The Austrian parliament decided Wednesday to declare a "climate emergency", making climate change a priority issue just four days from elections.
According to several surveys, issues related to the environment are a top concern of voters in Austria, a country of 8.8 million inhabitants.
This largely symbolic motion, already adopted by many other parliaments and cities around the world, was approved by parliament members from all sides — except for the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ, far right).
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FPÖ parliamentary Walter Rauch qualified this declaration as one to create a "climate of hysteria, far removed from reality."
This news comes after Brussels declared a state of climate emergency, in a move by municipal officials aimed at prioritising climate goals and environmental measures at the local level.
The move, while largely symbolic, makes Brussels the second municipality in the region to declare a state of climate emergency after Koekelberg first made the move in May.
The Brussels Times
