"Political standstill"

Air quality above limit value at 13 measuring points in Tyrol

Fritz Gurgiser: "Put the protection of health before the protection of traffic!"

(Bild: Christof Birbaumer, Hubert Berger)

The World Health Organization (WHO) sets clear limit values to protect health, but politicians are ignoring them, criticizes the Transit Forum. Its chairman knows exactly where the obstructionists are.  

Fritz Gurgiser, Chairman of the Transit Forum, is once again calling for prevention instead of aftercare and expensive repairs. The issue is the adoption of the stricter WHO air quality limits by the Republic.

"EU imposed penalties on states"
This issue has been at a complete standstill for two years. "The WHO values are exceeded at 13 out of 14 air quality measuring points in Tyrol, and the new EU requirements are also exceeded at eight," criticizes Gurgiser. In 2022, the EU Commission de facto imposed a penalty on the member states "by clearly and precisely speaking out in favor of better health, better air and a reduction in health-related costs," says Gurgiser.

We demand that state and federal politicians apply the precautionary principle prescribed by European law instead of the aftercare that has been practiced for decades.

Fritz Gurgiser, Transitforum Austria

Bild: Birbaumer Christof

Since November 2022, we have been demanding full support from the Tyrolean state government in evaluating and updating the low limit values for NO2 and particulate matter - "so far without success".

Gurgiser blames the Federal Chancellery ("Autoland Austria"), "which is using bogus arguments to block the IG-L Ministerial Council presentation from the Ministry of Climate Protection, which was submitted in January 2024".

The fact that a penalty kick has not been taken for years is also a sign "that health is invoked in every political Sunday sermon, but in reality traffic is protected as the polluter".