mastodon 4.7.3-stable+ff1Wissenschaftler*innen, die mit friedlichem zivilen Ungehorsam sofortige Sicherheitsmaßnahmen gegen die Klimakatastrophe fordern. Lerne uns kennen: jeden zweiten Mittwoch, 19 bis 20 Uhr.
Night trains are convivial & climate-friendly! There are only few lines in Europe and tickets are often costly, while air traffic is heavily subsidised through tax reduction on fuel. On Friday, we had a Night Train pyjama party at Berlin Central Station, together with @backontrack@eupolicy.social
Let's go Night Train ✨📣
Imagine a world in which accessible and comfortable (night) trains were a priority. Everyone can travel wherever they need and want. There would be sofas everywhere in the stations and bands playing music. We would not be the ones advocating for public transport ...
Since we are not yet in that world, it is up to us to live beyond the reality of fossil fuel and aviation advertisement we live in now. Let's rethink the ways we move, within our possibilities, and fight for an accessible and comfortable travel for all! 🚋
#StayGrounded @StayGrounded_net@mastodon.social
#MobilityMonday
Mobility accounts for at least a fifth of the CO2 emissions. But how can we reduce this and transform our ways of life for a more sustainable future?
#Mobility part three: railway vs. airplane
For medium and long distance travel, there has been a long history and deep cultural bias of favouring infrastructures of the expansionist individual. But the ecological costs of this way of life has been externalised. Looking at the CO2-footprint of the different modes of transport, it becomes clear that future generations, other species and the socially disenfranchised will have to pay the real price - and are already paying it today.
Aviation alone for example has contributed 4% to the total human-induced global warming (https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ac286e#erlac286es3). And still there is no tax on kerosene and no VAT on international flights.
The German state also subsidises individual car use, for example with a tax break for company cars that can also be used privately. The costs for this are between 3.5 and 5.5 billion € per year and benefits higher income households. This is more than the annual costs for the nationwide railway ticket that makes regional and national travel affordable for people with middle and low incomes and thus enhances their participation in work, culture and education.
@StayGrounded_net@mastodon.social @backontrack@eupolicy.social
Mobility accounts for at least a fifth of the CO2 emissions. But how can we reduce this and transform our ways of life for a more sustainable future? #Mobility part four: Tax the Rich.
Emissions from transport are far from equally distributed. Only 11% of the global population flies in a given year. The disproportion is even more striking looking at the top 1%, because only 1% of the world’s population account for more than half of the total emissions from passenger air travel, and even more so for the tiny minority (0.003%) of ultra wealthy individuals who travel by private jet. In 2023 private aviation has contributed at least 15.6 million tons of CO2 emissions. And it is not getting any better: it has increased by 46% since 2019 and is still growing
In Germany, the imbalance between emissions according to income is mostly caused by transport emissions. Whereas electricity, heating and food emissions are roughly constant over different income groups, emissions from transport are more than seven times higher for the richest 10% of the population compared to the 10% with the lowest income. High-income households emit more greenhouse gases primarily due to transport behavior.
Despite the gross imbalance in responsibility for transport emissions, wealthy citizens and their preferred mode of transport are greatly favored in German tax policy. In particular the the lack of an adequate wealth tax results in losses of tens of billions of Euros annually that could easily cover the 2.5 billions needed to reintroduce the 9 Euro ticket. We therefore call for an immediate introduction of a wealth tax as well as more stringent taxation of inheritance.
Measures like a taxation of aviation fuels or frequent flyer levy that is being discussed in the UK could contribute to a fairer distribution of costs related to aviation, but first and foremost, the amount of flights has to be decreased starting with a complete ban of private jets.
RE: https://climatejustice.global/@scientistrebellion_GER/116068531243209917
Kinotour mit Regisseur Florian Heinzen-Ziob & Protagonist:innen Dr. Nana-Maria Grüning, Dr. Maria Hörhold, Prof. Dr. Sebastian Seiffert:
So. 26.04., 15:30 Uhr | Köln, Off-Broadway
Mo. 27.04., 17:45 Uhr | Mainz, Capitol
Di. 28.04., 18 Uhr | Potsdam, Thalia
Di. 28.04., 19:30 Uhr | Berlin, CUBIX
Mi. 29.04., 20 Uhr | Hamburg, Abaton
Fr. 08.05., 17 Uhr | Essen, Lichtburg
Fr. 08.05., 19 Uhr | Nürnberg, Metropolis
So. 10.05. 11 Uhr | Hannover, Apollo
So. 10.05. 17 Uhr | Bremen, Schauburg
Mo. 11.05., 19:30 Uhr | Münster, Cinema
Mo. 11.05., 20:00 Uhr | Ritterhude, Lichtspiele
Di. 12.05., 19 Uhr | Düsseldorf, Metropol
Mi. 13.05., 18 Uhr | Bonn, Museum König
So. 17.05., 19 Uhr | Berlin, Planetarium
Mo. 18.05., 19 Uhr | Rostock, Lichtspieltheater Wundervoll
Do. 21.05., tbc | Schwerin, Kino unterm Dach
Mobility accounts for at least a fifth of the CO2 emissions. But how can we reduce this and transform our ways of life for a more sustainable future? Part one: affordable public transportation. 🚋
In fact, it all begins at your doorstep. Public transportation and how it is developed defines every day life mobility habits for all. Do you live close to your work place? To the nearest hospital when you need it? To your kids’ school? And how expensive these commutes are is key.
