Residents in Burgenland and Carinthia have so far received the highest per capita contribution (253 and 240 euros respectively) from the climate bonus, as preliminary figures from November of the previous year show. It is unclear what will happen with the CO2 tax. After all, the climate bonus is actually intended to refund the CO2 price. If the climate bonus were to be abolished without replacement, this would de facto be a tax increase.

Abolition of Climate Bonus Hits Burgenland and Carinthia the Hardest

Last year, Burgenland and Carinthia were clearly ahead in terms of the per capita contributions of the climate bonus, with around 253 and 240 euros respectively. Close behind were Upper Austria (232 euros), Lower Austria and Styria (231 euros each). They were followed by Tyrol with 229 and Salzburg with 225 euros. The least money per capita went to those federal states with the best public transport connections: in Vorarlberg it was 195 euros and Vienna only 150 euros per inhabitant.

CO2 Tax Increased, Refund Abolished

Meanwhile, as of January 2025, the CO2 price has risen from the current 45 euros to 55 euros per tonne. A corresponding increase in the climate bonus would have been the countermeasure, which, however, is now supposed to be omitted according to the will of the coalition negotiators from FPÖ and ÖVP.

In total, the Climate Ministry last November expected payouts amounting to 1.96 billion euros for 2024. The amount of the climate bonus depends on the expansion of public transport in the respective residential municipality.

Lowest Climate Bonus in Vienna

Basically, last year all adults were entitled to a basic amount of 145 euros. The worse the municipality is connected to the public transport system, the higher the bonus. Thus, for 2024, including regional compensation, the payout levels were 145 euros, 195, 245 and 290 euros. The claims were lowest in Vienna, where due to the good expansion of public transport, only the basic amount was paid out for a large part of the city districts.

Of the total sum of 1.96 billion euros, according to the ministry, 20.4 percent went to Lower Austria (399 million euros) last year. This was followed by Upper Austria with 18.2 percent (356 million euros) and Vienna (15.7 percent or 307 million euros). Styria received 15 percent of the total amount (293 million euros). Tyrol received 9.1 percent (178 million euros), Carinthia 7.0 percent (136 million euros) and Salzburg 6.6 percent (129 million euros). The smallest federal states are at the bottom: Vorarlberg (4.1 percent or 80 million) and Burgenland (3.9 percent or 76 million). However, the per capita payouts were highest in Burgenland.

(APA/Red)

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