Activists tell – “Climate protection only works with human rights”

The choice of the host of this year’s UN climate conference is giving young activists in Austria a stomachache. How is it possible to discuss climate goals in a country where protests are banned?

Criticism of Coca-Cola as a sponsor
Lena Schilling is spokeswoman for the Vienna Youth Council. She finds it cynical that a climate conference is taking place in a military dictatorship. She also criticizes the fact that Coca-Cola is the biggest sponsor of the climate summit – a company largely responsible for environmental destruction, water pollution and numerous human rights violations.

Klara König from Fridays For Future Austria also finds clear words: “Climate protection can only work together with human rights.” Still, she sees it as a success that this year’s climate conference is addressing ‘Loss & Damage’ for the first time, and is therefore committed to the countries most affected. by climate change. She hopes that money will finally be on the table and not just empty promises.

Lena Schilling sees things differently. The activist has little hope that this year’s climate summit will make a difference. Because last year, the president ended the COP in tears and apologized because the results weren’t clear enough.

Schilling would change a few things about the course of the conference. She doesn’t want the COP sponsored by big corporations that profit from environmental crime. The backgrounds would be more transparent and the goals more binding. The conference should not take place in a military dictatorship, in a country where the infrastructure had to be built specifically to accommodate all participants.

König also has suggestions for improvement. “You could make the conference conditional. For example, to guarantee protests and freedom of expression.” It would also be important to give everyone access to the conference. Due to the visa and travel costs, this has not been possible until now.

Lena Schilling’s expectations of the COP27 are quite low. That is also the reason why she and other activists such as Greta Thunberg are not there. They think to themselves, “Why should it be different this time?” The governments of this world are not ready to do whatever it takes to bring the climate crisis under control.

The FFF spokeswoman sees it differently: she hopes that political prisoners will be released, that there will finally be international pressure. She also wants answers to the question of who is paying for the crisis. She criticizes that money is promised and not delivered.

Both activists have one thing in common: they want clearer climate goals, which are also mandatory for all participating countries. At the moment, many states are simply not adhering to the stated goals.