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Recently, the climate movement had been silenced. Now “Fridays for Future” wants to press again. Tens of thousands are expected to take to the streets today for the global climate strike.
By Angela Ulrich, ARD capital studio
“We’re back! We’re not out of the picture,” Quang Paasch says, his eyes flickering aggressively. Paasch is the Berlin spokesperson for the “Fridays for Future” movement. The movement registered 10,000 participants for a vigil at the Brandenburg Gate and 4,000 passengers at two bicycle demonstrations in Berlin alone.
A total of more than 400 demonstrations are planned between Aachen and Zwickau, worldwide even more than 2,500. Because the concerns are more urgent than ever, says Ronja Weil, who will march for the anti-coal movement “End of Terrain”: that appealing to politics doesn’t really help, “says Weil.” We see that the climate crisis is here, that it is causing incredible destruction and that it must be stopped. And if the politicians don’t do it, we will do it ourselves. “
A year ago, the “Fridays for Future” were in full swing. Hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren were on the streets of Germany every week, millions all over the world. This ended from Corona: Friday’s protest marches have stalled.
Less visible
The movement suffered greatly from the virus, that is clear from “difficult conditions”. Much has moved to the Internet, much less visible than before. Has that lowered the pressure? “We are a mass protest movement at a time when mass protests can no longer be organized,” said Luisa Neubauer, the “front woman” of the protest movement in Germany, recently in an interview with the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”.
After all, climate activists say in unison: Corona made it clear that politics can act very urgently if the need is recognized. However, this will not happen enough with the elimination of coal and the expansion of renewable energy. But as politics can take effective measures, “we have to keep it in our memory now to be able to demand this type of crisis management later”, Neubauer is convinced.
But, and young activists are sure: “We have to make sure that crises – Corona and climate – do not pit against each other. This year a clear signal for climate justice must be set, and that is exactly what we will do.”
The climate protection movement wants more
However, the key points for a reform of the Law on Renewable Energy Sources have just been approved in the Federal Cabinet, of which the Minister of Economy, Peter Altmaier, is proud: “With this change we have paved the way for a transition modern energy, affordable but also effective, “says the CDU politician.
In ten years, two thirds of the electricity in Germany will be generated from wind, solar and hydroelectric power. The Minister of the Environment, Svenja Schulze, would have liked to be a little more ambitious. That is why Schulze supports street pressure. The SPD politician likes the fact that the “Fridays for Future” movement does not give up, that it is still active online and in the streets: “Climate protection is a great challenge for our society. And they can use everyone that help. “
Thunberg near Merkel
But that’s not enough for the climate protection movement. Her icon Greta Thunberg was invited to Angela Merkel’s a few weeks ago. She and other activists spoke with the Chancellor for more than an hour and a half. But more tailwind from Merkel?
The head of the FDP, Christian Lindner, also believes that there is no such thing. He had become particularly unpopular with young people some time ago with his tweet that climate protection should be left to the professionals. Now Lindner apparently wants to score and chooses bold words in the sustainability debate in the Bundestag: “Icebergs are melting and mountains of debt are growing,” Lindner says. Both must be fought with equal attention.
For the climate movement, it is now a matter of showing your face again, under strict hygiene requirements. But masks and distance would not reduce the “push”, says Ronja Weil. “We will continue anyway. And we show that disobedient protests are responsible in a responsible way even in times of pandemic.”
And how does it continue? The first representatives of “Fridays for Future” want to go into politics. Jakob Blasel, one of the leading activists, recently announced his candidacy for the Bundestag. So will the movement depend more on compromises than on strong protests in the future? Neubauer and the other activists are quite cautious: “Pressing and showing how great the desire for change is, that is still the focus of our work.”
