Austrian aid for Lufthansa's AUA to be linked to climate targets

State aid for Austrian Airlines, which the govt in Vienna is currently negotiating with Lufthansa, should support climate policy targets, Austria’s environment minister said Thursday. Lufthansa, which like many other international carriers was forced to ground nearly all its flights due to the coronavirus, is negotiating with Berlin about state aid for its German operations and with the Swiss, Belgian and Austrian govts on financial support for its divisions in those countries. “If we are talking about several hundred million euros in taxpayers’ money, then it is clear, that (such aid) will be linked to conditions,” Leonore Gewessler said. “When it is about an industry that particularly needs to contribute to climate protection, then it makes a lot of sense...to use this situation to support this transformation,” the minister said. <br/>