Greenhouse gas emissions have fallen
At the same time, greenhouse gas emissions in the EU fell by eight percent last year. The decline in coal and the increase in renewable energies contributed to this, the EU Environment Agency announced on Thursday.

Nevertheless, the agency assumes in its report that the agreed target of a 55 percent reduction by 2030 cannot be achieved. With the existing measures, 43 percent is feasible, it says. The UN Climate Change Conference begins on November 11 in Azerbaijan, where heads of state will discuss climate protection and the phase-out of fossil fuels, among other things.