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Location Austria, Europe
  • In Austria, they're using the symbolic power of the Round Table to revitalise community democracy, Nov 27, 2021...[1]
  • A big, straightforward idea that shifts us to greener transport: Go anywhere in Austria for €3 a day, Oct 2, 2021...[2]

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Networks and sustainability initiatives

Community resources

OTELO, open technology lab

Climate action

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The climate petition ("Klimavolksbegehren") is an independent and non-partisan initiative started by many volunteers who want to stand up to climate policy together. In the meantime, it is supported by many other volunteers, numerous NGOs, civil society initiatives and famous personalities. The vision behind this is that Austria acts as a role model in climate protection. This climate protection is not seen as the responsibility of individuals, but as the responsibility of society as a whole. Politics should create the legal framework for this. The goal is to ensure a fair future worth living for children.

The demands of the initiative include a right to climate protection in the constitution, a binding, scientifically based CO2 budget in the climate protection law, a climate audit office that checks compliance with the CO2 budget, a climate check of existing and new climate-relevant laws and regulations, true costs and an eco-social tax reform. In addition, the complete dismantling of climate-damaging subsidies, a nationwide supply of climate-friendly mobility, as well as guaranteed financing of the energy transition.The period of signatures took place from 22 to 29 June 2020 in Austria. The petition reached a total of 380,590 signatures, which is 5.96% of the eligible voters. The governing parties ÖVP and Greens passed a resolution in spring 2021 to implement demands of the climate petition.

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Different grassroots group are active in Austria. Fridays for Future youth groups regularly organise climate protests in Austria. In the September 2019 climate strikes, between 65,000 and 150,000 people protested for better climate politics, among them 30,000 to 80,000 in Vienna and 16,000 to 18,000 in Innsbruck. The activist group "System Change, not Climate Change" has staged several actions for climate protection, among them disturbing a speech by the former Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz at the Austrian World Summit in Vienna in 2018.

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In a Eurobarometer opinion poll on climate change published in September 2008, 90% of Austrian respondents thought that climate change was a serious problem. In 2019, 86% of respondents said it was a serious problem, below the average of the 28 EU member states.

Climate Change Performance

In the Climate Change Performance Index for 2020, Austria ranks low and below the EU average. While ranking high on renewable energy, Austria was ranked low on greenhouse gas emissions, energy use and international climate policy, very low on national climate policy. W

Biodiversity

In 2003 the Biosphärenpark Wienerwald was created in Austria. Within this area 37 Kernzonen (core zones) covering 5,400 ha in total were designated areas free from human interference. W

Community energy

Austria currently produces more than half of its electricity by hydropower. Together with other renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and biomass powerplants, the electricity supply from renewable energy amounts to 62.89% of total use in Austria.[3] wikipedia:Wind power in Austria

Cycling activism

Critical Mass in Austria

Sustainable transport activism

  • Climate ticket, "All public transport in Austria with a single ticket. Simple and cheap. A valuable contribution to the climate of our planet." added 15:15, 5 October 2021 (UTC)
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The Transitforum Austria Tirol is an Austrian all-party non-governmental organization, which advocates for a reduction of international through traffic on Austrian roads, for environmental, economic, and medical reasons. The initiative is primarily targeted at truck transport.

The organization was founded in Tyrol, which is significantly affected by international through traffic, but later teamed up with similar groups across Austria. It is well known for its use of nonviolent direct action in campaigns, e.g. blocking motorways.

A blocking of the Brenner Pass lead to the Court of Justice case Schmidberger v Austria.

The Transitforum Austria Tirol and its chairman Fritz Gurgiser also voice their concerns, and often harsh criticism on politicians regularly in regional media, especially in Tyrol.

Resources

Research

Share Vienna, a project of the university's Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development (RCE Vienna)

News and comment

2017

What could Vienna's low-cost housing policy teach the UK? Dec 12[4]

The city that solved homelessness, Jun 28[5]

2016

'More green instead of grey' is the new Salzburg motto, Dec 9[6]

2015

All electricity in Austria's largest state now produced from renewables, November 6[7]

Share Vienna: Growing the Collaborative Economy in Austria's Capital, February 10[8]

About Austria

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Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine federal states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous city and federal state. Austria is bordered by Germany to the northwest, the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia to the northeast, Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The country occupies an area of 83,879 km2 (32,386 sq mi) and has a population of around 9 million.

Austria emerged from the remnants of the Eastern and Hungarian March at the end of the first millennium. Originally a margraviate of Bavaria, it developed into a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire in 1156 and was later made an archduchy in 1453. In the 16th century, Vienna began serving as the empire's administrative capital and Austria thus became the heartland of the Habsburg monarchy. Before the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire two years later, in 1804, Austria established its own empire, which became a great power and the dominant member of the German Confederation. The empire's defeat in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 led to the end of the Confederation and paved the way for the establishment of Austria-Hungary a year later, Austria was its part with the name Cisleithania.

References

FA info icon.svg Angle down icon.svg Page data
Keywords countries, european countries
Authors Phil Green
License CC-BY-SA-3.0
Language English (en)
Related 0 subpages, 5 pages link here
Aliases Austria
Impact 1,064 page views
Created February 18, 2014 by Phil Green
Modified March 13, 2024 by Phil Green
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