Environment, energy,
agriculture and
climate protection

Digitization helps to increase efficiency, conserve resources and minimize environmental impact, thus contributing to the sustainable development of Austria. Due to improved weather forecasts, optimization of space and more precise knowledge about production quantities, sales volumes and stock levels, digitization can play a key role in sustainable agriculture and forestry. Drones can be used to survey agricultural land from an aerial perspective, for instance, allowing the most appropriate measures to be identified, e.g. irrigation or fertilization. Environmental information should be compiled and utilized more strategically in order to simplify administrative procedures and reduce costs (e.g. EDM installation register).

Flexibility, modern technologies and smart applications are essential for a forward-looking yet stable energy system. With digital technologies being used to ensure an optimum balance between energy production, distribution, storage and consumption in terms of time and area in order to ensure security of supply and efficiency, digitization will play an important role here.

Measures

  • Provide broadband coverage in rural areas by implementing the Austrian broadband strategy
  • Create uniform data standards for self-driving machines and food logistics, and secure data rights for the owners of self-driving vehicles in agriculture
  • Guarantee electronic access to environmental information, taking into account data protection and respecting the protection of critical infrastructure
  • Summarize existing environmental data to facilitate user-friendly localized data queries and cross-thematic data analysis
  • Develop the spatial data infrastructure in accordance with the INSPIRE directive and increase its use in agricultural, forestry and environmental policy
  • Improve the existing EDM installation register to make it more user-friendly and efficient
  • Increase security of supply and grid stability through flexible control of the energy system (smart grids and the economy as a “prosumer”)
  • Implement the smart meter rollout: this lets consumers and businesses see how much electricity they are using at any time, enabling them to use electricity more efficiently, save costs and at the same time contribute to the security of supply and improved integration of renewable energies