11. Environmental Dialogue: Climate change and urban heat stress: How can cities face the future?

“Climate change and urban heat stress: How can cities face the future?” was the topic of the 11th “Environmental Dialogue” event on May 28 at the Natural History Museum Vienna (NHM). On the podium, environmental physician Hans-Peter Hutter, City Councilor Nina Abrahamczik from the City of Vienna, environmental psychologist Sabine Pahl (Co-Director of ECH, University of Vienna), and environmental law scholar Stephanie Nitsch (ECH, University of Vienna) discussed climate protection and adaptation measures in cities such as Vienna with the audience. Health and environmental psychologist Mathew White gave the keynote speech, and introductory remarks were provided by NHM Director General Katrin Vohland, University of Vienna Rector Sebastian Schütze, and ECH Co-Director Thilo Hofmann. Over 200 interested individuals gathered for the event in the impressive setting of the NHM's dome hall.

“We are delighted to be a place of exchange,” emphasized Director General Katrin Vohland in her welcoming speech as general director of the Natural History Museum. She attaches great importance to the “fruitful cooperation” between her institution and the Environment and Climate Research Hub at the University of Vienna, and she is pleased about the shared vision of “creating knowledge, imparting knowledge, and engaging in dialogue with society.”

“The environment and climate are one of the major strategic priorities of the University of Vienna,” explained Rector Sebastian Schütze, adding that the current challenges posed by the climate and environmental crisis can only be solved through interdisciplinary cooperation. The University of Vienna has all the necessary expertise in-house, Schütze continued, because “the Environment and Climate Research Hub exists to enable us to work together on these issues.” The “Environmental Diaglogue” event has been a successfully established format for exchange between society, researchers, and politicians since 2017, Schütze congratulated the Environment and Climate Research Hub in his speech.

According to Nature Medicine, heat waves claimed over 61,000 lives in Europe in 2022. Between 1960 and 1990, there were nine hot days per year; today, there are already several years with over 30 hot days, and the trend is rising. More people die from heat in Austria than in road traffic accidents.
“We know pretty much exactly what the climate-resilient city of tomorrow needs, how we should be building today to better cope with the heat waves of the future - we know what needs to be done, but we're not doing it, or we're doing it far too slowly,” said host and co-director of the ECH Thilo Hofmann, provocatively introducing the topic and posing his questions to the panel and the audience: "Is what we're doing enough? Do we perhaps even need to take legal action and sue the state, as has happened in Switzerland? How can we manage to change our behavior permanently, create acceptance among the population, and allay fears?" The complexity of the evening's topic was made clear by the panel's answers and the ensuing discussions with the engaged audience.

“The climate crisis clearly shows us the weaknesses of our society,” Hans-Peter Hutter summed up, “namely the effects of anonymity and a lack of solidarity,” continued the environmental physician, who researches the health risks of heat stress at the Medical University of Vienna. The heat problem must be taken more seriously and cannot be separated from social issues, Hutter stated, adding that there is still a great need for education among less educated groups who live in areas with poor heat protection and often do not know how to deal with heat. “Poorer people, the elderly, the sick, children, and pregnant women in particular have no lobby, and we must not forget them in this adaptation phase,” Hutter said in his urgent appeal to society and politicians.

Too often, prominent shopping streets in the city are greened, while lower-income neighborhoods are forgotten, according to comments from the audience and questions to local councilor Nina Abrahamczik about the fair distribution of “greening activities.” The response was that it is currently a major challenge to implement as much as possible as quickly as possible, “but decision-making processes are often not always comprehensible to residents,” which is why she considers a participatory approach to urban planning and dialogue with local people to be “extremely important” in order to better address fears and rejection. Abrahamczik also emphasized that climate issues cannot be solved at the individual level alone, but that politicians must create structures and framework conditions for this. “Only when the infrastructure is good will residents use public transportation,” and “people must first be financially secure in order to be able to behave in a climate-friendly manner,” continued the chairwoman of the Vienna City Council Committee for Climate, Environment, Democracy, and Personnel.

“Behavioral change takes time,” said environmental psychologist Sabine Pahl (co-director of ECH, University of Vienna) in the discussion, “and we don't really have that time anymore.” From a psychological perspective, it therefore makes sense to talk more about the health aspects of the climate crisis in order to reach people in different target groups. “How is Grandma doing at home?” is an important question, explained Pahl, because when one's own body, children, or grandparents are affected, the decision to change behavior becomes easier and there is more understanding for climate measures, Pahl continued.

However, a question from the audience to environmental law expert Stephanie Nitsch (ECH, University of Vienna) on the panel made it clear that states also have a duty to protect their citizens when it comes to climate protection. In their lawsuit, the “KlimaSeniorinnen” accused Switzerland of violating the human rights of older women by failing to take the necessary measures against progressive global warming, which disproportionately affects older people and women. The European Court of Human Rights upheld the lawsuit, setting a precedent for all 46 member states of the Council of Europe. The questioner wanted to know whether this ruling could have an impact on Austria. “It definitely will,” explained Nitsch, “it may not be the next climate lawsuit with the same arguments, but the legal basis is the same here.”

In the final round, the question was discussed as to why awareness of the impending consequences of climate change is so low in Austria, as demonstrated by the results of the National Council elections on September 29.

Thilo Hofmann brought environmental psychology into play as a possible solution: Against the backdrop of the elections in Austria, but also in eastern Germany, we must ask ourselves, “How do we get people on board?” In the long term, investment in education and awareness-raising is essential, even though there is not really enough time for this. In the short term, economic models must be adapted so that corporations recognize climate protection as an economic interest in order to remain capable of acting.

According to Hofmann, it is also crucial to develop new narratives: even if the certainty of the coming climate catastrophe is depressing, it is still important to devise constructive and positive scenarios for the future. Only in this way can people be mobilized, shown options for action, and freed from feelings of paralysis and powerlessness. Science can provide evidence-based recommendations for these courses of action. At the end of the discussion, Georg Kaser called for a meeting of scientists and politicians “somewhere, in secret, without witnesses or the media, so that politicians can really listen to science for once.”

At the end of the lively discussion, Thilo Hofmann summarized the key points once again and gave a preview of the topic of the next “Environmental Dialogue” event on October 8: “Snow was yesterday – climate change in the Alps.”

Moderation: Marlene Nowotny

Graphic Recording: Kathrin Gusenbauer, Irrlicht-Impressions

Event report by Nora Gau (ECH Editor in Chief)

• City of Vienna Heat Action Plan
• Heat in cities is increasing: How to make it bearable – Standard article with Kerstin Krellenberg
• Hot summer: Health risks unevenly distributed in cities – APA report
• The challenge of climate crisis and cities – Interview in Rudolphina with Kerstin Krellenberg
• Cities in times of climate crisis – an article by Thilo Hofmann
• Research Center for Environmental Law
• Green and tempting? Combating greenwashing in consumer marketing – a scientific article by Stephanie Nitsch