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Germany: Climate activists demand better transport policy

March 3, 2023

Renewed Fridays for Future marches came as Germany's smallest coalition party blocked an EU-wide plan to end the use of combustion engines. Activists have also called for more investment in public transit.

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Fridays for Future supporters march in Berlin
Fridays for Future supporters march in BerlinImage: Achille Abboud/IMAGO

Thousands of demonstrators of all ages marched in cities across the country on Friday to demand tougher action on climate change as Germany stalled an EU-wide plan to phase out the internal combustion engine.

Fridays for Future activists also joined striking public transit workers who are demanding better pay and working conditions. Climate scientists have long argued that more robust public transport could make a major difference in climate breakdown.

A small protest was also going on outside the Berlin headquarters of the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP). The FDP is the smallest party in Germany's governing coalition, after the Green Party and Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD), which is the largest.

In total, organizers estimated that some 220,000 people joined demonstrations in at least 250 towns and cities around Germany.

Junior coalition partner blocks climate policies

Although they received just 11.5% of the vote, the FDP controls several ministries, including transport. This has enabled them to block climate measures such as imposing a general speed limit and investing more much in public transport, much to the frustration of their coalition partners.

"We need pressure," a protester outside the FDP office told the Associated Press. "And I hope very much that the young generation doesn't let up."

Fridays for Future has criticized the government for the delayed introduction of a planned €49 ($52) train ticket for all of Germany. Rail operators have said that they would welcome the move if Berlin provided the funds to make it possible.

Activists say that the coalition is more concerned with propping up the auto industry than investing in the future.

Global protests

Similar climate protests took place across the globe on Friday, beginning in New Zealand, where a deadly cyclone recently left a trail of destruction in its wake.

Major protests also took place in several Italian cities after far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she wanted to make Italy a "European gas hub."

es/rc (AP, dpa)

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