Implications of Land Cconsumption for Food Security and Fiscal Instruments to Contain Land Consumption

Austria is among the countries with a very high land consumption rate in international comparison. Simultaneously, there have been initiatives and efforts for years to limit this consumption. Existing data on land consumption indicate that the goal of the federal government to reduce daily consumption from the current 11 to 2.5 ha by 2030 is likely to be missed. While the federal states have implemented numerous measures in recent years to curb land consumption, their effectiveness cannot be assessed yet. This study firstly highlights the urgency of limiting land consumption to increase food security. It is determined that due to the decrease in arable land in Austria by over 72,000 ha between 1999 and 2020, according to agricultural structure surveys, 480,000 fewer persons can be supplied with food. Secondly, the study analyses the influence of existing taxes on land consumption and identifies the potential for tax policy interventions that may be suitable for limiting land consumption. The study also provides an overview of the current situation of land consumption control in the federal states.