Climate emergency

Banner with the inscription
"Climate emergency - emissions trading will not work, 100% renewable energies will "
on June 13, 2009 during protests against climate change at the
"Climate Emergency Rally" on the occasion of the annual " Earth Day " in Melbourne , Australia

"Climate Angel" with poster "This is an emergency " at the start of the " Extinction Rebellion " demonstration on March 22, 2019 in Melbourne

The declaration of the climate emergency is a resolution by parliaments ( i.e. the legislature ) or administrations (the executive ), with which they declare that the change in the climate corresponds to a crisis and that the measures taken so far are insufficient to limit it to a satisfactory level. It is therefore about dealing with man-made global warming("Climate Change"). The resolution mandates the government and administrations to develop measures that go beyond the current state and try to stop the warming. The declaration can be made at different levels (national, municipal, etc.) and differ in terms of depth or details of its specifications. The term climate emergency refers not only to formal resolutions but, as a collective term, also to other actions to combat climate change; which are to be justified by the declaration of this same state of emergency. The introduction and use of the term “ emergency ” in this context means that these measures are given the highest priority that cannot be postponed .

On December 12, 2020, United Nations Secretary General António Guterres called on all countries to declare a climate emergency.

term

The term Klimanotstand (or English Climate Emergency ) was used before 2010 in demonstrations against climate change such as B. the “Climate Emergency Rally” on June 13, 2009 in Melbourne (see picture). In August 2017 the Darebin City Council adopted a package of measures called the Darebin Climate Emergency Plan. On December 4, 2018, the Club of Rome presented its “Climate Emergency Plan” to the European Parliament, in which 10 high-priority measures to limit global warming are summarized. As part of the ongoing protests by Fridays for Future or Extinction Rebellion The concern was taken up by various parliaments with appropriate initiatives.

A large number of the European cities and municipalities that have declared the climate emergency have been members of the Climate Alliance for decades . a. have committed to reducing their CO ₂ emissions by 10% every 5 years.

On November 5, 2019, more than 11,000 scientists published a declaration in the journal BioScience declaring a global climate emergency.

Also in November 2019, the English term 'climate emergency' was declared Word of the Year 2019 by Oxford Dictionaries . This was u. a. justified by the fact that the use of the term has increased by 100 times. Here, pointed, climate emergency 'terms like climate crisis' ( climate crisis ), climate action ',' climate denial '( climate denial ), extinction', 'flight shame' ( flight Cham), 'Global heating' and 'plant-based' to the places that were also on the shortlist. Oxford Dictionaries defines climate emergency as “a situation in which urgent action is required to mitigate or halt climate change and prevent the resulting potentially irreversible environmental damage” (“a situation in which urgent action is required to reduce or halt climate change and avoid potentially irreversible environmental damage resulting from it. ").

The Austrian Parliament in September 2019 in some cases, other words were chosen for the declaration of a state of emergency air Climate Emergency , the Berlin Senate in December 2019 proclaimed climate emergency . The background in each case was that the word climate emergency was seen as too sharp (Austria) or too close to the emergency laws in connection with the rise of power by the NSDAP in 1933 (Berlin) (see also the chapter on criticism below).

Development in the EU

European Parliament

On November 28, 2019, the EU Parliament declared a climate emergency for Europe. 429 members of the EU Parliament voted for the motion. 225 MPs voted against it. 19 parliamentarians abstained. As a consequence, the EU Commission should orient its entire policy towards the global goal of limiting the temperature of the earth to 1.5 degrees compared to pre-industrial times . The motion for a resolution itself has no concrete consequences, but rather a symbolic character.

As a result, the new Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented the European Green Deal ("European Green Deal") on December 11, 2019 : a concept with the aim of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions to zero in the EU by 2050 to reduce and thus become the first continent to become climate neutral. The European Green Deal is one of the six priorities of the von der Leyen Commission .

Germany

→ Main article : List of German places and communities that have declared a climate emergency

Konstanz was the first German municipality to declare a climate emergency on May 2, 2019. On December 10, 2019, Berlin was the first federal state to declare the climate emergency .

