Cities play a central role in climate protection. Through the ‘Lienz 2040 Climate Neutrality Roadmap’ project, the City of Lienz is working together with AIT to develop a clear and realistic path to climate neutrality. The aim is to consider climate protection, urban development and the economic future as a whole and to implement them step by step.
A comprehensive energy and greenhouse gas balance for the year 2023 was calculated as the basis for the project. For the first time, this provides a transparent picture of where emissions are currently generated in Lienz – for example, in the sectors of buildings, mobility, energy supply or industry. On this basis, various future scenarios up to the year 2040 were developed: a baseline scenario (business as usual) incorporating the city’s already planned energy policy developments, and a further scenario specifically geared towards a sustainable urban energy system leading to climate neutrality. This allows for a clear comparison of policy options and their impacts.
An important part of the project was the active involvement of local stakeholders: representatives from the administration, politics, business and civil society, working together on solutions that are both technically sound and practical. Climate neutrality is thus understood not as a theoretical goal, but as a joint development process for the city.
The climate neutrality roadmap comprises a concrete catalogue of measures for all relevant areas, as well as an easily comprehensible monitoring system concept with key performance indicators. This enables the city of Lienz to regularly review progress and adjust measures as required.
The project demonstrates how even smaller towns can embark on a realistic path to climate neutrality with a solid data foundation, clear objectives and broad participation. The approach is designed in such a way that it can also be applied to other municipalities.
The city of Lienz and the AIT were awarded the prestigious ÖGUT Environmental Prize in the ‘Sustainable Municipality’ category for the project.
