As “climate glue,” the group made a lot of noise, then things got a little quieter. Now it is coming back with a “resistance spring”. But do the most active people still have allies?
Six weeks after the end of their controversial adhesive blockades, the Last Generation is planning the next round of their climate protests. To mark the start of a “spring of resistance,” there will be “disobedient gatherings” in ten places in Germany next Saturday (March 16), that is, blockades by large crowds on sidewalks and streets. It remains to be seen whether the climate movement can gain new momentum. In times of wars, economic downturns and skepticism about democracy, the topic suddenly seems very far in the background.
Ironically, at the press conference in front of Bellevue Palace, the traffic noise swallowed up the activists’ message. They had specially moved to the sidewalk opposite the Federal President’s official residence to address their demands directly to Frank-Walter Steinmeier: the head of state should start a new debate about the climate catastrophe with a speech to the nation. “Hand on heart: It’s time for honesty,” said a statement that climate activist Rolf Meyer read for the group.
Steinmeier initially did not respond to this request. When asked, the Federal President at least stated: “Climate protection has lost none of its urgency, even in a time of international crises and wars.” The Federal President is continually drawing attention to this outstanding political task and is planning Environment Week again for June 4th and 5th in order to show concrete ways to protect the climate with thousands of expert guests. “Everyone who takes part in the debate for more climate protection with clever ideas, convinced commitment and without breaking the law is welcome and strengthens democracy,” said the President’s Office.
“Everything is going completely wrong”
Is this state-supporting declaration of the last generation enough? The country is currently in a situation “in which everything is going completely wrong,” said Carla Hinrichs, co-founder and spokeswoman for the group. “The crises are accelerating, we are racing at full speed towards a catastrophe and the government is fueling this catastrophe further.”
A new chapter of protests is now starting for the last generation. “We will no longer let the government lie to us,” said Hinrichs. The parliaments had failed, the parties had “absolutely no plan”. “Civil disobedience is our last hope,” added the young activist Laura Bischoff, who, in her own words, should have been at school that Monday morning.
For a good two years, the Last Generation has been trying to use this rhetoric to point out the climate crisis and bring about a turnaround. They caused a lot of fuss with blockades in which activists glued themselves to the road before announcing the end of this form of protest at the end of January. Among other things, the group wants an immediate move away from fossil fuels such as coal, oil or gas, the combustion of which produces climate-damaging carbon dioxide.
In her statement she also called for far-reaching reforms of the entire economic system. She is concerned with redistribution at the expense of the rich, for example with a wealth tax, with abandoning consumption, with “fair rationing” of resources, and with the dismantling of industries such as the automobile or chemical sectors. “The challenges are so great that politicians shy away from them,” said the statement addressed to Steinmeier.
Allies on the left
In fact, the federal government is pursuing less radical goals when it comes to climate protection – and yet it has suffered a political bloody nose in recent months. Germany has set itself the goal of no longer releasing any additional greenhouse gases into the atmosphere by 2045. But the so-called Heating Act to gradually abolish oil and gas heating triggered a political earthquake last year. Because of the budget crisis, there is a lack of money to socially buffer the costs of climate protection. Meanwhile, it’s not just the AfD who are campaigning against further measures. The CDU/CSU and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance also apparently no longer see climate protection as a priority.
Actually only the left is openly siding with the last generation. “The concerns are right and the rebellion against the federal government’s toothless climate policy is understandable,” said Left Federal Managing Director Katina Schubert of the German Press Agency. “Society is clearly sliding into climate catastrophe.” And she added: “It is not the last generation that is damaging the cause of a climate policy that affects many people, but the federal government.”
Nevertheless, the climate movement also needs to think about how it can connect more with society again. Fridays for Future, which has always had a broader base than the last generation, has recently broken new ground. The movement organized its climate strike on March 1st together with the Verdi union and for the common goal of better equipping and organizing local public transport. Both Verdi and FFF subsequently considered their collaboration a success. The group is also confident that people will continue to follow suit: “To date, support for climate protection in Germany is high across society at large,” explained FFF when asked. “Now we still need a chancellor who will act accordingly.”
“Open the door for other groups”
The last generation is now trying to network better in its own way. Their “disobedient gatherings” are also said to attract people who don’t dare stick to the road in front of angry drivers. It is “opening the door for other groups in the climate justice movement,” said geologist Nikolaus Froitzheim, who supports the Last Generation. What exactly these meetings should look like ultimately remained unclear. That could be very different, said spokeswoman Hinrichs when asked. For example, a “bobby car parade” of mothers with their children is conceivable. The gatherings should be “absolutely peaceful” – but also “significantly more disobedient” than a normal demonstration. In Berlin, Bremen, Cologne, Leipzig, Karlsruhe, Freiburg, Stuttgart, Regensburg, Munich and Rügen it will be shown on Saturday what exactly that means.