In response to a small request from the AfD parliamentary group on July 2, 2019, the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia stated, among other things: “By declaring the 'climate emergency' as a symbolic measure within the framework of local self-government, a municipality does not have any special rights. ... The symbolic proclamation of the 'climate emergency' by a municipality is not abusive. "

On July 15, 2019, the Federal Association of German Foresters (BDF) declared a climate emergency for the forest in Germany; On July 18, the Federation of German Foresters North Rhine-Westphalia (BDF NRW) did the same for the forest in North Rhine-Westphalia . Approx. a week later, the Baden-Württemberg Forest Minister Peter Hauk (CDU) declared the same for the forest of his state.

Conceptual classification in Germany

In Germany, the directly elected municipal representatives are called differently depending on the federal state (e.g. Konstanz municipal council, Kiel council assembly). Apart from three exceptions, in which these are congruent with a state parliament (Hamburg, Berlin and Bremen), they have no legislative power (because this is at the state or federal level). Against this background, they are not assigned to the legislature, but to the executive, even if they are e.g. B. Resolve municipal statutes or the budget. What the decisions on the climate emergency have in common is that they are taken by the elected representatives and the more extensive bodies of the respective administrations are commissioned to carry them out. ${\displaystyle \rightarrow }$ ${\displaystyle \rightarrow }$

See also : Municipal Council (Germany) # Assignment to the executive

Austria

The "Fridays-for-Future" movement Austria calls for the declaration of a climate emergency and national levels since the national day of protest on March 15 of 2019. On July 4, 2019, Vorarlberg was the first federal state in Austria to declare a climate emergency. The SPÖ, ÖVP, NEOS and Greens approved the request of the Greens, but not the FPÖ. After negotiations of the "Fridays-for-Future" movement, a joint motion for a resolution by the ÖVP, SPÖ, Neos and Jetzt was tabled in the National Council in July 2019, the last meeting on September 25, 2019 before the early elections with the same votes Parties agreed. This explicitly decided on a climate emergencyand not the climate emergency . The FPÖ voted against. The Federal Council , the second chamber of the Austrian Parliament, had already unanimously declared a climate emergency in July 2019.

→ Main article : List of Austrian places and communities that have declared a climate emergency

United Kingdom and Ireland

The British House of Commons decided in late April 2019 unanimously on the basis of a report of the Advisory Panel Committee on Climate Change to declare a state of emergency air for Britain.

The Irish Parliament decided on May 9, 2019 to declare a climate emergency. At the same time, suitable measures should be taken to counter the increasing loss of species diversity ( “ biodiversity ”). ${\displaystyle \rightarrow }$

On July 12, 2019, the music industry in Great Britain declares a "Climate and Ecological Emergency".

Western and southern EU countries

On June 27, 2019, the French parliament declared the climate emergency. The MPs accepted a government proposal. France is complying with a request from the Fridays for Future movement. Paris declared a climate emergency on July 9, 2019.

The Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia declared a climate emergency at the end of May 2019. In September 2019, the Spanish Congress declared the climate emergency.

In Italy , 28 cities have declared a climate emergency, including the city of Acri , the municipality of Milan , Naples , Lucca and Padua .

international Developement

“Climate Emergency”: Inscription on a protest poster on April 22, 2017 at the annual “ March for Science ” again in Melbourne , Australia

According to the Climate Emergency Declaration, 740 regional authorities in 16 countries have declared a climate emergency, as of July 13, 2019. By December 12, 2020, at least 38 states have declared a climate emergency and the Secretary-General of the United Nations has the heads of state and government of all countries prompted to declare a climate emergency.

Australia and New Zealand

Overall, Australia is one of the pioneers in declaring a climate emergency. On August 21, 2017, the Australian City Council of Darebin City in Greater Melbourne unanimously adopted the Darebin Climate Emergency Plan. Other municipalities also adopted their first emergency climate plans in 2017, but the big wave did not follow until 2019.

On December 2, 2020, the New Zealand government declared a “Climate Change Emergency” after parliament approved this step with a clear majority.

church

In June 2019, after meeting representatives from the oil industry , Pope Francis declared a global climate emergency and called for the fight against the climate crisis caused by global warming . A “radical energy turnaround ” is necessary in order to meet the 1.5 degree target and thus prevent catastrophic damage to the climate . Failure to act means a “brutal act of injustice against poor and future generations ”. Future generations are about to “inherit a ruined world” and should not have to bear “the cost of our generation's irresponsibility”.

