In Austria, geological storage of CO₂ is currently not permitted – except for research purposes with a planned total storage volume of under 100,000 tonnes. A national Carbon Management Strategy (CMS) was adopted in 2024 that had been developed jointly by the Ministry of Finance (BMF) and the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology (BMK), with involvement from relevant stakeholders and with the support of an international scientific advisory board. The strategy records the national status quo and highlights the necessary reforms as well as further planning measures on the way towards cost-effective carbon management for residual emissions in Austria that are either difficult or impossible to avoid. Approval for the geological storage of these remaining CO₂ emissions in the federal territory of Austria under strict safety and environmental conditions is recommended.
 
The following definition was also developed for ‘hard-to-abate’ emissions as part of the strategy:
“Process-related CO₂ emissions are considered unavoidable if their generation cannot be prevented despite optimisation of the production process or the product. These CO₂ emissions are considered unavoidable in the context of the transformation to a climate-neutral base materials industry if no alternative processes and no alternative products or resources are available for the same application or if the potential for these is limited.”
 
The guidelines cover the basic legal framework and contain an action plan for efficient planning and implementation of carbon management and development of the necessary infrastructure in Austria.

www.bmk.gv.at/themen/klima_umwelt/klimaschutz/nat_klimapolitik/co2/cms.html