Shortly before the end of the year, the 2024 renovation campaign is declared complete. The funding has been applied for in full. A continuation is provided for by law, but the funds must be released by the new federal government. In the past five years, 200,000 projects have been funded with 2.3 billion euros under the initiative for boiler replacement and home refurbishment (“Raus aus Öl und Gas”). Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from space heating is a key contribution to achieving Austria’s climate targets. (Photo: Pixabay)

The annual climate balance for Austria shows that 2024 was by far the warmest year in recorded history. According to GeoSphere Austria, it was 1.8 degrees warmer in the lowlands and on the mountains than an average year in the already very warm climate period from 1991 to 2020. The amount of precipitation in 2024 was eight percent above average, which is mainly due to the extreme rainfall in September. To illustrate: In St. Pölten, it rained 409 millimetres in five days in mid-September, which is a large part of the average annual precipitation of around 700 millimetres. (Photo: Pixabay)

The results of the Climate Change Conference in Baku (COP29, November 11 to 24, 2024) have caused disappointment locally and worldwide. Nevertheless, they have made a contribution to the international climate protection process: The implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement was not halted despite some resistance and existing climate protection targets were not weakened. The agreement on a climate financing target is of great importance: by 2035, the contributions of countries with very high greenhouse gas emissions are to increase to 300 billion US dollars per year. (Photo: COP29)

Chronic respiratory diseases are one of the most common causes of death in Europe. More than a third of these deaths are caused by preventable environmental factors, according to a recent report by the European Environment Agency (EEA). Environmental risk factors include air pollution (14% of deaths related to chronic respiratory diseases), cold and heat (11%), occupational exposure such as extreme temperatures, dust or chemicals (8%) and passive smoking (3%). (Photo: pixabay)

The countdown is on: September 30, 2024 is the submission deadline for the ASRA Sustainability Award, the Austrian Sustainability Reporting Award. This is awarded annually to the best sustainability reports from Austrian companies or Austrian organizations.

All information can be found here

(Photo: ASRA)

The European Green Deal is accelerating the green transition in the EU – as shown by the number of green jobs, which increased by 25% between 2010 and 2021 according to the European Environment Agency. In 2021, 5.2 million people were employed in the environmental goods and services sector in the EU – mainly in the energy sector in waste management, water management and wastewater management. (Photo: shutterstock)

After months of negotiations, the Austrian government has finally agreed on updated climate protection measures to achieve the EU targets. Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler presented the final Austrian energy and climate plan on August 20, 2024. According to this plan, the diesel privilege is to be abolished, among other things. (Photo: shutterstock)

klimaaktiv, Austria’s largest climate protection initiative, celebrated its 20th anniversary on June 10 under the motto “Right in the middle of the energy and mobility transition”. As a long-standing implementation partner of the initiative, brainbows organized the big anniversary event at the Schönbrunn Orangery with around 500 companions, including Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen, Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler and climate researcher Hans Joachim Schellnhuber. (Photo: klimaaktiv/APA /Juhasz)

brainbows has a new shareholder! Maria Vassilakou, former Deputy Mayor of Vienna and Green politician, has been on board since March 2024. Together with her, we are committed to the green transformation in order to promote sustainable system change. (Photo: brainbows)