North and South America

The city council of the Canadian city ​​of Vancouver approved a “Climate Emergency Report” on April 29, 2019, in which it was decided to step up measures to combat climate change (“Climate Emergency report to increase our efforts to tackle climate change”). As of May 13, 2019, 384 Canadian communities have recognized or declared a climate emergency.

Argentina has declared a climate emergency.

In the United States , 18 cities have declared a climate emergency, including New York City and San Francisco .

Switzerland

Call for the climate emergency on Bern's Helvetiaplatz, May 24, 2019

→ Main article : List of Swiss places and communities that have declared a climate emergency

In Switzerland, numerous cantonal and city ​​parliaments declared a climate emergency from February 20, 2019 . According to Swiss federalism , these parliaments have passed different resolutions.

Advised measures

From the parliamentary decisions

Based on the declaration of the climate emergency , specific measures are asked or implemented, such as

• enable a climate-neutral supply of buildings (for old buildings also reduction / renovation)
• Mobility management z. B. by public transport, CO ₂ -free means of transport
• Reduction of CO ₂ emissions in construction.

Proposals for measures from non-governmental organizations

Non-government organizations (English Non-Government-Organization , NGO) put the following urgent measures in the field:

• Stop the growth in the use of fossil fuels in 2020 and stop any subsidies for them from 2020 ( "Fossil Free" and " Divestment " movement) ${\displaystyle \rightarrow }$
• Doubling of production capacities for renewable energies every four years ( " energy transition ") ${\displaystyle \rightarrow }$
• Taxation of CO ₂
• Task of the growth target for the gross national product as an indicator for a degree of " prosperity "
• Adaptation of agriculture ( " agricultural turnaround ") ${\displaystyle \rightarrow }$
• Preservation of forests and moors
• Establishment of material cycles ( " Cradle to Cradle ", "C2C") ${\displaystyle \rightarrow }$

criticism

The term “climate emergency” and its declaration has been criticized on various occasions.

In a guest commentary in the NZZ , the professor of business ethics Peter Seele argues that, although 11,000 scientists are allowed to explain the “climate emergency”, if this happens through cities, cantons and municipalities, then “it opens the door to undermining the rule of law and its guaranteed freedoms. ”Since there is a conflict between sustainability and freedom, the rigorous implementation of sustainability would lead to a conflict with fundamental values.

On the occasion of the declaration of the climate emergency by the European Parliament on November 28, 2019, the CDU MP Peter Liese said that the term “emergency” was inappropriate: Under Adolf Hitler, democracy was abolished in Germany and fundamental rights such as freedom of the press were restricted been. The term climate emergency would primarily create fear and arouse expectations of immediate measures that Europe could not deliver. A motion by the EPP Group to instead speak of “Climate Urgency” did not find a majority.

The journalist Ulrich Ladurner criticized the decision of the EU Parliament at the time , as the reason given by parliamentarians "to exert pressure" gives the impression that Europeans do not know that the fight against global warming is the most important task. In addition, Ladurner felt strongly reminiscent of the emergency ordinance of 1933 when he chose the words “climate emergency” .

Both Austria (National Council and Federal Council) and the Berlin Senate therefore chose instead air emergency the words climate emergency and climate plight for their statements (see. Chapter term ).

See also

• Anthropocene
• CO2 budget , CO2 content in the atmosphere
• Divestment
• Consequences of global warming in Europe , Germany , Austria , Switzerland
• Climate Change Lawsuits
• Greta Thunberg
• Climate , environmental justice , climate strike
• Coal exit , carbon bubble
• Global warming controversy
• Paris Agreement
• UN Climate Change Conference ("COP")

