For a livable future through environmental and climate policy action
The climate crisis threatens all life on our planet, and overcoming it is therefore the challenge of our time. Due to the urgency, swift and consistent action is required.
Universities must take on a role model function for society by acting resource-efficiently and sustainably. On the one hand, it is important to understand and address the impacts and interconnections of the climate crisis as an ecological, social, and interdisciplinary problem. These contents must also be anchored in research, teaching, and science communication at universities in order to convey the necessary knowledge for overcoming the climate crisis to students and society. On the other hand, universities must act with regard to their infrastructure and their employees. In addition to sustainable and climate-friendly building infrastructure, universities have a responsibility to their employees to support climate-friendly behavior. By this, we mean in particular support for sustainable mobility.
We as students have the social responsibility to advocate for measures at and outside the university and claim the right to demand their implementation.
Better public transport connections and bicycle infrastructure
The transport sector is one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases in Austria. We students, on the one hand, learn about the urgent need for action due to the climate crisis, and on the other hand, we also depend on well-developed public transport and affordable mobility. This applies both directly at the university location and across regions, in order to maintain contact with family and friends.
We therefore call on the federal government, the states, and municipalities to make public transport more attractive and to promote the bicycle as a healthy, climate-friendly, and inexpensive means of transport by expanding bicycle infrastructure. This includes high-quality bike paths and parking facilities, repair stations, subsidies for bicycles, cargo bike rentals, and charging stations for e-bikes.
Climate-neutral universities
The climate crisis is one of the greatest challenges of our time. Universities must take on a pioneering role and fulfill their responsibility to society. Therefore, we demand a sustainability strategy and a strategic plan for climate-neutral universities by 2030 in the higher education sector. Active measures for climate protection must also be promoted by the educational institutions themselves – Green Labs in research, UZ46 certified green electricity, and the expansion of renewable energy sources. Furthermore, climate research must be increasingly promoted and the findings must also be implemented.
Promotion of local and digital exchange platforms
Concepts for exchange platforms, on the one hand for everyday goods such as clothing or furniture, and on the other hand for services such as tutoring or moving assistance, should be promoted in the interest of resource conservation, community support, and cost savings. It should be examined whether this can be meaningfully integrated as part of the implementation of a digital platform for students.
No funding for climate-damaging research
Public universities bear responsibility for environmental and climate policy developments. They must not accept research funding aimed at preserving fossil fuels in the long term or hindering the energy transition. Funded cooperations with fossil fuel companies are only permissible if the funds demonstrably serve ecologically sustainable research and the transformation of the energy sector. Under no circumstances may universities allow themselves to be instrumentalized for greenwashing campaigns.
Promotion of activism and social engagement
In view of the pressing ecological and social challenges of our time, it is important to foster students' motivation to actively work for a livable future. Universities should not only be places of knowledge transfer, but also spaces of social responsibility. In the past, students have always been a driving force for social change.
Therefore, it is crucial that students' activist activities are specifically supported – for example, by strengthening student unions and their environmental and sustainability departments. These provide a platform to initiate sustainable projects, raise awareness of ecological issues, and help shape higher education policy frameworks in the interest of sustainable development. Through financial, structural, and ideational support, the engagement of young people can be sustained and their effectiveness in society can be sustainably strengthened.