climate crisis
Poll: Strong rejection of last-generation methods
Activists from the Last Generation group block an intersection on Landsberger Allee in Berlin. photo
© Paul Zinken/dpa
The activist group Last Generation wants to enforce more ambition in the fight against global warming with adhesive blockades. The type of protest is not well received by the people in the country.
The climate group Last Generation finds little support with their protest actions. Three quarters of the participants in a current survey by the opinion research institute YouGov on behalf of the German Press Agency rejected the attempt to enforce more climate protection with actions such as road blockades – 60 percent stated that they would do this “completely”, 16 percent “rather”. .
Another 13 percent of respondents said they “rather support” the actions, while only 5 percent “strongly” did so. The rest were undecided or gave no information.
The last generation has recently been increasingly obstructing traffic in Berlin with sit-ins, with activists sticking themselves to the streets. The group announced in mid-April that they wanted to try to shut down the capital indefinitely.
Many Greens supporters also reject the actions
Rejection of the group’s methods was particularly high among AfD supporters at 91 percent and hardly less among supporters of the FDP (88 percent) and the CDU/CSU (86 percent). The actions are also rejected by a majority of 53 percent among Greens supporters. Younger respondents tend to support the campaigns, although only 36 percent do so even among the 18 to 29 year olds.
The latest generation gets more encouragement for their demand for a speed limit of 100 kilometers per hour on motorways, although a majority of 54 percent of those surveyed find this “wrong” or “rather wrong”. 40 percent find it “correct” or “rather correct”. Among the supporters of the parties represented in the Bundestag, there are majorities among supporters of the Greens (68 percent) and the Left (63 percent), SPD supporters are divided on the issue (47 percent for, 48 percent against).
Speed limit required on freeways
Last-generation activists are demanding a plan from the federal government to meet the international goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. The group is also calling for a social council with 160 elected members to plan the end of the use of fossil fuels such as oil, coal or gas in Germany by 2030. In addition, the organization advocates a speed limit of 100 kilometers per hour on motorways and a permanent 9-euro ticket.
However, the skeptical attitude of many respondents to the methods of the last generation and to the demand for a speed limit of 100 does not mean that people are satisfied with the climate protection balance sheet of the federal government. A total of 47 percent think that the government is doing too little, 20 percent think they are doing too much, and a further 17 percent think the federal government is doing it right.