Climate strike: a new start for Fridays for Future? That’s what an activist says

interview

In your opinion, who is worse for the climate: the GroKo under Angela Merkel or the traffic lights and the “climate chancellor” Olaf Scholz?

That is hard to say. The GroKo has blocked a lot for decades. For the next government, this means that action must be taken even faster and more consistently. The traffic light coalition started with very high expectations of itself. They wanted to be the “progress coalition” and Scholz the “climate chancellor”. If you look at their actual actions, these were empty promises that have not been fulfilled so far.

Fridays for Future Germany called for climate strikes in over 250 German cities today. They want the “climate law not to be undermined”, that “sector goals” are met and that climate money comes. Sounds pretty bureaucratic.

We still want the coal phase-out and compliance with the Paris climate goals. But the movement has achieved a lot in recent years and we do not want the government to reverse these achievements. That’s why we have very specific demands when it comes to politics.

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Can you explain them briefly?

The climate law stipulates how much greenhouse gases different sectors must save in order to stop climate change. One sector, for example, is transport, for which the Ministry of Transport is primarily responsible. The traffic light now wants to soften these “sector goals”. According to experts, that would be a total step backwards.

In 2019, environmental and climate protection was the most important issue for a majority of Germans. Nowadays it’s no longer like that. Why don’t you get people involved anymore?

We are in a time of multiple crises and it is therefore understandable that people have other concerns. But the climate crisis is still there. Our demand is also that all these crises be addressed together. But thousands, tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of people will be taking to the streets with us today. And that shows that there are still a lot of people who support us and want to be loud together with us.

Is it really like that? We see the AfD in first place in election surveys, especially in East Germany. A party that denies man-made climate change.

People think climate protection is stupid when they feel left out. And if they have the feeling that climate protection measures are effectively making them worse off. And that’s what happens when climate protection is not thought of socially and fairly. The AfD wins by tapping into fears and presenting solutions as simply as possible. Unfortunately, the party is really successful with this.

The Together for Future association, among others, coordinates the donations for you. They have 2022 than the year before. Does Fridays for Future have a money problem?

I don’t have direct insight into our financial flows, but from what I understand, that’s not the case. With inflation it is clear that many people no longer donate as much. But compared to other social movements, we are still doing well.

Many people have already seen Fridays for Future on their deathbed.

(laughs) Well, I hope not. A lot is happening right now. For example, I am active in Berlin and Heidelberg. We still meet once a week, and lots of people still come in Berlin. We now do a lot of educational work, go to schools and talk to politicians. Before the corona pandemic, we mainly organized demos, so we were more visible to the public.

So the movement doesn’t have any problems with recruiting young people?

No, I wouldn’t say that. There is always a lot of fluctuation in a movement. But I also keep seeing new faces, in the local groups and also at our summer conference. Sometimes they are students, but also still students.

But what the public notices are the protests of the last generation. Many people are very dissatisfied with their actions. Is this damaging the climate movement?

The hatred of the last generation is enormous. I understand that people get frustrated when they’re stuck in traffic and ask themselves, “What can I personally do about it?” But this hatred, which is increasingly turning into violence, is absolutely not okay. Basically, the last generation also ensures that the issue of climate remains present.

Watch the video: Is the last generation damaging climate protection? An activist argues with an FDP politician about the protests.

So the Last Generation is not a competing organization?

We as Fridays for Future continue to hold demonstrations. I believe that we offer a good alternative offer for people who want to fight for a different climate policy at a very low threshold. If other people want to go further, that’s okay.