The Federal Administrative Court hindered the plans for a third runway to be built at Vienna Airport, explaining that the positive aspects of the project could not justify the extra carbon dioxide pollution.

The decision was reached despite the court conceding to the fact that air traffic will increase in the future and thus a third runway is necessary.

This may be the first time that any court worldwide has rejected a project due to climate protection, and the discussion about the relevance of climate change in infrastructure project authorisations has only just begun.

The Federal Administrative Court’s decision regarding the environmental impact assessment (EIA) proceeding was based on the following…