3.4 Environmental impacts: energy industry

The subchapter 3.4 'Environmental impact of the energy industry' of the 7th state of the environment report analyzes the current situation in Austria and briefly describes the following aspects: environmental policy targets, uniform taxation of energy, use of renewable energy sources, efficient use of energy, energy input, electricity supply and input, energy input into space heating and air conditioning systems, and renewable energy. In 2002, the input of final energy was risen by about 5 % in comparison to 1998. During this period, the largest increments in final energy inputs were recorded in the mobility sector with + 9.4 %, and in the private households sector with + 8.3 % . The goods production sector showed a slight decrease of about 1.3 % between 1998 and 2002. The 'goods production', 'mobility' and 'private households' sectors combined require about 87 % of the total final energy input. The final energy input for space heating and hot water in 2001 was 5.7 % above the input in 1998. Energy supply from renewable energy sources rose by about 13.8 % in 2002 compared to 1998. Domestic electricity consumption (excluding consumption for pumped-storage systems) in 2002 was about 10.5 % above consumption in 1998. Physical imports and physical exports in 2002 increased about 32 % and 8.6 % correspondingly compared to 1999. (nevyjel)