climate
Climate strikes: Neubauer reprimands resistance in politics
Fridays for Future activist Luisa Neubauer speaks to climate activists from other countries during a joint appearance. photo
© Matic Hrabar/STA/dpa
Five years ago, Greta Thunberg sat down in front of the Swedish parliament for the first time with her famous sign. Her German colleague Luisa Neubauer from Fridays for Future looks back.
Five years after Greta Thunberg’s first school strike, the German activist Luisa Neubauer expressed disappointment about the ongoing political resistance.
“It is frustrating to see that various political representatives still prefer to insult climate activists and prevent climate progress instead of acknowledging that the climate movement is only needed because they have not done their job in recent decades,” said Neubauer, who Movement Fridays for Future belongs to the German Press Agency in Berlin.
success of the activists
However, climate policy is now “located at the center of government action”, which Neubauer sees as a sign of the activists’ success in the fight against the climate crisis. “Fridays for Future has turned the climate crisis from a niche problem into a social problem and won majorities for real solutions on a historic scale,” said Neubauer. The movement won a historic judgment from the Federal Constitutional Court in favor of climate protection. It has also been shown “that young people can unleash unimagined power together”.
On August 20, 2018, the Swedish activist Thunberg demonstrated for the first time in front of the parliament in Stockholm for more political ambition in the fight against global warming. In doing so, she gave the impetus for Fridays for Future, and hundreds of thousands of people around the world followed her example.
In recent months, the Last Generation group in particular has received a lot of attention because of their controversial actions. Most recently, politicians from the SPD, Union and FDP in particular had sharply criticized the activists and in some cases branded them as criminals because they regularly block roads and airports, among other things.
Federal government should keep climate promises
The earth has already warmed up by a good 1.1 degrees compared to pre-industrial times, in Germany it is already 1.6 degrees. Depending on the region, the fatal consequences include more frequent and severe droughts and heat waves, but also heavy rain, storms and floods.
Regarding the goals of the movement, Neubauer said: “As Fridays for Future, we are continuously working to ensure that we are no longer needed and that the federal government instead independently keeps its global climate promises.” The German Climate Protection Act provides for a 65 percent reduction in climate-damaging emissions by 2030 compared to 1990. They are to be reduced by 88 percent by 2040 and greenhouse gas neutrality is to be achieved by 2045.