Linke chairman Martin Schirdewan proposes naming future heat waves after corporations with a poor climate footprint. “Far too often, the impression is given that climate protection is a personal moral issue,” he told the AFP news agency on Thursday. “The focus on individual consumption distracts from the crucial industrial policy issues. So I think it’s a good idea to name the next heatwaves after the corporations that cause the most climate damage.”
These companies not only contribute “a large part” to the destruction of the climate, “but also regularly prevent necessary political changes with their lobby, such as stricter emission standards or a rapid energy transition,” Schirdewan justified his proposal. “Forest fires, drought, thousands of medical emergencies: the recent heat waves have made it clear how destructive the climate crisis is also affecting us. We should raise public awareness that there are people responsible for this.”
The companies in question “benefit massively from the destruction of the climate,” complained Schirdewan. It is “only fair” to regularly remind that such companies “earn a lot of money with climate-damaging business” and urgently need to change their business policies.
So far, heat waves have not been officially named, in contrast to storms, for example. Schirdewan expressed his proposal on the occasion of the so-called Earth Overshoot Day this Thursday. This is the date when humanity will have used up all the resources that the planet could naturally replace in a year, according to the Global Footprint Network.
