Experts from Austria, the Czech Republic, and Germany came together at the JKU Linz in May to attend a conference focusing on the challenges as to how society and the government can protect the climate and species. The JKU’s Institute for Environmental Law organized the conference together with the Institute for Nature Conservation and Conservation Law in Tübingen as well as Charles University in Prague. Event support was provided by the German Federal Foundation for the Environment.

The conference’s importance was enhanced by contributions by Markus Achleitner (State Councillor of the Economy, Energy and Spatial Planning), Stefan Kaineder (State Councillor for the Environment), and Astrid Rössler (National Council member).

The participants agreed that when it comes to meeting the 2030 global biodiversity, climate and sustainability goals, the government and the community must come together to address and support policies that include climate change mitigation, biodiversity conservation and community involvement.

The conference focused primarily on the legal parameters.

Prof. Erika Wagner, head of the JKU Institute of Environmental Law, listed the conference’s concrete demands and results: "The corresponding legal parameters can help solve the struggle between the need to urgently expand renewable energies and protect biodiversity. Simply outlining the goals is not enough in order to enforce EU requirements."

Prof. Wilhelm Bergthaler also stressed the urgent need for action when it comes to planning laws: "In order to be able to dispense with the environmental impact assessment, we need a detailed examination of the plans; the EU's Acceleration Regulation now makes possible."

The meeting's findings have been confirmed by a recent study involving an international team of scientists. This study was conducted during a workshop organized by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) as well as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), also known as the World Biodiversity Council and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.