Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

CLIMATE CRISIS

Climate activists spray Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate

Activists from climate group "Last Generation" spray-painted Berlin's famous Brandenburg Gate on Sunday, calling for the abandonment of fossil fuels and more action on climate change.

Published: 17 September 2023 15:28 CEST
Climate activists spray Berlin's Brandenburg Gate
Two men remove paint from the columns of Berlin's landmark the Brandenburg Gate on September 17, 2023 in Berlin. Photo: John MACDOUGALL/AFP.

Six pillars of the monument at the heart of the German capital were sprayed with orange warning paint, the group said in a statement.

The paint spread to the Pariser Platz, the square at the foot of the monument, with bright footprints extending along the roadway.

Fourteen people were arrested at the site, police told AFP, without any indication of acts of violence.

The demonstrators wanted to send the message that it is “time for political change” in order to “move away from fossil fuels”, according to the statement.

“We must get out of petrol, gas and coal no later than 2030. It is high time that (German Chancellor) Olaf Scholz speaks clearly,” Last Generation spokesperson Marion Fabian said in the statement.

Thousands of climate protestors, led by young people, demonstrated Friday in Berlin and across Germany calling on Scholz’s government to take more action to achieve the country’s climate goals.

Germany wants to reach net zero targets by 2045.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

CLIMATE CRISIS

German climate activists end lengthy hunger strike

A group of German environmental activists on Thursday ended a long-running hunger strike to force the government to do more to tackle the climate crisis.

Published: 13 June 2024 14:57 CEST
German climate activists end lengthy hunger strike

The protest began in early March under the motto “starving until you tell the truth”, when the first member of the group, Wolfgang Metzeler-Kick, stopped eating.

The 49-year-old went on hunger strike for a total of 92 days and was admitted to hospital in early June – although he reportedly continued the action for several days afterwards.

Another seven people joined the fast over the weeks, with the group setting up a camp in a central Berlin park.

Some started eating again in recent weeks and the rest announced they will now end their hunger strike.

Their statement said the action was to highlight that “the continued existence of human civilisation is endangered by the climate catastrophe”, urging a “radical” change of course.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz  called for an end to the strike at the end of May, saying it was not the right way to spur debate about whether Germany was doing enough to tackle climate change.

READ ALSO: INTERVIEW – ‘Failed climate policies are fuelling far-right politics in Germany’

Climate activists have resorted to some eye-catching stunts to get their message across in Germany.

Protesters from the radical group known as Letzte Generation (“Last Generation”) have repeatedly sat down on busy roads and glued their hands to the tarmac.

Protesters have also thrown mashed potatoes over a Claude Monet painting in Potsdam and glued themselves to an exhibition of a dinosaur skeleton at Berlin’s Natural History Museum.

READ ALSO: Record heat deaths and floods – How Germany is being hit by climate change

SHOW COMMENTS