Bali, one step forward for the climate?

"International climate diplomacy" is the wrong weapon in the fight against global warming, says political scientist Ulrich Brand of the University of Vienna. Governments should rather focus on achievements in their own countries: "And the governments are afraid to tell it like it is, to their own citizens: The fact is, they must accept – and put into practice - a radical restructuring of the traffic system, away from the automobile. The consumption of meat and use of electronic appliances must be cut back dramatically. The increasingly absurd competition between many companies for access to resources, so as to produce more cheaply – thus causing more damage to the environment – must stop... Consider an auto-free Vienna inside the belt – it would mean a drastic reduction of traffic. We don't need the EU or the US government, which 'give in' under diplomatic pressure, without actually following through."

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