Austria eases CO2 storage ban and puts data centers under environmental review

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents Austria eases CO2 storage ban and puts data centers under environmental review.

Austria is bundling three major environmental topics in one go. The Austrian government has simultaneously sent three draft bills into review – a package that links climate protection, permitting practice, and the future of CO2 storage.

As heise online reports, the package covers the Climate Law, the Environmental Impact Assessment Act, and the lifting of the existing ban on CO2 storage.

What each of the three measures specifically means – and why data centers in particular are now coming under environmental scrutiny.

What's up for review?

The Austrian government has sent three measures into review: the Climate Law, the Environmental Impact Assessment Act (UVP-G), and a draft that lifts the ban on CO2 storage. The review is the phase in which ministries, federal states, associations, and chambers comment on the drafts before they go to parliament.

Data centers under environmental review

According to heise online, the reform of the Environmental Impact Assessment Act specifically targets data centers. In the future, such facilities are to undergo a formal environmental impact assessment – a procedure that examines environmental effects before approval.

End of the ban on CO2 storage

The third measure scraps the existing ban on permanently storing CO2 underground. What was ruled out for years is to become legally possible.

Significance

The government is bundling climate, economic, and location policy into a single act. Which of the three drafts ultimately make it to parliament and what changes the review still brings will become clear in the coming weeks.