“Last Generation” – Lots of noise, little substance

A new protest culture is currently emerging in Germany: the activists of the “last generation” are blocking roads and runways, sticking their hands to the asphalt or damaging works of art. Only recently have they been active again in major German cities.

The protesters know how to generate maximum attention with relatively little effort. They want to be perceived as a nuisance, they see themselves as a thorn in the flesh of the affluent society in which the personal contribution of many people to climate protection is limited to choosing vegetarian food during the holiday flight to the Canary Islands.

The question of how far climate activists are allowed to go remains controversial. Where are the boundaries of protest? Is the potential harm to bystanders acceptable? What actions may no longer be legal but are still legitimate? The discussion about the forms of protest goes in questionable directions on both sides of the spectrum of opinion.

However, there is far too little debate about whether the arguments of the “last generation” are valid.

The substantive demands of the “last generation” are largely reduced to two points: the introduction of a nine-euro ticket and a limit on the maximum speed on motorways to 100 km/h.

Attracting attention alone is not enough

If these demands became reality, the climate effect would be negligible. There are, of course, many good reasons for immediately introducing a speed limit on motorways. Germany allows itself an anachronism here that is ridiculed throughout Europe. In times when every energy saving is important for reasons of security of supply, “free travel for free citizens” is more questionable than ever before.

The climate effect of a speed limit has often been calculated. The annual CO2 savings are well below one percent of Germany’s total emissions.

It should be similar with the nine-euro ticket. To sum it up in one sentence: speed limits and nine-euro tickets are not decisive weapons in the fight against climate change. Even the sinking of the Titanic would not have been prevented if the deckchairs on the upper deck had been rearranged beforehand.

“Social Council” as a fundamental challenge for democracy

Now one might object that the task of climate activists is not to design the theoretical superstructure for the path to climate neutrality. After all, the “last generation” is all about attracting attention. But that doesn’t release you from the obligation to make at least a few reasonable demands.

In addition, the climate activists have long since gone one step further: In order to enforce their demands, they now want to convene a “social council”. Parliament should publicly promise in advance that it will implement the decisions of the Council. That seems rather casual, but compared to the speed limit and the nine-euro ticket, it goes to the foundations of democracy: the sovereignty of parliament.

Another credo of the activists is questionable: They want to return to the level of prosperity of the 1970s in order to counteract climate change. A spokesman was recently quoted as saying: This is a substantive statement that is completely misleading.

Only with modern technology do we have the chance to bring climate change under control

Even if we stopped consuming completely today and threw our prosperity overboard, the challenges of climate change would not be overcome.

On the contrary: a wave of climate change has already built up, which can only be broken with the use of modern technology, with great effort for research and development, with a lot of money and with courageous decisions. As a hunter-gatherer people, we will not be able to meet the challenges posed by climate change.

“Last Generation”

Police officers loosen an activist’s taped hand.

(Photo: dpa)

Incidentally, this is by no means just a glimpse into the future. The activists of the “Last Generation” seem to have failed to notice that parts of the industry are undergoing fundamental changes that are pushing them to the limit economically and technologically.

Just briefly and in a nutshell: German steel companies have decided to invest billions in order to set up climate-neutral production processes. At the same time, politicians are willing to invest billions in building a hydrogen infrastructure, which is a basic requirement for climate-neutral steel production.

The activists are discrediting their project, which is actually so important

Of course, the expansion of renewable energies could go faster and possibly more electric cars could be put on the road faster and more electric heat pumps installed.

But you have to keep in mind that there will be more challenges in the coming years that need to be financed and implemented. We will have to remove CO2 from the atmosphere on a global scale and at the same time adapt to the unavoidable consequences of climate change.

None of this matters to the “Last Generation”. It may serve a good cause to draw the spotlight on mankind’s greatest challenge with spectacular actions. If huge air gaps open up behind the actions in terms of content, the entire idea is discredited. It is not enough to attract attention without offering even remotely coherent concepts in terms of content.

More: From now on, six wind turbines have to be set up every day in Germany

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