What projects against climate change and for adaptation are there in Innsbruck?
EU Energy Efficiency Directive EED III
On October 10, 2023, the new EU Energy Efficiency Directive (hereinafter: EED III) came into force. The EU member states have until October 11, 2025 to transpose the requirements of the directive into national law.
The aim of the directive is to increase energy efficiency in all member states and thus support the achievement of the European climate neutrality target by 2050.
Article 6(5) requires public bodies to draw up and publish an inventory of buildings . This inventory includes information on municipal buildings (use and/or ownership) with a floor space of more than 250 m².
Publication serves the purpose of transparency and is intended to promote the planning and implementation of measures to improve energy efficiency in the public building stock.
The data in the building inventory is updated regularly.
Innsbruck Urban Climate Analysis and Adaptation Strategies
Measures against heat
Measures that Innsbruck is taking to combat heat stress can be found here:
Energy plan: Energy autonomy 2050
At the beginning of the strategic planning there was already the Innsbruck Energy Plan from 2010, which has been updated in the meantime and aims at energy autonomy 2050 as a target scenario.
Environmental and Sustainability Award of the City of Innsbruck
Every two years, the City of Innsbruck announces the Environment and Sustainability Award. Projects and project concepts in the field of environmental and climate protection and sustainability are in demand.
Who can submit?
- Young ideas: Children, young people, kindergartens, schools/pupils, students, apprentices or all educational institutions, parent-child teams, etc. in the city of Innsbruck
- Seen, thought, done: citizens/private individuals and local associations/initiatives of the City of Innsbruck
- Doing business for tomorrow: Companies, institutions, cooperatives and businesses with a branch office in the city of Innsbruck
Further information on the submission requirements can be found in the award guidelines.
Submission for the 2026 Environment and Sustainability Award is possible until December 31, 2025. You can easily submit via our online form:
What is there to win?
The Environment and Sustainability Award of the City of Innsbruck is endowed with a total of 10,000 euros.
The prize money is divided into 5,000 euros each among the winners in the categories Young Ideas and Seen, Thought, Done . The category Economy for tomorrow does not receive any prize money, but like all prize winners, is entitled to use the title of winner of the City of Innsbruck 2026 Environment and Sustainability Award.
Your ideas are in demand! Taking part pays off in any case!
INN'F4UM - Innsbruck's Fit4Urban Mission
INN'F4UM develops measures that can make Innsbruck climate neutral by 2030. These range from renovation of existing buildings, further use of sealed areas for energy production, for example by means of photovoltaics, and increased use of infrastructure.
EU - FP 7 Project Sinfonia (2014-2020)
The Sinfonia project "Smart Cities & Communities" with more than 30 partners from eight countries has already been completed. In the city of Innsbruck, energy-saving measures were tried out in city districts. Among others, IKB gained experience in the areas of modern cogeneration, solar thermal energy, heat-cold storage, heat pumps for the use of local waste heat sources or heat supply via district heating networks. The project was handled by the Standortagentur Tirol
cool-INN & COOLYMP: Cool urban living spaces
Cool places for a cool Innsbruck. To cool down so-called heat islands, there are already two projects in the city of Innsbruck: cool-Inn & COOLYMP.
cool-INN
cool-INN has already been implemented by the City of Innsbruck, IKB, the University of Innsbruck and the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences in Vienna (BOKU). The aim was to achieve an improved quality of stay of the square and the park at the fairground in Ing-Etzel-Straße. In December 2021, the construction work was completed and already in summer 2022, the park was enlivened by numerous events (KlimaSalon).
COOLYMP
The DDr. Alois Lugger Square (COOLYMP) in the center of the Olympic Village is also to be designed in a climate-friendly way with the involvement of the population, the local clubs and businesses. The adjacent Olympic Park will also be included in the planning. The special challenge lies in the fact that the square is completely underbuilt by an underground car park, which means that innovative ideas on the part of the population are required with the help of technical and scientific know-how. The project team consists of representatives of IIG, ISD, University of Innsbruck and the City of Innsbruck and is funded for three years as part of the project "Lighthouses for Resilient Cities 2040" of the Austrian Climate and Energy Fund. The project start date was August 1, 2022.
