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VIENNA, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Austria is on track to meet climate and energy targets by the year 2020 despite a prognosis from the EU's European Environment Agency (EEA) on Tuesday that suggests otherwise, its environment minister said on Tuesday.
Speaking to the APA, federal minister of environment Andrae Rupprechter said even with present measures Austria would meet the set targets.
EEA Executive Director Hans Bruyninckx had earlier in Brussels presented an annual forecast report, in which Austria along with Belgium, Ireland, and Luxembourg were named as four countries in the union not on schedule to meet greenhouse emissions targets.
Rupprechter argued that the reason for the poor EEA prognosis is that Austria's present environmental protection measures are only set in stone until 2018, in line with the legislature period.
For the remaining two years in which the targets are to be reached, it would be assumed that climate protection measures would be maintained or even strengthened, Rupprechter said.
"We will more than meet the targets," he said, noting also that Austria had already come in under the emissions targets in 2013/2014. Enditem
