Kaineder demands faster climate action and data centre transparency

Upper Austria’s Environment and Climate Councillor Stefan Kaineder called for stricter climate policy, greater transparency over a planned Google data centre and the clean-up of an old tyre landfill in an ORF Upper Austria summer interview.

After the hot summer of 2026, Kaineder said measures to address the effects of the climate crisis needed to be implemented more quickly. Municipalities and private individuals were already receiving support for shading, removing sealed surfaces and planting greenery, particularly in densely built-up areas. But the energy transition also needed to move much faster, including through the expansion of wind power.

“The surprise of other parties that a summer like this is possible almost surprises me,” Kaineder said. He called for more consistent climate adaptation, including air conditioning in places where vulnerable groups are affected, such as care homes.

Kaineder defended Austria’s goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2040, ten years earlier than the rest of the European Union. He said the energy supply would remain a business and argued that the question was who would benefit financially from it in the future: people in Upper Austria who install solar panels and wind turbines, or foreign suppliers.

Asked about official estimates that the transition to climate neutrality by 2040 could cost almost 180 billion euros, Kaineder said energy providers would make the investments using money raised on financial markets. In the long term, he said, the investments would reduce costs, cut dependence on oil and gas imports and provide an economic boost.

He again criticised Upper Austria’s governing coalition of the Austrian People’s Party and the Freedom Party, accusing it of delaying the expansion of renewable energy.

Kaineder seeks clarity on Google data centre

Kaineder said he was not fundamentally opposed to data centres, but criticised what he called a lack of transparency over the planned Google facility in Kronstorf, a municipality in the Linz-Land district. He pointed to differing estimates of its electricity consumption, ranging from one to 4.4 terawatt-hours, and said not all information had been disclosed.

He called for clear conditions ensuring that Upper Austria benefits from the project, including through the use of waste heat.

Kaineder also criticised Markus Achleitner, the state’s economy councillor from the People’s Party. He said Achleitner had initially stated that he knew nothing about further expansion stages before later presenting plans for them. The People’s Party and Freedom Party had also failed to establish clear rules for the construction of data centres, their electricity consumption or the use of waste heat, he said. Lower Austria has regulated these issues through its spatial planning law since spring 2026.

Call to clear old tyre landfill

Regarding the old tyre landfill in Ohlsdorf, where about 59,000 tonnes of tyres have been stored since the 1970s, Kaineder supported clearing and rehabilitating the landfill rather than covering it up.

People in the region had no understanding of why an entrepreneur had received public money twice to clear the landfill and was now saying he wanted to cover it, Kaineder said.

He acknowledged that covering the landfill had become possible through a legislative amendment that the Greens had also supported. However, he said there had been no comparable case before. Kaineder said he had already contacted the responsible minister, Norbert Totschnig of the People’s Party, who now had to assess whether the situation in Ohlsdorf could be handled differently.

Experts said the tyres could be covered and monitored, Kaineder said, but no one could say whether they might become a problem again in 20, 30 or 40 years. He estimated that clearing the landfill would cost several million euros.

Kaineder also discussed the future of Linz Airport, saying that answers would be “unserious” without a long-term strategy. He again criticised public subsidies for flights to Frankfurt.

State road lorry toll considered

Kaineder said a possible lorry toll on municipal and state roads, formerly federal roads, was worth considering. He described proposals from Burgenland and the Greens in Styria as “worth considering”.

Heavy traffic was increasing and putting considerable pressure on roads, he said. A toll could help reduce empty runs, ease the burden on built-up areas and distribute road maintenance costs more broadly.

Kaineder also ruled out supporting a Freedom Party governor after the 2027 state election.