Dispute over EU law

Renaturation: ÖVP as “habitual delayers”

Ecologist Franz Essl criticizes the ÖVP's stance on the renaturation law.

(Bild: APA/Screenshot)

Fridays for Future (FFF) and ecologist Franz Essl have criticized the ÖVP's "delaying tactics" in the dispute over Austria's approval of the EU renaturation law. At the same time, they called for a "climate strike" on the streets and at polling stations.

The "usual delayers" - namely the ÖVP - had spoken out against the renaturation law, "even though there is nothing to oppose it in terms of content", activist Klara König said at a press conference. "We will remember this for the election," she said with regard to the European elections on June 9. Climate protection is the dominant issue because it is the foundation for many other political decisions.

Criticism of Totschnig
Ecologist Franz Essl, Scientist of the Year 2022, then picked apart arguments put forward by opponents of the renaturation law. For example, it is not true that the law, which provides for the reforestation of forests or the rewetting of moors, endangers the food supply, as Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig (ÖVP) had stated.

The very provinces that oppose the renaturation law have also opposed a strategy to reduce land consumption.

Der Biodiversitätsforscher Dr. Franz Essl

Bild: APA/Screenshot

On the contrary, without renaturation the harvest would decrease because there would be fewer pollinators without hedges between the fields, the species researcher cited as an example. He did not want to insinuate anything against Totschnig, "but from a scientific point of view, the fact is that a lot of land is being lost. However, the cause is building development, not renaturation," emphasized Essl, adding that precisely those federal states, such as Lower Austria, that are against the Renaturation Act, have also opposed a reduction in land consumption. "That doesn't fit together," criticized the ecologist, who teaches at the University of Vienna.

Essl also does not accept the argument that the law is too expensive. This is because avoiding damage caused by floods, for example, would also pay off financially. According to the "EU Impact Assessment", which estimates the consequences and costs of laws, every euro invested would be returned twelvefold. According to the biodiversity researcher, there is also no widespread opposition to the law. On the contrary, according to a survey, 75 percent of Europeans are in favor and only six percent against. 19 percent were undecided.

Legal questions unanswered
"Jump over your shadow," Franz Essl appealed to politicians. "The renaturation law is a historic law because it sees climate, environment and food security together as an equal political task," he emphasized. He is still "cautiously confident" that Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) will be able to approve it at the EU Council in Brussels on June 17, even if the ÖVP continues to oppose it. However, there are still legal questions to be answered. He also appealed to the SPÖ-led federal states of Vienna and Carinthia, saying that the Minister needed the necessary room for maneuver. These had recently abandoned the rejectionist line of the federal states, which makes it impossible for Gewessler to obtain approval. The two states would now have to clarify this new position.

Call for a "climate strike"
Next Friday, activists from Fridays for Future are calling for a "climate strike" on the streets of Austria and in Europe. Demonstrations have been announced in eight Austrian cities and over 100 across Europe. The movement is expecting hundreds of thousands of participants.

The "climate strike" on 31 May and the EU elections are about defending climate and environmental protection, emphasized the FFF activists. They appealed for a resilient and robust democracy for every crisis. However, right-wing populists and the extreme right are increasingly endangering democracy and the future of the EU's Green Deal.

They are a democratic movement made up of young people, so it is also their task to defend democracy, emphasized spokesperson Laila Kriechbaum on Monday. This is why they also called for protests against right-wing extremism at the beginning of the year. Right-wing parties are not only a problem for democracy, but also for climate protection. For example, climate change is denied by FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl.

Teeth were also symbolically brushed at the end of the press conference on Monday.

(Bild: Moritz Gruber)

Collective brushing of teeth
At the closing rally on Heldenplatz in Vienna, a collective brushing of teeth was held to encourage people to vote. FFF spokesperson Emma Reynolds explained: "If you don't do it, it turns brown."

The activists did not want to comment on the accusations against the Greens' EU lead candidate, Lena Schilling. Schilling has not been active with Fridays for Future since 2020. They know each other from the climate movement, "but we don't have so much to do with her that we could comment on the current accusations", explained Klara König.