Fighting Climate Change: You Act Now

Read the video transcript here

For this episode of Republik-21 I meet four young people who are fighting the climate crisis.

They block intersections.

"I would like to ask you to clear the street."

You are involved in politics.

"I burn out of a fear for it."

You complain to the Constitutional Court,

"And then all of a sudden it was this judgment, this decisive one."

And they develop ideas as start-up founders

"We see ourselves as the ones who translate this basic topic into real products."

Because climate change does not happen somewhere far away in the Arctic, it has long been felt here and also in Germany.

Leonie Voss, DER SPIEGEL

»Just talking doesn't do anything to stop climate change, says Lars, who I'll meet right here in St. Pauli.

He is an activist with "Extinction Rebellion" and will occupy a street in Hamburg at the weekend until the police carry him away.

Today I'll meet him preparing for it. "

Lars is 29, a psychologist and has been with Extinction Rebellion for two years, a group that repeatedly attracts attention with controversial protests, such as airport blockades.

Lars says he wants to resist because he believes that climate change will destroy our society otherwise.

Lars Werner, Extinction Rebellion

»Then we have incredibly large areas of life, especially around the equator, that are no longer habitable for humans because it is too often over 50 degrees there.

And those are temperatures that then get so high that humans cannot exist there. ”

- Does that scare you?

Or does that make you angry?

"That scares me a lot because the scenario I see is: chaos, violence and death."

Around 40 activists want to disrupt traffic the next day.

Lars gives tips on how to proceed in a video call: In accordance with the corona, everyone should sit alone on an intersection and thus ensure maximum attention.

Lars Werner, activist

"It's cool that you're here, a warm welcome to Gesa-Schmiede."

Gesa is the abbreviation for prisoner collection point.

Lars reports what happens when you are arrested by the police - and why he wants to.

Lars Werner

»You could now say what the police often say: You have now received your photo, now it's good, now don't be ridiculous.

And why I still find it really useful, because it is a totally powerful act - to resist until it is no longer physically possible, because the authorities then lock me up. "

Lars has already had two such blockages behind him.

But what he experiences the next day will be more intense and, above all, more painful than the previous times.

The climate crisis will not only be felt at the equator, as Lars described it earlier.

There are also places in the North Sea that could soon be in acute danger.

Leonie Voss, DER SPIEGEL

»We are now taking the ferry over to Pellworm, we want to meet Sophie Backsen there.

She lives on an island that is particularly badly affected by climate change. "

Sophie Backsen has probably done more to combat the climate crisis than most: The 22-year-old has sued the federal government - out of concern for her home island.

Sophie Backsen, Agricultural Science student

»So what you notice the most are these weather extremes, which are simply

becoming

more and more frequent.

We are in the middle of the Wadden Sea World Heritage Site, in the national park.

And you notice something like that very, very quickly.

«

Heavy rain, for example, long dry periods and stronger and more frequent storm surges.

Pellworm is on average one meter below sea level and is therefore completely surrounded by dikes.

Despite the flood protection, Sophie is very worried because the sea levels are rising.

Sophie Backsen, student of agricultural science

»Well, you can't just build 20 meter high dikes because it just doesn't make sense at some point.

So the island doesn't grow with you inside, so it doesn't get any higher.

And besides, the water would rise, then at some point it just doesn't make any sense.

I always say a bit of a bathtub effect.

«

Concerned about Pellworm, Sophie went to court: Together with eight other young people, the prospective farmer sued the Federal Constitutional Court against the grand coalition's climate protection law - and was right.

The highest German court ordered the federal government to do more climate protection.

Sophie Backsen, student of agricultural science

»Well, you sit there in front of

your

computer, as I do every day for my studies, yes, and then all of a sudden it was this judgment, this decisive one.

And that was a little incomprehensible.

It also took me a bit to understand.

«

No wonder: Hardly anyone expected that the lawsuit could be successful for the climate and against big politics.

Back on the mainland.

The young woman I am meeting now fights not against, but in politics.

Leonie Voss, DER SPIEGEL

»I'm in Bremerhaven today and have an appointment with Wiebke Winter.

Wiebke is 25, in the CDU and founded the Climate Union, an association that is supposed to advance climate policy at the CDU.

And I ask myself: is Wiebke in the right party with that? "

Wiebke Winter

"I burn out of fear for it."

While walking on the dike, Wiebke also describes her concerns about flooding to me.

And when I listen to her like that, she sounds more like a “Fridays for Future” activist than the state chairwoman of the Junge Union Bremen.

But Wiebke chose the CDU to advance the climate issue.

And this despite the fact that her party has dragged on the topic for years rather than pushed it forward - even the Chancellor recently admitted that.

Angela Merkel, Federal Chancellor

»Time is of the essence and I can understand the restlessness of young people.

In view of the objective situation, it is not yet enough. "

Leonie Voss, DER SPIEGEL

»The Chancellor in particular, she's a scientist, she knew the numbers.

Don't you sometimes think why did it all take so long? "

Wiebke Winter, member of the CDU federal executive committee

»This is exactly the question I ask myself: why not earlier?

We have known this problem since 1990 or even a little earlier.

I wasn't even born then.

And now I think it's 2021 and I'm sitting here and saying: I'm running for the Bundestag because we have to change climate policy and save the world a bit.

