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“I see almost more trees than people,” declared Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen at the beginning of his speech in the fourth edition, and based on Erich Kästner’s classic children’s book “Animal Conference”, he began with the joking comparison mentioned. “We will put the world in order! After all, we are not human!” The federal president quoted from the book and turned to the audience: “They are already convinced, so I am mainly addressing people who are not. they are here, “said the AWS sponsor. To convince these people, neither the fear of the climate crisis nor the calculation of the damages help: everyone needs a “positive goal for the future”, only that it creates the necessary motivation. Then you could put the world in order, because “after all, we are human.”
However, Van der Bellen returned to the trees: “There is also a ‘Styrian oak’ among them: Arnold, you are an inspiration,” said AWS organizer president Arnold Schwarzenegger, who had to stay in Los Angeles because of Corona. . but thanks to numerous live connections, as announced, he was actually more present than ever at the summit. Schwarzenegger recalled the urgency of the climate crisis and reported on the devastating fires, which would make reality look like a disaster movie. The climate crisis is the true pandemic, said Schwarzenegger, with seven million deaths annually, and “there is no vaccination except our own actions.”
In the picture, the governor of Lower Austria, Johanna Mikl-Leitner, and the presenter Melinda Crane.
NLK Filzwieser
“Do not invest in the past,” warned the “Terminator”, who then warmly welcomed Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP). “Even if our focus is currently on the fight against pandemics and the global economic crisis, it is important not to forget about climate change,” said the Chancellor, summarizing the current situation and recalling that the economy must restart. But this is exactly the “great opportunity” to achieve transformation of our economy at the same time, because “green economic recovery” is the goal. It is important to protect economic interests and the environment in equal measure. “There are also areas where it is more difficult,” Kurz said, noting the importance of the auto industry not only in Austria, but also in Germany and France, for example. Regarding the € 750 billion Corona reconstruction fund, the chancellor said he was glad the EU had ensured digitization and greening as investment goals.
At the end of the event, Schwarzenegger received the Grand Gold Medal of Honor with Star for Services to the Republic of Austria, the fourth highest national medal. “We have found a way to personally present the medal to him,” said Van der Bellen in Vienna, and a surprised Schwarzenegger accepted it in Los Angeles with the words “this is the greatest honor in the life of an Austrian” shortly before 4: 00 am local time.
Until then, there were numerous guests and live connections at the summit, Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens), Croatian President Zoran Milanovic and Slovak President Zuzana Caputova were present. Digital communication took place, among other things, on ORF III’s Schwarzenegger Facebook page, which reports live. After the summit, the “Climate Kirtag” followed at Heldenplatz, which was scheduled for 9pm.
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