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IN PHOTOS: Fridays for Future returns to Germany with more than 400 demos

Thousands of demonstrators marched throughout Germany in the first series of climate protests since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Here are some highlights from Friday

IN PHOTOS: Fridays for Future returns to Germany with more than 400 demos
Protesters took refuge from the rain under a 'Fridays for Future' umbrella in Frankfurt. Photo: DPA

The Fridays for Future movement, spawned by Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg, used to occur every Friday around Germany, with protesters taking to the streets of hundreds of German cities of all sizes.

Then came the coronavirus crisis, putting the popular protest movement on hold – at least in person.

READ ALSO: Over 200 'Fridays for Future' climate demos taking place in Germany

But protesters returned on Friday September 25th amid the rainy weather. This time they showed up stronger than ever with more than 400 cities participating, all under the motto #KeinGradWeiter, or Not a Degree More.

They called for an array of changes to better protect the environment, from a quicker end to coal production in Germany, to stronger laws regulating emissions, to simply less consumption.

Here's a look at some of the top photos. All photos are from DPA unless otherwise noted.

Protesters in Berlin returned to one of their favourite spots, in front of the iconic Brandenburg Gate. A total of 10,000 people registered for the demo in the capital, as well as another 4,000 at two bike demos.

Yet Fridays for Future estimates that a total of 21,000 people marched in support of the climate, and greater environmental protections.

In Aachen in North Rhine-Westphalia, a total of 4,000 people turned up.

In Bonn, near Cologne, a very socially-distanced demo took place.

Thousands also showed their support in Hamburg with signs such as “Bye mass consumption” and “Hello environmental protestion.”

Demonstrators in Brandenburg's capital of Potsdam lined up to hold signs reading: “There is no Planet B”.

Protesters, including many students, showed up in Dresden, Saxony's capital.

A demo participant in Frankfurt had a very clear message.

In Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt's capital, a protester bore a backpack with the protest's motto.

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ENVIRONMENT

Sweden’s SSAB to build €4.5bn green steel plant in Luleå 

The Swedish steel giant SSAB has announced plans to build a new steel plant in Luleå for 52 billion kronor (€4.5 billion), with the new plant expected to produce 2.5 million tons of steel a year from 2028.

Sweden's SSAB to build €4.5bn green steel plant in Luleå 

“The transformation of Luleå is a major step on our journey to fossil-free steel production,” the company’s chief executive, Martin Lindqvist, said in a press release. “We will remove seven percent of Sweden’s carbon dioxide emissions, strengthen our competitiveness and secure jobs with the most cost-effective and sustainable sheet metal production in Europe.”

The new mini-mill, which is expected to start production at the end of 2028 and to hit full capacity in 2029, will include two electric arc furnaces, advanced secondary metallurgy, a direct strip rolling mill to produce SSABs specialty products, and a cold rolling complex to develop premium products for the transport industry.

It will be fed partly from hydrogen reduced iron ore produced at the HYBRIT joint venture in Gälliväre and partly with scrap steel. The company hopes to receive its environemntal permits by the end of 2024.

READ ALSO: 

The announcement comes just one week after SSAB revealed that it was seeking $500m in funding from the US government to develop a second HYBRIT manufacturing facility, using green hydrogen instead of fossil fuels to produce direct reduced iron and steel.

The company said it also hoped to expand capacity at SSAB’s steel mill in Montpelier, Iowa. 

The two new investment announcements strengthen the company’s claim to be the global pioneer in fossil-free steel.

It produced the world’s first sponge iron made with hydrogen instead of coke at its Hybrit pilot plant in Luleå in 2021. Gälliväre was chosen that same year as the site for the world’s first industrial scale plant using the technology. 

In 2023, SSAB announced it would transform its steel mill in Oxelösund to fossil-free production.

The company’s Raahe mill in Finland, which currently has new most advanced equipment, will be the last of the company’s big plants to shift away from blast furnaces. 

The steel industry currently produces 7 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, and shifting to hydrogen reduced steel and closing blast furnaces will reduce Sweden’s carbon emissions by 10 per cent and Finland’s by 7 per cent.

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