Web links

• climateemergency.uk
• climateemergencydeclaration.org
• klimanotstand.com

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} City of Konstanz declares a climate emergency - City of Konstanz. Retrieved May 10, 2019 . 
2. ↑ Laura Hornberger, Lena Kellhuber: FAQ: What actually is a "climate emergency"? In: Sueddeutsche Jetzt. May 17, 2019, accessed on May 19, 2019 (see under No. 3 "How was the climate emergency implemented there?"). 
3. ^ Damian Carrington: Why the Guardian is changing the language it uses about the environment . In: The Guardian . May 17, 2019, ISSN  0261-3077 ( theguardian.com [accessed May 26, 2019]).
4. ↑ Five years after the Paris Agreement, UN calls for a "climate emergency" in all countries. In: n-tv.de. December 12, 2020, accessed December 12, 2020 . 
5. ↑ https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2020-12-12/secretary-generals-remarks-the-climate-ambition-summit-bilingual-delivered-scroll-down-for -all-english-version
6. ↑ ^{a b} Agendas and minutes of Council Meetings - 2017. City of Darebin, August 21, 2017, accessed on May 11, 2019 (English, including all minutes of city council meetings).  Detailed documents can be called up directly: direct download of the minutes (PDF)
7. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} The Club of Rome launches its Climate Emergency Plan at the European Parliament. December 3, 2018, accessed May 10, 2019 . PDF online 
8. ↑ ^{a b} UK Parliament declares climate change emergency. In: BBC News . May 1, 2019, accessed May 10, 2019 . 
9. ↑ Climate Alliance. Accessed July 5, 2019 (members commit to reduce their CO ₂ emissions by 10% every 5 years ). 
10. ^ William J. Ripple, Christopher Wolf, Thomas M. Newsome, Phoebe Barnard, William R. Moomaw: World Scientists' Warning of a Climate Emergency . In: BioScience . November 5, 2019, doi : 10.1093 / biosci / biz088 ( oup.com [accessed November 7, 2019]).
11. ↑ ^{a b} Nadja Podbregar: Scientists declare a "climate emergency" . In: scinexx | The knowledge magazine . November 6, 2019 ( scinexx.de [accessed November 7, 2019]).
12. ↑ Oxford Dictionaries declares 'climate emergency' the word of 2019 . In: The Guardian , November 21, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
13. ↑ Word of the Year 2019. Oxford Dictionaries , accessed November 22, 2019 . 
14. ↑ ^{a b c} Austria has declared a climate emergency. In: The Standard . September 26, 2019, accessed September 27, 2019 . 
15. ↑ ^{a b} Berlin exclaims "Klimanotlage". In: Süddeutsche Zeitung. December 10, 2019, accessed December 15, 2019 . 
16. ↑ Süddeutsche Zeitung: EU - European Parliament declares a climate emergency. Retrieved November 28, 2019 . 
17. ↑ Susanne Schwarz: EU Parliament declares a climate emergency. In: Klimareporter. November 18, 2019, accessed November 28, 2019 . 
18. ↑ EU Parliament declares climate emergency , ORF.at , November 28, 2019, accessed on November 29.
19. ↑ Susanne Götze : “European Green Deal”: How the EU wants to become a climate protection continent. In: Der Spiegel. December 11, 2019, accessed February 21, 2020 . 
20. ↑ Paola Tamma, Eline Schaart, Anca Gurzu: Europe's Green Deal plan unveiled. December 11, 2019, accessed February 21, 2020 . 
21. ↑ Priorities of the European Commission. Retrieved February 21, 2020 . 
22. ↑ Available in the Official Gazette of the City of Konstanz from May 15, 2019, page 6: City of Konstanz calls Klimanotstand on konstanz.de
23. ↑ Berlin is the first federal state to declare the "climate emergency". berlin.de, December 10, 2019, accessed December 15, 2019 . 
24. ↑ Small question AfD parliamentary group in the state parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia: Climate emergency in Münster - abuse for a left-green PR campaign? Retrieved July 5, 2019 . 
25. ↑ Climate catastrophe: Foresters declare a climate emergency for the forest! Retrieved July 23, 2019 . 
26. ↑ Neue Westfälische: Foresters call for a climate emergency for the forests in NRW. Retrieved July 23, 2019 . 
27. ^ Badische Zeitung: Minister of Forestry Hauk declares a state of emergency in the forest - Südwest - Badische Zeitung. Retrieved July 28, 2019 . 
28. ↑ Kiel declares a climate emergency. May 17, 2019, accessed July 26, 2019 . 
