Climate activists paralyzed traffic at Vienna’s Westbahnhof

“Are they stupid? Can’t they be pecked?” – The blockade of the climate activists of the “last generation” at 8 a.m. drew a lot of displeasure from drivers. The action was followed by horn concerts or rants. While the drivers were still engaged in heated discussions with the protesters, the police, who were alarmed a short time later, began to break up the meeting. A few minutes later, the first lane was reopened to traffic.

At 8:47 a.m., the police carried the last activist off the road. According to spokeswoman Barbara Gass, all of the activists involved were arrested. The executive was again deployed with a large contingent and several units.

City councilor understands

City councilor Judith Püringer from the Vienna Greens showed solidarity with the activists. “This is a generation that rightly protests,” said Püringer in an interview with the Austria Press Agency. The effects of the climate crisis ultimately affect everyone, it said.

According to the ÖAMTC, the traffic jam on the outer belt at times reached as far as Thaliastraße. According to the traffic club, the traffic disruption on the inner belt cleared up a little faster. Hütteldorfer Straße, Felberstraße and Burggasse were also affected. Blockades are planned until the end of next week. The ÖAMTC recommends using public transport or taking detours.

The protesters have been calling on the federal government for a long time to “finally listen to science – and to implement at least the cheapest, simplest protective measures in the climate crisis: a ban on new oil and gas drilling and a speed limit of 100 on the motorway”. Switching to renewable energies and public transport would take time “that we don’t have,” the activists argue, referring to the EU. This also recommends a speed reduction on motorways.

Greenhouse gas emissions in Austria increased by 4.9 percent in 2021 compared to the first year of the pandemic, 2020, as the Federal Environment Agency recently announced. Environmental protection organizations speak of a worrying development. According to the Federal Environment Agency alone, 830,000 tons of CO2 per year can be avoided by driving at a speed of 80 instead of 100 on rural roads and at a speed of 100 instead of 130 on motorways. NGOs and many experts from science are also calling on the federal government to implement the long overdue climate protection law.

According to experts, it will not be possible to achieve the Paris climate goals without rapid and far-reaching measures such as stopping the extraction and burning of fossil fuels. The implementation of the goal of limiting the average global temperature increase to well below two degrees, if possible to 1.5 degrees, compared to the pre-industrial age is being implemented much too slowly by many countries, emphasizes the scientific community. Austria is also in default.

The most recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published last year again warned of the “red lights” of the climate crisis that is already having an impact. Exceeding this threatens to turn the earth into a planet uninhabitable for humans in the future. According to various calculations, Austria emits an above-average number of greenhouse gases per capita and is well above the average for the world population.