Green protest: FPÖ-ÖVP plans endanger the climate and the environment in the long term!

Green protest: FPÖ-ÖVP plans endanger the climate and the environment in the long term!

Alarm mood at Greenpeace! In the midst of explosive negotiations between the FPÖ and ÖVP, the negotiation protocols became known, which could have devastating consequences for Austria's environmental policy. According to Jasmin Duregger, spokeswoman for Greenpeace Austria, the new government plans are a massive debacle for climate and nature conservation. Instead of investing in future-oriented measures, there is a risk of existing environmental standards being dismantled. Environmental approval processes are to be watered down, while climate-damaging subsidies continue to flow unchecked. This means that the chances of achieving the climate goals are in jeopardy, reports OTS.

Massive cuts in funding

Greenpeace also criticizes the budget cuts in environmental funding and the climate bonus. These cuts would not only set back climate protection measures massively, but would also have serious consequences for the domestic economy. Funding that is crucial, for example, for renovating houses and replacing fossil fuel heating systems would be canceled. This would not only result in the loss of numerous jobs, but would also increase dependence on climate-damaging energy sources such as oil and gas. Greenpeace is instead calling for an income-dependent reform of the climate bonus in order to better protect low-income households, according to Duregger in another report Greenpeace.at.

The criticism is also directed against the planned tightening of the right to assembly, which could undermine civic engagement. Duregger emphasizes that people who work to protect the environment should not have to fear being punished for it. According to Greenpeace, the measures currently shown are not only a threat to climate protection, but also to the livelihoods of many people in Austria. The political actions of the FPÖ and ÖVP could therefore have catastrophic effects on the environment and society.