A sustainable economy requires knowledge, courage, and collaborative action

Ladies and gentlemen,

Science and research are indispensable for mastering the challenges of tomorrow – from climate change and digitalization to demographic change and education. Science and research provide a basis for innovation, better decision-making, and sustainable solutions. Without them, any progress is nothing but pure coincidence.

For over 50 years, climate researchers have been pointing out that man-made climate change is becoming more and more severe. 2024 was a record year, hitting 1.6 °C above pre-industrial levels. What is particularly worrying is that the developments we’ve been seeing in recent years have been much faster than predicted by climate researchers’ forecasts. In fact, what we have observed is more in line with the most pessimistic of scenarios. If you’re not VERY concerned about the climate crisis yet, you have not been paying attention or you have been successfully persuaded to turn a blind eye to what is happening. But ignoring reality does not protect us from reality. We need to be concerned if we are to act wisely. It still depends on us how bad things will really get.

In order not to exceed the 2 °C warming limit, we must reduce global greenhouse emissions by 6 to 8% every year. Austria needs the courage to face up to this reality and take strong action.

The natural sciences have made their contribution. Now it is up to the economists to step forward and work out solutions. To do this, the environmental and climate effects of all types of economic activity must be taken into consideration in all economic analyses in a way that is systematic and comprehensive.

Climate protection is not a luxury, and it is not a matter of ideology either – it is simply an indispensable basis for ensuring the long-term development of humanity and protecting people’s livelihoods. The past 10,000 years of the Holocene epoch provided stable environmental conditions that allowed civilizations to flourish. These conditions made it possible for more and more complex societies to emerge and facilitated the development of advanced tools and technologies. However, this stability is now increasingly at risk.

A rapidly changing biophysical environment poses enormous challenges for companies, societies, and countries. More and more often, extreme events such as floods or heatwaves result in the destruction of infrastructure. As climate change is advancing, we will more and more often have to adapt our production processes and lifestyles to the new environmental conditions going forward. This is will not only require work and energy, but it will also result in considerable costs.

Companies are closely interconnected with the environment in which they operate – if businesses ignore the fundamental ecological conditions, they will end up losing their market position in the long term. Only those who adapt quickly enough and “run as fast as they can” (Lewis Carroll’s “Alice Through the Looking-Glass”) will have a chance of maintaining their position in the market. As Katharina Rogenhofer puts it succinctly, “If nothing changes, everything will change.” What all this means is that climate protection is not an option. It is a prerequisite for ensuring security and stability in a changing world. Climate protection must be acknowledged as imperative, and it must be prioritized and put into practice consistently by all economic and political players.

Protecting the climate and the environment is a shared responsibility of everyone everywhere, but champions and advocates are needed, which is why it would be essential for Austria’s next federal government to include a dedicated climate protection ministry. Climate and environmental protection provide the basis we need to remain competitive in the long term.

To achieve climate stability, we need international cooperation just as much as we need to do our homework at the federal, state, and municipal levels. This includes efforts for aligning the necessary regulations with climate and environmental protection and facilitating the required public and private investments. Government funding alone will not be enough to finance the socio-ecological transformation. Clear rules and incentives are needed to mobilize private capital. Draghi’s proposals (“The future of European competitiveness – A competitiveness strategy for Europe”) for joint EU financing could point the way forward here.

From an economic perspective, climate protection is an investment in the future. Studies show that the costs of inaction are far higher than the costs of the necessary transformation. Taking climate-friendly action now makes more economic sense than starting later.

Short-term budget restructuring by cutting back on future-oriented investments would be fatal. The long-term costs, for example due to climate damage, would far exceed the savings.

Instead, cost-efficient and effective climate protection measures should be implemented now, and they should be implemented consistently. In a market economy, this means aligning all rules in such a way that climate protection and environmental protection become an integral part of business decision-making. Climate-friendly decisions must become the most economically attractive option for companies and households. Sustainable behavior must be made easier, and it must pay off. Here are some concrete examples of possible future-oriented regulations: reducing climate-damaging subsidies, raising energy efficiency standards for new buildings, promoting energy-efficient technologies in manufacturing, accelerating the expansion of wind and solar power, implementing industry standards for switching to a circular economy, introducing speed limits of 30/80/100 km/h on our roads to achieve significant carbon reductions with minimal effort, and stopping the expansion of the high-capacity road network. Such measures are cost-effective and offer rapid and sustainable benefits for the environment and society.

Many companies are calling for ambitious climate and environmental policies. Nevertheless, the voices of the naysayers are often the loudest in public debates. Interest groups must provide more support to innovative companies to be better equipped for the unavoidable changes that lie ahead and to play an active and positive role in shaping the transformation.

Sustainable industrial policies are essential, especially for energy and emissions-intensive sectors and the automotive supply industry. Bold steps must be taken to restructure this sector in Austria, ideally in cooperation with major industry players from Germany and Europe.

The last point I would like to make is particularly important to me: We need positive perspectives on the future. The transformation needs positive, activating narratives. Science can turn the spotlight on key opportunities in this regard: new jobs, regional value creation, and a better life for everyone. Without such visions, we risk losing sight of where we need to go, and we risk leaving the playing field to the populists.

Research is what makes Austria strong, resilient, and innovative. It provides the basis for a sustainable economy and society. But it also takes a great deal of courage and determination to tackle this transformation. I call on all decision-makers to take scientific findings seriously, resolve conflicts constructively, and take ambitious action together. With power comes responsibility. Our leaders need to live up to this responsibility to make Austria ready for the future.

I would like to conclude by quoting Ernst Bloch: “If we stop hoping, what we fear will inevitably come to pass.” At the moment, it seems that during the next five years in Austria we will primarily have to rely on social movements to provide the hope and political pressure needed to drive the sustainable transformation. I hope that this prediction is wrong, however, and I hope that climate protection and environmental protection will be treated as the priorities that they are in the current negotiations for forming a new government.

Thank you very much.