Warm temperatures in the center of St. Pölten not only literally sweated the participants of the Friday for Future climate. “It’s too hot for March, these are the consequences of climate change,” proclaimed the movement at the beginning of the demonstration.
About 2,000 demonstrators (according to the organizer) expressed their dissatisfaction with global warming, species extinctions, extreme weather conditions and other effects of climate change.
For sustainable development
For the second time, a Lower Austria-wide organization joined the global climate strike in the provincial capital. Not only young people came, but also many parents and teachers.
“Crises are connected”
The Ukrainian war was also a problem here, as gas and oil would not only finance autocratic regimes but also destroy the climate. The movement responds to criticism that war is now more important than climate protection. “Crises are intertwined,” explains Rebecca Amberger of Fridays for Future St. Pölten. Therefore, the organization once again called on state politicians to act, such as a commitment to climate neutrality.
“Lower Austria has to change from a late-season climate protection officer to a climate-protection pioneer,” demands Johanna Frühwald of Fridays For Future St. Pölten: “Just talking about it is not enough.”
“Lower Austria has a particularly high responsibility”
The federal states would play a key role in the fight against climate change. Because they manage matters such as spatial planning, construction law, road projects and public transport. “Due to its size, Lower Austria has a particularly high responsibility,” says Alina Koller from Fridays For Future Wiener Neustadt.
The movement accuses the country of not being as exemplary as it is: “In no other federal state has the increase in energy consumption over the past 30 years been as high as in Lower Austria,” he says in the Fridays for Future Lower Austria program.
Different ways of dealing with schools
Schools were free to decide for themselves whether or not to allow classes to go to the demonstration during school hours. The broadcast showed that the directorates handled it differently. While some teachers have flocked to downtown St. Pölten together with young people, some were allowed to travel only after the end of the lessons.
To ensure a safe party, Fridays for Future Lower Austria asked people to put on their masks and attend tests. No garbage was left, which was also ensured by the external folders.
More photos can be found here:
For sustainable development