Most participants in the UN General Assembly are “not deaf” to climate change. Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen came to this conclusion on Wednesday. However, the dynamics of climate change have always been underestimated.
The Austrian Federal President took part in the “Climate Ambition Summit” in New York. At the summit, he said Austria would continue to support the most vulnerable countries and communities. Additional money must also be raised for this.
“Austria will make an additional €220 million available for international climate financing between 2023 and 2026 (see video above).” In addition, the contribution to the “Green Climate Fund” will be increased by almost 25 percent to a total of 160 million euros, Van der Bellen announced.
“Feel impact all over the world”
This is absolutely urgent “as we feel the catastrophic consequences of the climate crisis around the world.” At the same time, the politician pointed out that people cannot buy their way out of the climate crisis. Emissions should be reduced in your own country. This could be achieved through a special fund for jobs in the environmental and climate sector. The goal of ‘net zero emissions’ must be achieved by 2040.
The Bulgarian head of government could travel to Austria
On Tuesday, Van der Bellen spoke with his Bulgarian colleague Rumen Radev. This conversation was about Bulgaria’s possible accession to the Schengen area. “To join Schengen, we must convince the Austrian public, and not just politicians, that Bulgaria is a reliable EU member that protects its borders well and deserves to be part of this space,” Radev was told by the Bulgarian news agency BTA quoted.
He announced that he wanted to convince Prime Minister Nikolaj Denkow to travel to Austria soon. In December 2022, the Austrian government vetoed the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the border-free Schengen area. The reason for this was the high number of asylum applications. There were more than 100,000 illegal border crossings into Austria in 2022, of which 75,000 were unregistered, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) said at the time.
Responding to this argument, Radev said that Bulgarian authorities would arrest smugglers “from almost all EU member states”. “However, the financial and operational centers of illegal human trafficking are not in Bulgaria, but in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. And if we do not take action against these centers, illegal immigration through Bulgaria will continue.”
Van der Bellen traveled back to Vienna on Wednesday evening (local time). Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) held a number of discussions and gave a speech in the evening during the UN Security Council debate on the war in Ukraine.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
