30,000 take to streets in Austria to demand climate action
Protests for more government action on climate change kicked off in 12 cities around the country Friday, with the largest in Vienna.
Organisers estimate about 20,000 turned out in the capital - a full two-thirds of all the protestors seen in all of Austria Friday.
It began with a rally around noon at the Vienna Mitte Mall, before marchers made their way through the city centre and on to Parliament.
Demonstrators demanded that the government of Chancellor Karl Nehammer - whose centre-right People's Party governs in coalition with the environmentally-minded Greens - hold a 'climate catastrophe summit' with both the federal government and state premiers to agree to tougher comprehensive climate measures.
😱 Soo viele Menschen kommen gerade schon zum Demostart bei Wien-Mitte. Weil sie es satt haben, dass die Regierung uns ungebremst in eine Katastrophe schlittern lässt! Zeigen wir heute, dass wir viele sind und ein Weiter-Wie-Bisher nicht zulassen werden ✊🌏 #Klimastreik pic.twitter.com/Sf0pb3KDXc
— Fridays For Future Wien (@ViennaForFuture) September 15, 2023
Organisers pointed to the summer heatwaves and floods as evidence that the climate crisis has arrived in Austria.
READ ALSO: Electrical storms end heatwave as Austria set for one of warmest years on record
While Vienna saw the largest rally by far, another 10,000 protestors attended protests elsewhere in the country on Friday, including in Graz, Linz, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Pressbaum, St. Pölten, Salzburg, Kufstein, Bregenz, Mistelbach, and Ried.
Klagenfurt's demonstration reported 100 attendees, while 700 marched in Bregenz.
The Austrian rallies are part of the almost 400 expected this weekend around the world, primarily organised by Fridays for Future with the support of other organisations.
READ ALSO: Austria ‘dangerously unprepared’ for increase in temperatures due to climate change
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Organisers estimate about 20,000 turned out in the capital - a full two-thirds of all the protestors seen in all of Austria Friday.
It began with a rally around noon at the Vienna Mitte Mall, before marchers made their way through the city centre and on to Parliament.
Demonstrators demanded that the government of Chancellor Karl Nehammer - whose centre-right People's Party governs in coalition with the environmentally-minded Greens - hold a 'climate catastrophe summit' with both the federal government and state premiers to agree to tougher comprehensive climate measures.
😱 Soo viele Menschen kommen gerade schon zum Demostart bei Wien-Mitte. Weil sie es satt haben, dass die Regierung uns ungebremst in eine Katastrophe schlittern lässt! Zeigen wir heute, dass wir viele sind und ein Weiter-Wie-Bisher nicht zulassen werden ✊🌏 #Klimastreik pic.twitter.com/Sf0pb3KDXc
— Fridays For Future Wien (@ViennaForFuture) September 15, 2023
Organisers pointed to the summer heatwaves and floods as evidence that the climate crisis has arrived in Austria.
READ ALSO: Electrical storms end heatwave as Austria set for one of warmest years on record
While Vienna saw the largest rally by far, another 10,000 protestors attended protests elsewhere in the country on Friday, including in Graz, Linz, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Pressbaum, St. Pölten, Salzburg, Kufstein, Bregenz, Mistelbach, and Ried.
Klagenfurt's demonstration reported 100 attendees, while 700 marched in Bregenz.
The Austrian rallies are part of the almost 400 expected this weekend around the world, primarily organised by Fridays for Future with the support of other organisations.
READ ALSO: Austria ‘dangerously unprepared’ for increase in temperatures due to climate change
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