Climate protesters hope to bring Berlin to standstill

By Salman Ahmad

BERLIN (AA) - Nearly 800 people in Germany have signed up to join a series of climate actions next week in Berlin aimed at bringing the capital to a standstill.

Protesters started pouring in last Wednesday at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate from where Last Generation, a climate activist group, will launch mass action.

“We are gathered here in Berlin at the Brandenburg Gate to show the world that we are stopping the destruction of our environment and our future right now, we are not going to take it any longer that our government is doing so less to protect us and our children and our future," said Lars, one of the organizers who only gave his first name due to fear of reprisals.

The climate activists have earned the nickname ‘climate stickers’ as they frequently glue themselves to roads to stop traffic and bring attention to the climate emergency.

The goal of the upcoming actions is to convince the government to enforce a speed limit of 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph) on the German motorway to reduce pollution, and issue a nationwide €9 ($10) ticket that can be used on all local and regional transport to encourage people to use public transport.

Some of the people in attendance expressed their fears about the climate emergency and emphasized the need for urgent action.

Toby, also giving only his first name, said: “The thing is it's very necessary that we ring the alarm bell and make people really, really aware that the climate crisis is a much bigger thing than what a lot of people actually think.”

Jan, another protester who only gave his first name, said: “I want to show my solidarity with the activists that want change in our politics regarding climate because its known for years that we are heading into a climate crisis and there were plenty of different actions and scientists are calling for action for 15 years now and nothing changed.”

According to Last Generation's website, at least five people are needed to block an 8-meter wide road with three lanes. For smaller roads with two lanes, they called on at least four people to fully stop all traffic.

Berlin's police earlier announced seven days of detention over road-blocking protest actions.

The city's fire brigade said it is already preparing for potential public safety hazards.