Carbon management market in Austria

Austria launched a carbon management strategy in June 2024. It had historically opposed geological CO₂ storage due to environmental concerns and public opposition. As of mid-2026, Austria has adopted a carbon management strategy but has made little legislative progress on implementation. No enabling law has passed since the strategy's launch in June 2024, and Austrian industry remains in a wait-and-see position.

The European Union (EU)-wide push, including the Net-Zero Industry Act and the Industrial Carbon Management Strategy, is encouraging all Member States to adopt CCUS-friendly policies, with a target of 50 million tonnes of CO₂ injection capacity by 2030.

Austria's carbon management strategy aims to support the country's goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2040. The strategy focuses on three key technologies:

• Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS)
• Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU)
• Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR)

These technologies will address emissions from industries and other sectors that are difficult to eliminate entirely.

Austria has determined that CCS will be deployed to decarbonize hard-to-abate industries, excluding the energy sector. This applies to:

• cement
• limestone
• waste incineration
• refractory industry
• iron ore mining

Storage ban not yet lifted: Austria's Carbon Management Strategy (June 2024) recommends repealing the geological CO₂ storage ban that has been in place since 2011 and transposing the EU CCS Directive into national law. However, as of mid-2026, the enabling law remains pending and has not yet entered the political process. The 2011 ban still applies, and geological storage remains prohibited. Austria is among the last EU Member States without a CCS framework. This legislative gap is the key determinant of when domestic storage and any CO₂ network can proceed.

Carbon Management Strategy implementation proceeds in three phases:

1. Legal framework creation: Including lifting the storage ban and revising laws across the CCUS and CDR value chains.
2. Infrastructure development:  Planning for CO₂ transport networks and storage sites.
3. Natural sink measures: Enhancing carbon sequestration in forests, soils and wetlands.

Phase 1 remains the critical bottleneck. As of mid-2026, the enabling storage legislation has not passed.

The Austrian government (in office since March 2025) is drafting a Climate Act to replace the climate protection law that expired at the start of 2021. Since then, Austria has not had a legally anchored emissions reduction pathway.

A draft was circulated among the coalition partners in early 2026. However, it remains contested and has not been adopted. Reporting indicates that the draft lacks binding sectoral emissions reduction pathways and effective correction mechanisms. It also centres on a non-binding climate roadmap due by the end of October 2026 and references a 2050 target instead of the government's 2040 climate neutrality goal. This difference remains a central point of dispute. Carbon management legislation is further complicated by split ministerial responsibilities that require coordination between the Finance Ministry (as the mining authority) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Climate and Environment.

Austria's Renewables Expansion Acceleration Act (EABG), in force since July 2026, introduces a one-stop-shop permitting regime that includes a statutory presumption of "overriding public interest" for energy transition projects. However, CCUS installations are explicitly excluded from that presumption. In practice, hydrogen electrolysers and H₂ pipelines enjoy a permitting advantage that carbon capture and CO₂ transport projects do not. For Canadian firms, this means carbon management project timelines in Austria depend more heavily on the still-pending storage law and case-by-case permitting than hydrogen projects do. This creates a real difference in the regulatory environment between the two technology areas.

Research, industry, and stakeholder engagement

The CaCTUS research initiative identified key barriers to CCUS deployment in Austria, including the need for:

• competitive CO₂ pricing
• streamlined permitting
• investment in CO₂ transport and storage infrastructure

Carbon capture and industrial decarbonization research is supported through the Climate and Energy Fund and Austria's broader research and innovation framework.

Austria continues to expand its CCS and CCU technology capabilities, with some technologies reaching commercial maturity. Industry interest is growing, as demonstrated by the Austrian delegation to Carbon Capture Canada 2024. However, limited legislative progress since the launch of the Carbon Management Strategy in 2024 has left many companies in a wait-and-see position.

Quantitative goals and planning

Austria's National Energy and Climate Plan identifies CCUS as a tool to reduce emissions from hard-to-abate sectors and estimates up to 500,000 tonnes of CO₂ capture by 2030. The plan also supports bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and other carbon removal technologies.

• Help close knowledge gaps in Austria by providing Canadian expertise and carbon management technologies.
• Hard-to-abate sectors, including municipal waste incineration and cement production, present opportunities for Canadian companies.
• Austria's significant biogenic CO₂ resources from the wood-processing industry create opportunities for carbon capture and green chemical production. 

• CCU systems require high grid connection capacity.
• Interest in industrial decarbonization is growing, but buyers often seek commercially proven technologies. Many carbon utilization technologies still require adaptation for specific applications rather than offering plug-and-play solutions.
• CO₂ transport and storage infrastructure, including pipelines, hubs, and cross-border connections, is still under development.
• Public acceptance of CCUS remains a challenge. 
• The regulatory framework continues to evolve.

• Conditions for foreign investment are excellent given the high level of social security and political stability.
• International companies entering the Austrian market can access funding opportunities.

Austria represents an emerging opportunity for Canadian carbon technology companies as it continues to develop its carbon management framework. While the Carbon Management Strategy provides strategic direction, key enabling measures, including CO₂ storage legislation, remain under development. At the same time, evolving EU policies are creating a more supportive environment for carbon management and cross-border CO₂ transport.

In the near to medium term, the strongest opportunities are expected to be in carbon utilization rather than domestic CO₂ storage. Canadian companies are well positioned to support Austria's decarbonization efforts through technology partnerships, demonstration projects, and carbon management solutions for hard-to-abate sectors, including cement, steel, chemicals, and biogenic CO₂ applications. Companies should monitor developments in regulation, infrastructure, and market readiness as the sector continues to evolve.

For more information about the carbon management market in Austria, contact Trade Commissioner, Susanne Knobloch (susanne.knobloch@international.gc.ca).