Reports from the Umweltbundesamt show that greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector are on the rise and no way near the 2030 target.
Public transport plays a role, but to reach the 2030 target, it needs a better infrastructure (more means of transportation, more often) - and it needs to be more affordable, especially compared to using a private car. Transferring subsidies that currently go to fossil-based transport to public transport with lower emissions would have a range of benefits: reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality in the urban space, and reduce social inequalities - because lower incomes are by far more impacted.
Imagine a world where we could all use public transportation for a very moderate fee and with a stable infrastructure… and now, make it happen! ✨
#DebankingStoppen! Am Freitag hat Scientist Rebellion dagegen protestiert, dass NGOs aus politischen Gründen die Konten gekündigt werden – zuletzt geschehen im Fall der Roten Hilfe durch die GLS Bank, aus Angst vor Sanktionen der Trump-Regierung.
Debanking bedroht die gesamte Zivilgesellschaft 👉 https://lautwerden.de/v/XGwpTFiCvvK#
Mehr Infos hier: https://etosmedia.de/politik/trifft-es-eine-trifft-es-alle-herausforderungen-und-perspektiven-von-debanking-praktiken-in-europa/
Protest hike to the World Economic Forum in Davos
➡️ Scientist Rebellion members from Switzerland and Germany took part in a two-day protest hike from the village of Küblis to Davos. Particular theme of the hike: militarisation.
❓ The WEF is a yearly gathering of political and business elites pursuing a neoliberal agenda of unconstraint economic growth, irrespective of the fact that a number of planetary boundaries have already been breached, and mostly benefiting a tiny class of billionaires.
⚠️The WEF runs an effective greenwashing agenda, trying to present itself as concerned with sustainability and equity, the huge presence of oil and gas producing countries like Qatar, Saudi and the UAE as well as major financiers of fossil fuel extraction like Citi, Bank of America and UBS show its true nature.
⛓️ The large presence of the surveillance company Palantir, which provides its products to spy agencies and militaries, is further a symbol of a new emerging alliance of the business community present in Davos with far right billionaires and autocrats which is a threat to peace and democracy worldwide. All this is underlined by the invitation of Donald Trump, who denies climate change, sabotages climate action and research, cracks down on civil society, undermines international organisations and uses acts of war to achieve his goals.
✊ As Scientist Rebellion, we protested against this event by carrying scientific papers showing how high-income groups disproportionately contribute to climate breakdown, how heatwaves can be attributed to the emissions of major carbon emitting companies, and how rising military spending endangers climate targets, while wearing our customary lab coats. There was also a road blockade and a large demonstration in Davos. The entire group of StrikeWEF hikers presented an alternative theme to the neoliberal atmosphere of the WEF, one of solidarity and equity.
🚨 A group of activists travelling by bus was prevented from entering Davos, and everyone on board the bus was given an arbitrary, pre-emptive ban on entering not just Davos but the entire Kanton of Graubünden, which would have resulted in imprisonment when broken. This restricts the number of activists being able to enter the grounds and is a direct attack to the so-called democracy we should apparently be living in.
Maastricht airport is a heavily subsidised airport that currently only hosts cargo flights and private jets. In particular it accepts cargo aircraft that do not meet noise or pollution requirements to land at Amsterdam Schipol airport. Private jets represent the most extreme form of climate injustice, where a tiny obscenely rich elite burns through our remaining life support systems, while billions suffer.
We went to Maastricht to protest against this symbol of inequality and destruction, and attempted to block the motorway leading to the airport during an art event attracting many private jets. Unfortunately we were met with a heavy police presence and experienced police violence, to the point where someone was thrown out of their wheelchair and children where refused access to the toilet in the nearby airport hotel.
It is a shame that also in the Netherlands local politicians and the police favour interests of the rich over the basic right to protest. We will be back.
Does our scientific and moral responsibility extend beyond writing papers? How can we, as scientists, best react to our warnings being ignored?
Such questions will be discussed in a workshop by Anne Baillot from Scientist Rebellion, tomorrow at SustainableICT Winter School in Brussels:
Mobility accounts for at least a fifth of the CO2 emissions. But how can we reduce this and transform our ways of life for a more sustainable future? Part two: urban planning.
City design contributes a great deal to facilitating the use of low-emission means of transportation. Besides a dense public transportation network, making walking and cycling attractive plays an important role too. Bike lanes, walkable sidewalks, low-speed zones, car-less zones have proven their benefits. Reducing the amount of oil-based vehicles also has clear health benefits for all. A simple measure like a general speed limit of 30 km/h in cities has clear positive effects.
Refs:
1) Yannis, G.; Michelaraki, E. Review of City-Wide 30 km/h Speed Limit Benefits in Europe. Sustainability 2024, 16, 4382. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16114382
2) https://www.who.int/teams/environment-climate-change-and-health/air-quality-energy-and-health/health-impacts
3) https://iris.who.int/server/api/core/bitstreams/a66e049b-c6b3-497f-b315-d17787b80210/content