Who should take this “climate mayor” seriously?
The fact that it is becoming increasingly hotter in cities because everything around them is being built up and sealed has nothing to do with climate changes, but rather with a more than hypocritical rezoning policy that is increasingly eating into the grassland.
LAbg. Manuel Krautgartner, MFG-OÖ Klubobmann
Just a few weeks ago, Linz Mayor Klaus Luger and his green “climate city councilor” presented their “city-wide climate concept” including “climate strategy”. The goal: climate neutrality by 2040. It is very explicit “The creation or maintenance of cooling corridors in the urban area” is mentioned as one of the most important measures. At the same time, Luger & Co. now want to rezone ten hectares in the green belt in Urfahr in order to build on it. The alleged reason is the construction of the IT:U digital university, which only requires a tenth of the space and would be much better off elsewhere. The real background: This huge rezoning is intended to create additional building land for investors. “Pretending climate protection and destroying the Linz green belt at the same time: This whole madness shows once again the complete hypocrisy of the entire climate discussion – who is going to believe that?” asks MFG Linz district spokeswoman Petra Lindner.
At the same time, Luger & Co. talk in their climate papers about wanting to “green facades and roofs” and set up “mobile greenery” – i.e. small trees and bushes in large troughs. “I think whether this will seriously achieve the goal of climate neutrality in 2040 is just as questionable as the entire climate discussion,” says Petra Lindner. As a look back at the last 20 to 30 years shows, not a single one of the dozens of predicted horror scenarios came to pass. The fact that it is becoming increasingly hotter in cities because everything around them is being built up and sealed has nothing to do with climate changes, but rather with a more than hypocritical rezoning policy that is increasingly eating into the grassland.
The Upper Austrians should decide on reallocations – through a referendum
We at MFG are not talking about climate protection, but about human, animal and environmental protection. That’s why all the madness with rezoning and sealing must be stopped immediately. Only when the city of Linz and the state of Upper Austria decide, at least temporarily, to completely stop sealing will there be a basis on which to build. But as long as politics constantly contradicts itself and deliberately lies to people, there is no need for any discussion,” says LAbg. Manuel Krautgartner, MFG-OÖ club chairman.
MFG is therefore calling for a nationwide referendum to determine what should happen next: “Citizens should decide whether this madness should continue like this. There is more than enough building land and unused areas available. Only when these have been used can you think about further rededication,” says Petra Lindner. In the case of the planned Digital University, the area of the planned Post City would be available – everything is already sealed there and there is more than enough space – including perfect connections to public transport. “A big mistake was already made at the Bruckner University, which opened nine years ago in the middle of the green residential area on Pöstlingberg. It’s unbelievable that they want to repeat this now.”
A few weeks ago, “red” Linz wanted to convert 13 hectares of arable land near the Traunauen in the south of the city into a photovoltaic field and thus into a huge heat island. However, the plan was turned down by the local council – which fortunately was a bit more forward-thinking. Private investors were behind the project; the public sector and citizens did not benefit from it. The planned digital university, which is of course also to be built in a “climate neutral” manner, is the same game: the environment and nature are destroyed in order to achieve “climate neutrality”. Manuel Krautgartner: “No wonder everyone turns away from this policy in disgust.”
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