Transport master plans
In the area of mobility, the city of Innsbruck is focusing on the expansion of public transport, cycling and walking.
- The Cycling Master Plan 2030 has already been adopted. The aim is to increase the share of cycling to 20 percent by 2030. Measures include the expansion of a seamless cycle path network. More information is available at: Bicycle
- The walking master plan is currently being drawn up. More information is available at: Pedestrians
- The expansion of public transport is progressing in the form of the regional train and the expansion of the streetcar network. Meeting zones - not only in the redesign of public squares - are gradually being established. The following street designs are currently on the agenda: Rennweg/Universitätsstraße, Bozner Platz, the Messe S-Bahn stop and Michael-Gaismair-Straße.
These measures are intended to make cars superfluous as a means of transportation in the city centre.
Climate-smart forest
Spruce monocultures are a thing of the past. In the future, Innsbruck will rely on near-natural, hardwood-rich, deep-rooted trees. With hardwoods such as cherry, walnut, oak, elm or maple, Innsbruck's forests will be rich in structure and climate-smart. In addition, forest foresters focus on forest hygiene to reduce pests such as the bark beetle - for example, by quickly transporting useful and damaged wood out of the forest. These measures limit soil erosion, snow breakage, storm damage and pests.
Climate-neutral citymagistrat
A concept is currently being developed for a climate-neutral citymagistrat. Four fields of action are currently defined as focal points(mobility, buildings, procurement, events). An operational mobility management system is currently being developed for Magistrat with the help of external support. At the IIG, measures for climate-neutral building management are being developed.
Move-in assistance XL - sustainable living
The City of Innsbruck has been welcoming future tenants to a city apartment in Innsbruck since 2020. To ensure that they are prepared for the move and feel at home in their new apartment right away, the Citizen Participation and Participatory Urban Design Department supports them with the "Move-in Guide XL". In workshops, the new residents receive practical and simple tips on sustainable living and good neighborliness.
In 2020, the Move-in Guide XL won the ÖGUT Environmental Award in the "Sustainable Municipality" category. More information is available from the Citizen Participation and Participatory Urban Design department.
e5-municipality
The e5 - municipality program is a federal and state program for energy-conscious and climate-friendly municipalities. Innsbruck has been a partner in the e5 program since December 2013 . From spatial planning and architecture to energy solutions and mobility, the program includes tried and tested energy and climate protection measures. The activities are regularly evaluated by an external commission and awarded up to five "e" - comparable to the "toques" in the catering industry. With a degree of implementation of 64.4% and thus awarded 4 "e's", Innsbruck is considered a pioneer among the provincial capitals.
An illustration of the comparison of development planning and spatial planning in Innsbruck in 2018 and 2014.© Stadt Innsbruck
The next evaluation is expected in 2022. It is already apparent that the percentages have improved further. The fourth e thus seems secure for the next evaluation as well.
Cooperations
To tackle climate change in Innsbruck, there is cooperation between:
- the various departments (environment, forestry, transport, housing, ...) of the city council
- the municipal investment companies IKB, IVB and IIG
- Universities (Innsbruck, Vienna EUnivercities, Ulysseus, etc.)
Europan Innsbruck
Europan is an ideas competition through which innovative strategies for European cities are to be found and implemented. On the platform, young experts in urban, landscape and architectural planning submit their ideas. Also for Innsbruck such an idea competition for the area Innbrücke over market place up to the university bridge was implemented and numerous ideas were awarded.
Smart City
Smart cities conserve resources, strengthen cooperation and improve the quality of life.
Innsbruck as a climate alliance municipality
Innsbruck is part of a global partnership to protect the climate and has thus set itself the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by implementing climate protection measures in the areas of mobility, energy, soil, procurement and nutrition as well as climate change adaptation.