Fridays for Future and a large cross section of organisations mobilised for perhaps the biggest climate strike so far for Friday, 24 September. In preparation of the German parliament elections two days later and as a wake-up call to governments, companies and civil society around the globe in view of the forthcoming Conference of the Parties to the Climate Agreement (COP26) in Glasgow, some 620,000 people in Germany alone took to the streets demanding decisive climate protection NOW.
Some 450 marches had obtained official registration in Germany. Hundreds of people were marching even through smaller towns and showed an impressive amount of diverse and creative posters and other forms of protest to make it cristal clear that the time had come for substantive action to protect the climate.
Even dogs were recruited into the fold asking "Can humans still be rescued?" (see above). Humour was represented as much as fear, warnings and anger. But the overarching emphasis was that standing together we can still manage, even as the window of opportunity is closing. Fridays for Future and a large number of other organisations had called citizens to join the strike and come out into the streets they did. We also saw grannies for future, medics for future and many others, including nature protection organisations, social movements such as Campact and, of course, Mundus maris.
Mundus maris posters drew lots of attention as most people seemed to be unaware about the importance of the ocean for climate stabilisation and that ever second breath we take comes from the ocean as photosynthesising phytoplankton and other aquatic plants are essential for global oxygen production and CO2 uptake. Both in small-town Hilden (see above) with several hundred participants and in the state capital of Northrhine Westfalia, Duesseldorf with some 10,000 marchers, we helped to raise awareness about the urgency of ocean protection as a key service for the climate.
Duesseldorf is located right next to the open pits of lignite mining which has already swallowed up several rural towns and has transformed a huge area into a lunar landscape in one of the dirtiest ways to produce electricity. This is a major contributor to making Germany the seventh worst climate offender in the world, quite contrary to the image of a nature loving country that is being cultivated in the media and public perception. People would like to walk the talk and protect nature and the climate, but the companies behind this policy are lobbying hard with the government.
They are still insisting of erasing more villages and exploiting every last bit of dirty lignite despite the fact that everybody knows that the exit needs to be brought forward from 2038 to at latest 2030. If the provisions of the Paris Agreement are to be met and Germany is to live up to its obligations, the conservative parties in the state and federal government also need to lift the multiple obstacles to renewable energies, including local solar electricity. Time is up for foot dragging and nice Sunday speeches. Together we can!
The new government will be measured against its delivery at home and international solidarity to meet the Paris provisions for people and planet.
