Extinction Rebellion activists set up Berlin climate camp ahead of protests

The Berlin chapter of the international climate protest movement Extinction Rebellion on Saturday began building a protest camp near Germany’s government offices.

Its protests, which will urge the government to adopt climate policies that will bring the country’s CO2 emissions down to zero by 2025, are due to start on Monday and run for a week.

A spokeswoman for the group said it wanted to offer workshops and run working groups at the camp starting on Sunday. Police said 6,000 people registered for the protests.

Read more: Psychology behind climate inaction: How to beat the ‘doom barrier’

In London, Extinction Rebellion activists even sprayed fake blood at the Treasury in Westminster

Roadblocks planned

The Berlin activists plan to follow the example set by the movement in London and elsewhere earlier this year by blocking major roadways, starting with the public square and traffic intersection of Potsdam Square.

“We are recommending that drivers leave their cars at home,” the group said on Friday.

Read more: The activists risking prison to save the planet

According to a spokeswoman, recent climate proposals by the government are “entirely insufficient.” The package of measures agreed on September 20 is also felt to be inadequate by 53% of the German public, according to a survey by broadcaster ZDF.

• Climate protests: Extinction Rebellion gets creative

  Save Mother Earth!

  Beginning April 15, protesters with Extinction Rebellion took to the streets of London and other cities to demand governments declare a climate and ecological emergency. They occupied key spots in the city, calling on those in charge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2025, halt biodiversity loss and set up citizens’ assemblies on climate and ecological justice.

• Climate protests: Extinction Rebellion gets creative

  Creative protests

  Extinction Rebellion, founded last year by academics in the United Kingdom, is one of the world’s fastest-growing environmental movements. Their aim is to protest climate change inaction in a creative and nonviolent way. Demonstrators say people are causing their own mass extinction, which is the basis of their “rebellion.”

• Climate protests: Extinction Rebellion gets creative

  Royal support?

  Harry and Meghan, the duke and duchess of Sussex, didn’t exactly take part in the sit-in on London’s Waterloo Bridge on April 18. The royals are expecting and protesters used the happy event in their demonstration, having the couple “thank” Extinction Rebellion for saving their child’s future.

• Climate protests: Extinction Rebellion gets creative

  Stuck to the train

  Activists have used a variety of unusual protest methods to draw maximum attention and get their point across. Throughout the week, they’ve blocked traffic, climbed atop buses and superglued themselves to buildings and, in the case of this young man at London’s Canary Wharf station on April 17, trains.

• Climate protests: Extinction Rebellion gets creative

  Civil disobedience

  The goal of the protests is to temporarily disrupt everyday life. As a result, police have arrested more than 800 people in London alone. Activists want to get the public on their side, but a YouGov survey showed that just 36% of more than 3,500 British polled support the protest, with 52% against.

• Climate protests: Extinction Rebellion gets creative

  Naked truth

  Extinction Rebellion protesters first attracted global attention on April 1, during yet another heated Brexit debate in the British Parliament. A group of semi-naked activists revealed themselves in the visitor gallery with slogans including “SOS” and “Stop Wasting Time” written on their bodies, with some gluing their hands to a glass barrier. The scene was quickly broken up my security.

• Climate protests: Extinction Rebellion gets creative

  Global movement

  The Extinction Rebellion protests got their start in London, but the movement has also spread to other major cities around the world. On April 15, these activists on the Oberbaum Bridge in Berlin blocked traffic for hours.

• Climate protests: Extinction Rebellion gets creative

  Switching tactics?

  On April 21, organizers in London said they were willing to switch tactics and talk with the government. “We’re giving them an opportunity now to come and speak to us,” said spokesman James Fox. “If they refuse … then this is going to continue and this going to escalate in different, diverse and very creative ways.”

  Author: Friedel Taube

Germany is currently on track to miss its 2020 emissions reduction target by almost 25%.

First founded in Britain, Extinction Rebellion, also known as XR, now has branches in some 50 countries. It plans to launch two weeks of protests in 60 cities across the world from Monday.

Read more: Nearly 100 German artists join Extinction Rebellion call to climate action

tj/sms (AP, dpa)

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