Graz climate protest targets planned A9 expansion

Climate activists in Graz will protest plans to widen the A9 motorway south of the city, ORF reported, as part of a nationwide Fridays for Future action day on Friday.

Organisers had planned for several hundred cyclists to ride along the motorway. Police banned cycling on the A9, so the route was changed: demonstrators will set off from Graz railway station at 4.30pm, ride to the Weblinger roundabout and return to the city centre. A closing rally is scheduled for 6.15pm at Mariahilferplatz.

The action day’s slogan is “Without climate action, nothing works.” Fridays for Future says political leaders should recognise the importance of climate protection after a summer marked by record numbers of heat-related deaths and more than one billion euros in agricultural damage.

“The 1.5-degree target is already no longer achievable,” said spokesperson Nils Fischer, adding that this showed how far efforts had fallen behind the goal.

Fischer said the group had wanted to demonstrate on the motorway to highlight its opposition to the third lane. The extra lane would bring more traffic into Graz, he said, adding to the burden on residents in a city where air pollution was already high.