"This is greenwashing"

Last Generation disrupts ÖVP climate symposium

An activist loudly criticized the event, moderator Elisabeth Zehetner (left) tried to contradict him.

(Bild: Screenshot/X/Letzte Generation AT)

Last Generation activists disrupted a symposium of the ÖVP Political Academy on Tuesday evening. They were unable to understand the motto of the event - "Climate protection from a civic perspective". They loudly criticized the ÖVP's climate policy and demanded action.

Dressed smartly, an activist and an activist had mingled with the audience in the Tivoligasse in Vienna-Meidling until they jumped up to deliver their message. "This is a greenwashing event. You're just talking about it here to make you feel good," the man shouted, as heard in a video posted on X by the Last Generation.

"The reality is that Styria and Burgenland are under water. That hundreds of people are being driven out of their homes, that the Austrian Airlines cockpit is being smashed," the climate activist said, referring to current extreme weather events.

Presenter tries to calm things down
While most of the audience sat in silence during the tirade, there were voices of dissent from the podium. Moderator Elisabeth Zehetner - managing director of the business-oriented NGO Oecolution Austria and advisor to Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) on climate issues - tried diplomacy. She invited the activists to take part in the discussion in an orderly manner. Otherwise they would have to leave the room.

Undeterred, the climate activist continued with her criticism of the People's Party's climate policy. "This idea that technologies alone will save us shows either an enormous lack of knowledge or a deliberate misleading of the population," she said. The ÖVP should "no longer vote against phasing out combustion engines. It must stop blocking the Climate Protection Act for 1000 days," the man demanded.

Hardly any chance left for climate protection law
A climate protection law should stipulate how much greenhouse gas emissions may be emitted each year and what measures are needed to achieve these targets. It has now been more than 1200 days since such a law was passed. It is highly doubtful that the turquoise-green coalition, which is very divided on climate and environmental issues, will manage to reach an agreement before the elections on September 29.