Austria: despite the Covid-19, "Fridays For Future" continues the fight for the environment

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Young Austrians form a human chain during a “Fridays For Future” climate march in front of the Chancellery in Vienna, Austria, on January 3, 2020 (illustration image). ALEX HALADA / AFP

Text by: Isaure Hiace

In Austria, young people from the “Fridays For Future” movement continue their fight for the environment, despite the coronavirus crisis. They camp since last Wednesday and until Wednesday in front of the chancellery in Vienna to remind the government, alliance of conservatives and environmentalists, that the climate crisis has not stopped with the coronavirus.

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From our correspondent in Vienna,

For the past week, around twenty young people from the “Fridays For Future” movement have taken turns to occupy the Ballhausplatz, which houses the Chancellery, day and night. Their goal ? Remind the eco-conservative government of its climate commitments, which have come to the fore with the coronavirus crisis according to Michael Tanzer, 25: “  There are a lot of promises in the government's program but for the moment we are not seeing these measures. We note that in Austria the climate crisis is not taken seriously enough, unlike that of the coronavirus. And today we fear that these promises will be forgotten, that is why we are here, we hope to make things happen.  "

Faced with the coronavirus crisis, the Austrian government has planned a plan to support the economy of 38 billion euros. A stimulus that should be green, says Julia Schinko: "  A lot of money has been released, but we want it to be invested in an ecological and social way. We must not rebuild the old system, on the contrary, we need a new system which combines economic reconstruction and respect for the environment. An ecological tax reform would combine these two aspects . "

The “Fridays For Future” detailed their request for green economic recovery in a text, supported by 100 NGOs and 500 Austrian scientists.

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  • Environment
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