Austria has set the goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2040, which is strategically anchored in the National Energy and Climate Plan (NEKP). Despite reduced emissions from fossil fuels, overall emissions have only declined to a limited extent since 1990. While emissions are being reduced in some sectors, they are increasing in others, such as land use, land use change, and forestry (LULUCF).

A deeper understanding of the interaction between sectors can lead to a better assessment of measures to achieve climate neutrality. The CROSS-SEC project therefore aims to model cross-sector scenarios that consider options for reducing emissions in energy systems, industry, agriculture, and forestry. Stakeholders from these sectors will be involved in the research process to ensure that the research is practical.

The project is coordinated by the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU University). The University of Graz, under the direction of Hermine Mitter, is acting as a project partner, together with the Federal Research and Training Center for Forestry (BFW). The project is funded by the Austrian Climate and Energy Fund and the Austrian Climate Research Programme (ACRP). Coordination is carried out by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG).