BOKU and Caritas: Together against poverty and climate change!

BOKU and Caritas: Together against poverty and climate change!

On June 17, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. there will be a press conference at the magdas HOTEL Vienna City that will focus on the collaboration between BOKU University and Caritas to simultaneously reduce poverty and CO₂ emissions. This partnership aims to combine social responsibility with environmental concerns, particularly in the Global South. To this end, the climate protection platform “BOKU x Caritas” is being relaunched, which explicitly addresses greenwashing ots.at reported.

Scientific support and evaluation of these projects are ensured by BOKU University. In addition, companies and private individuals are given the opportunity to actively contribute to climate protection through donations. The press conference will also provide an opportunity to attend presentations and demonstrations, including the launch of energy-efficient cooking stoves being used in South Sudan. The Rector of BOKU University, Eva Schuley-Steindl, and the Vice President of Caritas, Alexander Bodmann, are among those scheduled to speak.

Challenges of sustainable development

The panelists will also have to point out global challenges. International instruments to combat climate change and poverty have so far shown little significant progress. The living conditions of people in developing countries are not improving at the necessary pace allianz-entwicklung-klima.de determines. The financing needs to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in developing countries are estimated to be between USD 3.9 trillion and USD 4.3 trillion.

The COVID-19 pandemic has reduced the financing gap and slowed progress on the SDGs. In order to achieve the 1.5 degree target, drastic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are necessary in all countries, especially in the Global South, where the population is increasing sharply and access to clean energy must be guaranteed for everyone.

Integrative approaches to climate protection

The need for holistic climate protection strategies is becoming increasingly clear. Such projects not only help reduce CO₂, but also provide additional benefits, including job creation and biodiversity improvement. As allianz-entwicklung-klima.de reports, the success of such strategies depends crucially on the political framework and clear legal requirements.

Political support is crucial to effectively implement ambitious climate protection strategies. This requires international agreements to promote the exchange of knowledge and resources and to finance high-quality projects in the Global South. This is the only way to ensure a sustainable and climate-friendly future for everyone.

For media representatives who would like to take part in the press conference, accreditation is required, which can be requested at presse@caritas-austria.at. Questions should be directed to Claudia Vitt, press spokeswoman for Caritas, or Astrid Kleber-Klinger, head of public relations at BOKU University.