The climate protection movement Fridays for Future accuses the activists of the “last generation” of dividing society with their protest actions. “The climate crisis needs solutions for society as a whole and we can only find and fight for them together and not by pitting people against each other in everyday life,” said spokeswoman Annika Rittmann of the German Press Agency.
Road blockades in Hamburg particularly affected commuters “who can neither afford to live in downtown Hamburg nor use public transport due to the lack of expansion. The same is to be feared in Berlin.” For good reason, Fridays for Future has always relied on other forms of protest.
The climate demonstrations by Fridays for Future were inspired by the Swede Greta Thunberg, who first sat down in front of the parliament in Stockholm in August 2018 for a “school strike for the climate”.
The last generation, on the other hand, is making a name for itself with road blockades, but also with other controversial adhesive campaigns, for example in museums. On Thursday, climate activists from the group in Hamburg had obstructed the beginning of Easter travel at important points – for example in front of the Elbe tunnel. Beginning in the last week of April, the group plans to block streets in Berlin until May. “From Monday, April 24th, we will peacefully bring Berlin to a standstill with street blockades,” says the website. A meeting was planned at the Brandenburg Gate in the afternoon of the previous Sunday.
The activists of the “last generation” are calling for a speed limit of 100 kilometers per hour on German autobahns and a permanent nine-euro ticket for buses and trains as immediate measures against the impending “climate collapse”.
Already this week there will be further actions by another climate protection organization in Berlin, the group Extinction Rebellion. A protest camp will be opened in Invalidenpark in Berlin Mitte this Wednesday and demonstrations will be held at various locations on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. In addition, actions of civil disobedience are planned, which would not be publicly announced.