SPÖ criticism: Green ignore budget disaster and climate protection opportunities!

SPÖ criticism: Green ignore budget disaster and climate protection opportunities!

The Austrian political landscape is under pressure, while the SPÖ is performing a sharp criticism of the government, especially the Greens. Julia Herr, the first SPÖ club chairman and environmental spokeswoman, describes the recently presented budget as a "budget disaster". In her opinion, she explains that the Greens would not recognize fundamental mistakes from the past five years. During this time, the previous government paid more than twice as many corporate funding as Germany during the Corona pandemic, which would lack significant funds for climate investments such as the Semmering base tunnel. Corporate taxes were reduced, although many groups had achieved high excesses.

Austria is in an economic crisis that has been in last three years, characterized by high inflation and increasing unemployment. Nevertheless, there are first signs of economic recovery. In order to counteract this, the SPÖ plans targeted investments in employment. Mr. emphasizes that despite the budget hole, climate protection is not neglected. This includes investments in a boiler exchange program that is to be funded at 1.8 billion euros from 2026. In addition, a "climate check" is to be introduced to check the climate effectiveness of all new laws and regulations.

financing and future prospects

The challenges in the field of climate protection are not limited to Austria, but also affect other countries, especially Germany. In Germany, climate protection is becoming increasingly popular for a large financial construction site, in particular due to unclear financing approaches for the necessary investments in the infrastructure, such as power lines and modern rail network. It is estimated that investments of at least 600 billion euros are required by 2035, which corresponds to an annual requirement of 60 billion euros. Some institutes even appreciate the need at around 100 billion euros annually.

In Austria, the federal government is intended to work on overdue laws, including a climate law and an Electricity Economic Act. At the same time, the SPÖ plans measures such as bank tax and increased foundation taxes to secure the financial means. Mr. also emphasizes that under the leadership of Chancellor Kickl pension cuts and tax gifts for corporations are prevented, while social relief, such as a rental price stop, is introduced.

international context and climate policy

The international context is illustrated by events such as the upcoming UN World Climate Conference (COP29), which will take place from November 11th to 24th in Baku, Azerbaijan. The main topic will be climate protection financing. Germany plans to take part in the conference with a cross -departmental delegation under the motto "Accelerate transformation for 1.5 degrees". Industrial countries have undertaken to provide $ 100 billion for climate protection annually from 2020 to 2025 annually, which is considered inadequate, in view of the billion-dollar financing requirement for global transformation.

The discussions about climate protection and investments underline the need for a common European and global strategy. Without sufficient means and targeted politics, it could be difficult to achieve the 1.5 degree goal of the Paris Agreement and at the same time ensure economic stability. In this sense, the SPÖ emphasizes the urgent need to not consider climate protection and economic development as separate challenges, but rather as interconnected areas that must be addressed coordinated.