Mr. Wipfler, you are part of the initiative "Bürger*innenrat Klima Stuttgart". Who is that, and what motivated you to join?

 

The initiative Bürger*innenrat Klima Stuttgart (Citizens' Climate Council Stuttgart) is a colorful group of Stuttgart citizens of different ages and from various initiatives who have been campaigning since the summer of 2020 for there to be a citizens' council on the topic of climate in our state capital. A citizens' council is a process in which randomly selected citizens come together, spend several days learning about and discussing a topic, and in the end make well-thought-out recommendations to politicians. In order to create such a citizens' council in Stuttgart, our initiative has held talks with politicians and initiated a citizens' petition. With the signatures of 2,500 Stuttgart residents, it was ensured that the city council considered this idea and also decided in December 2021 that there should be a citizens' council on the topic of climate in Stuttgart. From now on, our initiative will work to ensure that the discussions and topics from the citizens' council are also noticed in the rest of the city, so that politicians can be confident that the outcome of the recommendations is known everywhere and probably also acceptable.

 

What potential do you see in the new online platform for climate protection, and what formats of networking and information would you like to see?

 

Climate protection is not just a technical task, but above all a social task that can only succeed if many people work effectively on it. An online platform offers the opportunity to form a network, bundle resources and work together even more effectively. It would be particularly exciting to know which actor is working on which topic, so that one also has the opportunity to contact all people who have the same goal. This way, working groups can be established and changes can be achieved more quickly. Of course, it would also be nice to be able to provide the interested public with information about the Bürger*innenrat Klima Stuttgart quickly and easily.

 

What is the most important thing you have learned so far from your work for the initiative "Bürger*innenrat Klima Stuttgart" and where can you advance your work for a climate-friendly Stuttgart via the online platform and vice versa?

 

One positive experience was that well thought-out proposals are perceived as such and implemented by those responsible in the city council. We can share our experiences, but we can also benefit from the experiences of others. In the end, the most important thing will be to get into action together. That's why the platform can help us and many others, above all because there are many people who are willing to implement and disseminate ideas for action in their environment and to let the network grow.


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You want to know more? The Bürger:innenrat will be happy to present its projects to us bit by bit.
Also at: https://buergerinnenratklimastuttgart.de/

Great thing!