29. ^ The Austrian climate justice movement "Fridays For Future" : Resolution to declare a climate emergency in Austria . Ed .: Fridays For Future Vienna . 15th March 2019.
30. ↑ Vorarlberg declares a climate emergency. ORF V, July 5, 2019, accessed on July 5, 2019 . 
31. ↑ National Council speaks out in favor of a climate emergency. APA OTS, September 6, 2019, accessed September 26, 2019 . 
32. ↑ Marcus Theurer: British House of Commons proclaims “climate emergency”. In: FAZ . May 2, 2019, accessed May 3, 2019 . 
33. ^ Irish parliament declares climate emergency. In: The Guardian . May 10, 2019, accessed May 10, 2019 . 
34. ↑ AFP: Ireland: Ireland is the second European country to declare a climate emergency . In: The time . May 10, 2019, ISSN  0044-2070 ( zeit.de [accessed May 10, 2019]).
35. ↑ Music Declares Emergency: Music Declares Emergency. Retrieved July 23, 2019 . 
36. ↑ France's parliament declares a “climate emergency”. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) . June 27, 2019, accessed June 28, 2019 . 
37. ↑ Paris declares a climate emergency. Retrieved July 9, 2019 . 
38. ^ Mar Rocabert of Malta: El Govern declara la emergencia climática sin medidas concretas para abordarla . In: El País . May 14, 2019, ISSN  1134-6582 (Spanish, elpais.com [accessed May 29, 2019]).
39. ^ Eduardo Robaina: El Congreso apoya la declaración de emergencia climática en España. In: La Marea. September 17, 2019, accessed October 7, 2019 (Spanish). 
40. ^ Acri prima città italiana a dichiarare lo stato di emergenza climatica. Retrieved May 28, 2019 (Italian). 
41. ↑ Milano fa la storia: primo Comune in Italia a dichiarare l'emergenza climatica e ambientale. May 21, 2019, accessed May 28, 2019 (Italian). 
42. ↑ Redazione: La Giunta approva delibera con dichiarazione simbolica di stato di Emergenza climatica e ambientale. May 24, 2019, accessed June 10, 2019 (Italian). 
43. ^ Voto unanime in aula il consiglio riconosce l'emergenza climatica. June 13, 2019, accessed July 2, 2019 (it-IT). 
44. ↑ Mik Aidt: Climate emergency declarations in 990 jurisdictions and local governments cover 212 million citizens. September 4, 2019, Retrieved September 11, 2019 (Australian English). 
45. ↑ ^{a b c} ORF (Vienna): More than just a catchphrase , July 13, 2019
46. ^ Fiona Harvey: UN secretary general urges all countries to declare climate emergencies . In: The Guardian . December 12, 2020, ISSN  0261-3077 ( theguardian.com [accessed December 13, 2020]).
47. ↑ Australia: The Local Government Area (LGA) is the size of a German district .
48. ↑ Darebin Climate Emergency Plan. (PDF) City of Darebin, August 21, 2017, accessed on May 11, 2019 . 
49. ↑ Government proclaims a "climate emergency" . Deutschlandfunk , December 2, 2020. Accessed December 2, 2020.
50. ↑ Pope Francis declares 'climate emergency' and urges action . In: The Guardian , June 14, 2019. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
51. ↑ ^{a b c} Climate emergency response. City of Vancouver, accessed May 10, 2019 . 
52. ↑ Mik Aidt: Climate emergency declarations in 536 councils cover 61 million citizens. May 13, 2019, Retrieved May 22, 2019 (Australian English). 
53. ^ Scottie Andrew and Saeed Ahmed CNN: New York City declares a climate emergency, the first US city with more than a million residents to do so. Retrieved July 6, 2019 . 
54. ↑ Germany becomes Fossil Free. Retrieved May 11, 2019 . 
55. ↑ Peter Seele: «Climate emergency» - can sustainability become unethical? In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . November 20, 2019, accessed on November 29, 2019 : "Even if we don't have to think about emergency laws and states of emergency in a state of war or to safeguard totalitarian regimes, the proclamation of a state of emergency by public authorities opens the door to Extermination of the rule of law and its guaranteed freedoms. " 
56. ↑ Peter Seele: «Climate emergency» - can sustainability become unethical? In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . November 20, 2019. Retrieved November 29, 2019 . 
57. ↑ Hendrik Kafsack: Opponents criticize scare tactics: European Parliament proclaims a “climate emergency”. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . November 28, 2019, accessed November 29, 2019 . 
58. ↑ Ulrich Ladurner : Climate Emergency: Emergency Without Need. In: The time . November 28, 2019, accessed November 29, 2019 .