Blog: Climate crisis and Covid crisis - symptoms of the same faults!

24 April 2020 (updated 4 May 2020)

Open Letters to Austrian and South Tyrolian Governments on Earth Day 22 April and Climate Strike Day 24 April 2020

Open Letter to the Federal Government by Austrian Climate and Air Quality Researchers

The members of the Commission for Clean Air of the Austrian Academy of Sciences have sent an open letter to the Austrian Government under the title Klimaschutz sicherstellen — unwiederbringliche Chance ergreifen! (Secure climate protection - seize unrecoverable opportunity!) on 30 April 2020. The content is similar to the appeal to the Government of Tyrol (see below). Full text (German) as PDF (222 kB). An English translation (PDF, 96 kB) is now also available.

Manifest of Life - Appeal to the Austrian Federal Government

This appeal was launched on Earth Day, 22 April 2020. It calls for sticking to the aim of climate neutrality until 2040 as demanded in the current work programme of the Austrian Government, reduction of the ecological footprint and sustainability with respect to natural resources. Furthermore, it calls for ecological, social, economic, and political fairness, with and between nations.

Currently, the text is available in German only at http://www.clubofrome.at/lebensmanifest/. It has been signed initially by a group of NGO representatives, scientists, and public figures. It can be supported by everyone at https://mein.aufstehn.at/petitions/lebensmanifest.

Press releases of Austrian labour organisation on Climate Strike Day

The Austrian labour organisation AUGE/UG, related to the Green Party, has demanded that "Corona rescue packages have to be climate rescue packages". See related press release (in German) and Use now a unique chance for climate-friendly structural change! (in German).

Appeal to the Regional Government of Tyrol by Scientists for Future

A group around Scientists for Future Tyrol (including Univ.-Prof. Dr. Georg Kaser, Univ.-Prof. Dr. Mathias Rotach, Univ.-Prof. Dr. Johann Stötter, and rector Tilmann Märk) has launched an appeal to the Government of Tyrol, It calls to couple financial support for industry with climate protection measures, to couple subsidies in the tourist sector with sustainability aims of the UN 2030 Agenda, and to increase resilience in general.

German news reports can be found at Tiroler Tageszeitung which includes a positive response from Vice-Governor (LH-Stv.) Ingrid Felipe, and ORF (Austrian Public Broadcasting). See the full text as PDF (in German).

Letter to the Government of South Tyrol

Georg Kaser, who is a glaciologist at University of Innsbruck and co-author of two IPCC reports, is from South Tyrol and has written a similar letter to the regional government of South Tyrol which can be found on this media page (with a link to PDF at the bottom).

Economists' "Research Brief" on Climate Change and Post-Covid Economic Stimulation

A group of well-known Austrian economists engaged in ecological transformation issues have published a 14-page paper "COVID-19, Klimawandel und Konjunkturpakete" (PDF.)

Similar initiatives in other countries

Germany:Under the name Neues Wirtschaftswunder für eine sozial-ökologische Transformation (New economic miracle for a socio-ecological transformation) an open letter has been released on 21 April 2020.

UK: Cross-party group of MPs ask for funds to encourage better agriculture, halt deforestation and avoid another pandemic - "The Guardian" news article

European: Mayors coordinating efforts to support a low-carbon, sustainable path out of lockdowns - "The Guardian" news article

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