Parties polled

No climate deniers in the political landscape

The devastating storms in the country in recent months have shown how important climate protection is.

(Bild: Heinrich Spöttl)

The "Climate Campaign Vorarlberg" initiative, a coalition of 40 organizations, has surveyed how the parties represented in the state parliament stand on climate protection. The results are remarkable.

All parties agree on one thing: global warming is largely man-made and the Paris climate targets are an absolute must. This clarity is certainly a surprise.

With just one exception, all parties also want to invest faster and more efficiently in climate protection and lay the foundations for a climate-neutral Vorarlberg over the next two legislative periods - only the FPÖ sees no need to step up the pace. "The FPÖ agrees that we need to stop global warming as quickly as possible, but sees no need for action to set the course in the next two legislative periods. This contradiction is likely to make it much more difficult to form a coalition," comments Christof Drexel, chairman of the "KlimaVOR!" association.

The "Vorarlberg Climate Campaign", initiated by Lisa Vesely, Martin Strele and Christof Drexel, has examined the positions of the Vorarlberg parties on this issue.

(Bild: Klimakampagne Vorarlberg)

Furthermore, the ÖVP, Greens, SPÖ and NEOS agree that the issues of individual lifestyle and nutrition should also be included in climate protection strategies. However, there are differences in the areas of mobility, the construction industry and energy, which are so important for climate protection. For example, the NEOS and the Greens are sharply critical of the Feldkirch city tunnel and the S18, while the ÖVP, FPÖ and SPÖ would rather see these projects implemented today than tomorrow.

According to Drexel, it is quite surprising that the NEOS, as an economically liberal party, has positioned itself so clearly. Conversely, he is puzzled by the attitude of the Red Party: "The SPÖ emphasizes on the one hand that soil sealing must be slowed down and at the same time advocates high-ranking road construction with the corresponding land consumption. That doesn't fit together for us."

Vorarlberg's political parties have recognized the scale of the problem and are almost unanimously in favour of more climate protection.

Lisa Vesely, Mitinitiatorin der „Klimakampagne Vorarlberg“

There are major rifts between the parties as to whether Vorarlberg will achieve the climate policy goals it has set itself - the state is to be energy self-sufficient by 2050, greenhouse gases are to be halved by 2030 compared to 2005 and all electricity and half of the final energy requirement is to be covered by renewable sources: The ÖVP and FPÖ see the Ländle on course - all other parties are calling for further measures, for example in road construction, industrial funding and spatial planning.

Martin Strele, Managing Director of "Welthaus Vorarlberg", criticizes the black and blue parties for refusing to face reality: "At the current pace, we will not achieve the target of reducing greenhouse gases by 50 percent by 2030. A closer look at the data shows that although emissions are 20 percent lower today than in 2005, hardly any improvements have been seen since 2014. Aspirations and reality do not match."