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To meet climate targets, refueling has to be more expensive.
© Paulitsch
The ÖAMTC motoring club has commissioned a study that concludes that the new EU climate target would only be achieved with a fuel price of four euros per liter. The Economica Institute for Economic Research calculated that car trips would only be reduced enough from this price for gasoline or diesel. The abolition of the diesel privilege, a slight increase in the mineral oil tax, the standard excise tax and a kilometer toll would not be enough.
Vienna Even if Austrians switched entirely to electric cars and only vehicles with electric motors or fuel cell units were allowed from 2030, the goal of reducing CO2 emissions in car traffic by 61 percent for then it would be lost, study author Christian Helmenstein told reporters Tuesday at a virtual press conference. “If we really want to hit the climate targets, we have to raise the price of fuel so high that car travel is restricted,” Helmenstein said.
The EU Commission wants to reduce climate-damaging CO2 emissions by 2030 more than previously planned. For road traffic, according to Helmenstein, this means reducing emissions not by 36 percent to 15.6 million tons compared to 2005, but by 61 percent to 9.5 million tons. Of the CO2 emissions of 24.3 million tons in 2005, 46 percent of car traffic was responsible, 22 percent of trucks and 31 percent of the so-called “tank tourism”.
The cost of maintaining a car would increase significantly
Helmstein calculated an additional burden on private households that could add up to € 49 billion over the years by 2030, from around € 3 billion annually in 2021 to between € 4.5 and 6.6 billion in 2030. depending on the scenario. The cost of maintaining a car (total cost of ownership) would increase significantly from the current average of 488 euros per month. The study assumes that in 2030 a car could cost an average of 7,797 euros per year or around 650 euros per month.
In the basic scenario, without additional climate protection measures, a car in its entirety, that is, including the costs of acquisition, depreciation, visits to workshops, insurance, fuel and the like, would cost an average of 6,256 euros per year or 521 euros per month in 2030. With a fuel price of four euros per liter and an increase in taxes and tolls, the additional costs would rise by an average of 1,541 euros per year or 128 euros per month.
Lowest financial impact on Dornbirn
In more remote areas such as southern Burgenland or Upper Carinthia, where distances are longer, the financial impact on private car traffic would be greater than in the surrounding areas of cities. Additional costs would be lower in Vienna and Dornbirn, higher in Güssing and Spittal an der Drau. The possible opposite effects of the planned billions of public transportation and the 1-2-3 climate ticket were not taken into account. The expansion of public transportation couldn’t make up for the car’s time advantage, Helmenstein said.
ÖAMTC does not want to derive political demands from the commissioned study until a later date. The motorists club suggests not only turning the price screw, but also creating carpooling opportunities. If the occupancy rate were to increase from an average of 1.2 people per car, “all traffic problems would be solved,” said Bernhard Wiesinger, director of the ÖAMTC interest group. He stressed that the ÖAMTC was not questioning the climate targets and admitted that it would not work without higher prices.
Lowest fuel prices in Vorarlberg
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