Because that's exactly what it is. "

Wiebke not only wants to get the CDU on a climate course, but also (in the federal election) to get the direct mandate in their constituencies of Bremen and Bremerhaven - an SPD stronghold.

"No spring without winter, because nothing new without Wiebke Winter."

To get in the mood for the election campaign, there are flower seeds and a card in the mailbox - but only where it is allowed.

Wiebke Winter, member of the CDU federal

executive

committee

"We always have to be careful: If it says: No advertising, then we are not allowed to throw anything into it."

Back in Hamburg: Lars is about to break the law here.

Civil disobedience without violence, that is the basic principle of Extinction Rebellion.

Lars Werner

"We have a crisis, but people don't notice it, our society doesn't notice it, and I can understand that well, I don't want to blame people, but that's why I want to bring the crisis to the present."

And then it starts: Lars is sitting on the street.

The cars just drive around it.

But then a driver suddenly gets really angry.

Motorists

"Clear the road."

"I can understand your angry."

"Clear the road"

Lars Werner

»I'm full of adrenaline right now, I don't notice any pain, but that was awesome.

I haven't seen anything like that before.

I can understand that he's angry.

But we have a crisis.

This sucks for him and sucks for me.

I'd rather not do this either.

But I am so desperate that I see no other way to make my voice heard.

I'd rather do something different now and not annoy the people here so much. "

But now people are really annoyed.

“Demonstrate somewhere else, but not here on the streets.

You can not be serious!"

Lars

“This is awesome today, but I'll go on now.

I will now wait until another very good opportunity arises.

And then I'll sit down again. "

After 30 minutes the police come, listen to Lars' request - and carry him off the street.

Is he disappointed that it was over so quickly?

Or maybe relieved that the officials have defused the dicey situation?

We won't be able to speak to Lars again until after his time at the station - and the detention is taking longer than expected.

Lars has now received a lot of attention for his concern at short notice.

But are there also sustainable strategies?

What role do business enterprises play?

Many start-ups are working on innovations that will slow down climate change and make money at the same time.

Leonie Voss, DER SPIEGEL

»I'm in Berlin today and meet a man who has developed an idea how to improve the air quality in cities over the long term.

And with a very special plant. "

In this backyard in Berlin-Schöneberg, Peter Sänger presents me the "City Tree", a biological air filter based on moss.

Peter Sänger, Green City Solutions

»Here you can see the mosses in action.

We can also perform and you can feel.

This moist surface, of course, ensures that these fine dust particles are properly retained and do not come back into the air. "

The moss filter as a kind of natural air conditioning system should create a zone of clean and cooled air around you.

Peter Sänger, Green City Solutions

»I remember my grandfather who was a miner.

He once told me that they hung up moss balls in the tunnel to measure fine dust and, above all, heavy metal pollution.

Means: This organism must have been able to take up particles somehow.

We see ourselves as the ones who translate this fundamental issue into real products. "

I visit Peter in Bestensee in Brandenburg, this is where the moss that is used in the City Trees grows.

The use of plants is controversial because it depends on complex factors whether the plants can develop their optimal filter performance, among other things on the location, the wind direction and the wind speed.

Nevertheless, cities like London and Berlin have already decided in favor of the City Trees - the desire for clean air seems great.

Around two million euros in EU funding have already flowed into its development.

A cloud connection for data evaluation should make the new moss filters even more effective.

Leonie Voss, DER SPIEGEL

»But in principle it's now a kind of patch for the climate crisis or a little patch.

You are not directly fighting the causes.

That might be banning cars from the cities or using less concrete. "

Peter Sänger, Green City Solutions

»Yes, that's right.

There are problems that need to be addressed much, much bigger.

But what does the past show us?

It's not that easy to do.

And then you need solutions like ours that help briefly until we can help to a large extent. "

We are back in Hamburg, it is 10 p.m. when I meet Lars again after his road blockade.

He's just coming from the station.

He spent nine hours in police custody.

I would like to take stock of Lars and know: Was he glad that the police stopped the action after half an hour?

Lars Werner

"After the two escalations I was already thinking: Now the police could come, because I know from experience that when the police come, these blatant escalating moments will pass and I can't stand it forever."

Leonie Voss, DER SPIEGEL

»I also found the whole situation to be extremely intense and yes, I thought it was amazing how people reacted.

But I'm not sure whether those who bothered you, these 20 seconds, whether that was really sustainable, or whether it wasn't all much more blatant for you and maybe you did it a little more for yourself than for yourself in the end the outsiders. "

Lars Werner

»Well, I do what I think, which can somehow successfully change something so that we as a society continue to destroy each other without seeing one another. That's what's happening right now. And I'm just trying to find a way to resist it, in a peaceful way. And that's crazy for me. Activism can be very stressful. Today was such a day. And whether it will ultimately bring anything is decided by the public. "

At the end of this research I asked myself: What have the four achieved? What is the best way to combat climate change? I don't know whether Peter's City Trees will help us in the long term. But you need innovative ideas from business. Just as it needs women like Wiebke who dare to break up old structures and place new topics in politics. I was impressed by Lars and that he was ready to look for open conflict. And Sophie: With her lawsuit, she brought about a historic judgment that made it clear: Climate protection is a fundamental right. Freedom means not harming future generations. All four give me the hope that something will change, that the climate crisis will be taken seriously.

Because there is still a lot of work ahead of us in Germany. But these four young people have at least made a start.