Climate activists take to the streets of Berlin ahead of national election
鈥淥bviously the government is failing us,鈥� Annemarie Botzki, spokesperson at Extinction Rebellion Germany and campaigner at WeMove Europe, told 威力彩玩法. 鈥淭he recent IPCC report has shown how dangerous the current situation is. The government knows this and is still not acting. An airport has been built, a coal plant has gone online, motorways are being constructed鈥� The government is just not acting according to the crisis.鈥�
Six weeks before German voters head to the polls for the federal election, climate activists are holding a week of protests in the capital. The so-called 鈥楢ugust Rise Up鈥� is organised by direct-action group Extinction Rebellion and brings together around 50 different climate groups, including Fridays for Future, Ende Gel盲nde and several forest-occupation groups. 鈥淭ogether we can have even more impact,鈥� Botzki explained. The group鈥檚 main demand is the installment of a citizen鈥檚 assembly on climate. 鈥淚t鈥檚 time to kick the lobby groups out of the parliament and give citizens a chance to really participate in democracy,鈥� they wrote in a press release.
The climate movement has become an indespensible part of the public debate on climate change in Germany ever since it has mobilised masses of young people to protest for more action. In 2019, Chancellor Angela Merkel credited the movement for pushing the government to act more quickly and resolutely on its 2030 climate package. Now, climate activists are pushing political parties across the spectrum to back the聽1.5掳C global warming limit outlined in the Paris Climate Agreement as the federal election in September draws closer.
The action week was kicked off on Monday with a demonstration at the Brandenburg Gate, a stone鈥檚 throw away from Germany鈥檚 parliamentary buildings. Around 200 people blocked the road in front of the landmark for several hours, while some of them superglued their hands or feet to the asphalt. The blockade was broken up by police in the early afternoon and several activists who refused to leave the road were arrested. Meanwhile, a few dozen activists set up a sit-in protest in the nearby Monbijou park, which was quickly blocked off by police.
鈥淚 am here because we only have a very small window of opportunity left to keep global warming within acceptable limits,鈥� said geoscience student Luca Thomas, sitting on the raod in front of the Brandenburg Gate. The 19-year-old has travelled from Bayreuth, a city in the south of Germany, with two other members of the local Students for Future group to participate in the action week. Because there is so little time, the next legislative period needs to be used to implement far-reaching climate measures, he said. 鈥淲e first of all need climate legislation that is in line with limiting warming to 1.5-degrees, because at the moment it isn鈥檛,鈥� Luca added, referring to the Climate Action Law which was recently amended after Germany鈥檚 highest court ruled that the country鈥檚 climate policy was insufficient, as it lacked detail on emission reduction targets beyond 2030 and would therefore put the largest burden on today's young people.
Activists will vote despite dissatisfaction with party programmes
鈥淲e have to change our own lifestyles, but we also need political change. It鈥檚 not enough to reduce our own carbon footprints,鈥� a 70-year-old activist called Wilfried told 威力彩玩法. Though the Berliner will cast a ballot in the upcoming elections, he is unimpressed with the party programmes at hand. 鈥淧oliticians need to clearly tell people what threats we face when we go on like this,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why I have a problem with the Greens, who say we can have everything: economic growth, climate protection鈥� That鈥檚 not possible, those things are contradictory.鈥� He is more positive about the activist-led party Klimaliste (鈥楥limate List鈥�), whose core aim is to gear German politics towards a clear commitment to limiting global warming to 1.5掳C, the lower end of the desired margin formulated in the Paris Climate Agreement. Klimaliste will be participating in the Berlin state elections but will not run on a national level. 鈥淚n Berlin I will vote for them in any case. But on a federal level I am not sure yet," Wilfried said.
鈥淢any parties have some ideas that I like, but there is not one party I can fully stand behind,鈥� said forest-occupation activist Toki, who prefers to be called by a nickname, while sitting on the road. Nevertheless, she will go to cast a ballot in September. The same holds true for the Berliner activist Karsten. 鈥淎ll party programmes are insufficient,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut one should still go and vote so that the right-wing parties do not become stronger.鈥�
Since the start of the pandemic, Extinction Rebellion has not organised any large-scale actions - until now. The turnout of an estimated 300 or so people was lower than expected, and much lower than the 6,000 people who took to the streets with Extinction Rebellion in autumn 2019, said press speaker Annemarie Botzki. The organisers had been hoping for at least a thousand participants in Monday's actions. Throughout the week, different climate groups will hold demonstrations, actions and blockades in the city as part of the 'August RiseUp', including a march starting at the party offices of the ruling conservatives (CDU) and social democrats (SPD) by Fridays for Future on 17 August.
