The environmental protection organization Greenpeace, together with the two renowned scientists Prof. Helga Kromp-Kolb and Prof. Franz Essl, are calling for the next federal government to continue to have an independent environment and climate ministry. From 2000 to 2019, the Ministry of the Environment in Austria was merely an appendage of the Ministry of Agriculture. According to Greenpeace, the environmental impact of this period was largely disastrous.
Sebastian Theissing-Matei, agricultural expert at Greenpeace in Austria:
“The past has shown that nature has to take a back seat in a joint ministry for agriculture and the environment. Environmental and climate protection were slowed down by tough clientele politics. This must not happen again. The next federal government must under no circumstances reduce the protection of our nature to a niche issue again and leave it somewhere in the farthest corner of another ministry.”
Prof. Helga Kromp-Kolb, climate researcher and Scientist of the Year 2005:
“It was only in the summer that we all clearly felt the escalating climate crisis. Record heatwaves were followed by severe flooding. Climate protection is therefore always about protecting ourselves as humans. Socially just climate protection is and remains far too important to be subordinated to the short-term economic interests of individual actors. In the long term, these interests go hand in hand anyway.”
Prof. Franz Essl, Scientist of the Year 2022 and member of the management team of the Austrian Biodiversity Council:
“The rapid extinction of species in Austria is the twin crisis of the climate crisis. Fortunately, more and more people are becoming aware that intact natural areas are not a luxury, but rather the necessary life support systems of our planet. They give us clean water, clean air, wild bees that pollinate our food and much more. Without healthy and intact nature there will be no safe and prosperous society in the future.”
An independent environment and climate ministry is crucial for progress in protecting our livelihoods. For example, Austria must finally free itself from its dependence on fossil energies such as oil and gas. Among other things, by implementing a socially just phase-out of oil and gas heating and massively expanding the range of public transport options. The protection of nature must also be strengthened by renaturalizing damaged habitats and stopping the development of valuable natural areas. There is just as much to do to combat the flood of plastic. The new federal government should significantly increase the reusable quota here. Scientist Kromp-Kolb, scientist Essl and Greenpeace are jointly calling for a strong environment minister who will implement real environmental and climate protection in the coming government.
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