Climate activists from the “Last Generation” group blocked traffic in several places in Berlin – and masked themselves as politicians to attract more attention. Photo: Paul Zinken/dpa
Dozens of activists from the climate group “Last Generation” blocked the streets in several large cities in Germany on Friday – to the displeasure of motorists. In Nuremberg, the activists deliberately opposed a municipal decree that explicitly forbids such sticking actions.
Climate activists of the “last generation” obstructed car traffic in several German cities on Friday with adhesive campaigns. According to the protest group, at least 36 sit-ins took place in 26 cities across Germany.
According to their own statements, the activists in Berlin began the blockade actions at 8:00 a.m. In sight: several large “main traffic arteries”, for example at the Victory Column and near the main train station.
Some activists wore masks of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) and Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) in front of their faces during their actions. They stretched banners with the inscription “We are breaking the law”.
++ Transparenzkampagne der Bundesregierung in 26 Städten ++
Die Regierungsvertreter Olaf Scholz, Volker Wissing & Robert Habeck bekennen sich öffentlich zu ihrem Bruch des Klimaschutzgesetzes und unterbrechen heute in 26 Städten den Kurs in den Klimakollaps.
— Letzte Generation (@AufstandLastGen) July 14, 2023
allegation against the government
According to the information, the actions were directed against the federal government, which the group accused of breaking the climate protection law. “The federal government is breaking the law and leading our society to collapse,” said spokeswoman Carla Rochel. “It is our democratic duty to resist peacefully.”
According to the police, there were traffic delays and diversions in dozens of cities. In Potsdam, activists stuck to a bridge. In some cases, people prevented the activists from sticking around, for example in Recklinghausen in North Rhine-Westphalia. One activist was slightly injured. There were other adhesive protests in Dresden, Leipzig and Koblenz, among others.
Police officers and security personnel stand on the airfield and try to detach activists of the group Last Generation who have stuck themselves to the asphalt in the airport area, in Duesseldorf, Germany, July 13, 2023
CLIMATE activists blocked a runway at Hamburg airport early today, causing numerous flights to be cancelled on the first day of the school holidays in the north German city.
The group Last Generation said several of its members entered the grounds of Hamburg airport in the early morning and glued themselves to the runway.
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Members of the group also cut through a security fence at Dusseldorf airport and blocked an access route to the runway.
In a statement, the group accused the German government of lacking a strategy to tackle the climate crisis and called for immediate measures to cut emissions in the transport sector, including ending tax exemptions for airline kerosene.
Police officers carry a cardboard box to a vehicle during a raid in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, May 24, 2023.
GERMAN authorities raided 15 properties across the country and seized assets in an investigation into the financing of protests by the Last Generation climate activist group, prosecutors said today.
Munich prosecutors said they were investigating seven people on suspicion of forming or supporting a criminal organisation.
They launched the inquiry following numerous criminal complaints they received since mid-2022.
Members of Last Generation have repeatedly blocked roads across Germany in an effort to press the government to take more drastic action against climate change.
In recent weeks, they have brought the traffic to a halt on an almost daily basis in Berlin, glueing themselves to busy intersections and highways.
Over the past year, they have also targeted various artworks and exhibits.
THE BBC has reportedly rebuked Gary Lineker for describing the government’s anti-refugee rhetoric as “language not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the ’30s.”
The famous footballer and presenter’s tweet has enraged Tory MPs, some of whom have called for him to be sacked. But he is not the first to have called out the grim historical precedent.
It was child Holocaust survivor Joan Salter who confronted Home Secretary Suella Braverman earlier this year, pointing to exactly the same parallels between Nazi demonisation of Jews and the language she uses when attacking refugees.
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This Tory administration is extremist. Braverman admits she thinks it more likely than not her plans breach the European Convention on Human Rights, which we as a country are obliged to respect: she doesn’t care.
But the countering voice for a more compassionate, principled approach is absent from Westminster. Labour scaremongers over boat crossings as well to claim the Tories have lost control.
Coal mine expansion has long been flashpoint for tensions over Germany’s energy policies
News of climate activist Greta Thunberg’s detention by police near the German village of Lutzerath has drawn further attention to controversial plans for a coal mine’s expansion, which she has labelled a “betrayal” by the government.
While perhaps the most recognisable, the Swedish campaigner is among thousands of people who have been compelled to take part in demonstrations at the North Rhine-Westphalia village in recent years, which has become a flashpoint for German climate activists seeking an end to fossil fuels.
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[A]ctivists argue that fossil fuels must remain in the ground to avert climate breakdown. Addressing some 6,000 protesters marching on Lutzerath on Saturday, Ms Thunberg called the mine’s expansion a “betrayal of present and future generations”.
“Germany is one of the biggest polluters in the world and needs to be held accountable,” she said, adding: “The most affected people are clear, the science is clear, we need to keep the carbon in the ground.
“When governments and corporations are acting like this, are actively destroying the environment, putting countless of people at risk, the people step up.”
