The Union of Slovak Towns (UMS) supports an initiative called Climate Needs You, with individual towns about to declare a climate state of emergency in piecemeal fashion instead of waiting for the state to catch up, announced UMS spokesperson Daniela Pirselova on Tuesday.
The climate initiative has launched a petition to ask Parliament to declare a state of climate emergency in Slovakia. The Slovak legal system, however, doesn't contain such a provision.
"The climate change and climate crisis have been an identified and predictable risk for decades, and today we know with certainty that we won't avoid it. Just as the global pandemic of the novel coronavirus has put the abilities of municipalities to the test, climate change and the climate crisis will be the next big challenge," stated UMS president Richard Rybnicek.
More than 120,000 people in Slovakia have signed a petition to the House to declare a climate state of emergency, with an eye towards achieving carbon neutrality in Slovakia by 2040.
