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This study presents fossil-fuel related CO2 emissions in Austria and Czechoslovakia (current Czech Republic and Slovakia) for 1830–2000. The drivers of CO2 emissions are discussed by investigating the variables of the standard Kaya identity for 1920–2000 and conducting a comparative Index Decomposition Analysis. Proxy data on industrial production and household consumption are analysed to understand the role of the economic structure. CO2 emissions increased in both countries in the long run. Czechoslovakia was a stronger emitter of CO2 throughout the time period, but per-capita emissions significantly differed only after World War I, when Czechoslovakia and Austria became independent. The difference in CO2 emissions increased until the mid-1980s (the period of communism in Czechoslovakia), explained by the energy intensity and the composition effects, and higher industrial production in Czechoslovakia. Counterbalancing factors were the income effect and household consumption. After the Velvet revolution in 1990, Czechoslovak CO2 emissions decreased, and the energy composition effect (and industrial production) lost importance. Despite their different political and economic development, Austria and Czechoslovakia reached similar levels of per-capita CO2 emissions in the late 20th century. Neither Austrian “eco-efficiency” nor Czechoslovak restructuring have been effective in reducing CO2 emissions to a sustainable level.

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This article presents the concept of social metabolism and highlights its use for the analysis of the development of agriculture in Czechia. Similar to the general discipline of geography, social metabolism investigates the interactions between people and nature throughout time and space. In this article, we apply social metabolism methods, such as energy flow analysis (EFA), to investigate the transformation of Czech agriculture during the 1830-2010 period. The article is based on public data, as well as datasets compiled by the authors. The article documents the changes in Czechia's historical development and its effect on land use and agriculture through the observation of several metabolic key indicators within their historical context. It primarily concentrates on changes in crop and livestock production, land use, and associated demographic and societal developments. We conclude that the strategies of all political regimes in the 19th and most of the 20th century increased the socio-metabolic output of agriculture, despite a very different political and economic background. Only the collapse of the Eastern Block resulted in a restructuring of the agricultural sector that produced a visible change in agricultural energy flows trends.