Success in the fight against fossil subsidies
Last generation supporters paint the Dutch flag on the A100. more pictures here.
Berlin, October 12.10.2023, 08, 00:XNUMX a.m – Since around 7:30 a.m., the A100 near Kurfürstendamm has been lit up in the national colors of the Netherlands. With buckets of paint in their luggage, supporters of the last generation took to the highway and distributed the paint over a large area with brooms. They are currently blocking traffic with two vehicles and several protesters in bright orange high-visibility vests. Road blockades are also taking place in Belrin-Spandau this morning.
In recent weeks, the Netherlands has been a central location for civil resistance protests against the further slide into climate collapse. Every day and for weeks, thousands of people blocked the A12 motorway in The Hague, Netherlands, demanding that the government end fossil subsidies [1]. Supporters of the last generation also took part in the protests [2].
The civil resistance had its effect: On Tuesday, a large majority of the Dutch parliament voted to end the subsidy of fossil fuels, which amounts to 41 billion euros annually in the Netherlands. The government should now develop a corresponding exit plan and present it this year [3].
"We see that civil resistance works!", explained Lea-Maria Rhein (22), speaker of the Last Generation. “The German government is currently trying to wriggle out of its responsibility and deny the legitimacy of our protest. In the Netherlands it is now clear: this tactic is not successful in the long term - peaceful, decisive pressure from the population cannot be defeated with ever higher penalties. The most important question of our time – how do we turn around from the destructive fossil fuel course – must move from the street to the negotiating table!"
Street occupation announced publicly on October 28th
"The protests in the Netherlands are the first step“, says Henning Jeschke (23), founding member of Last Generation, on social media [4]. “And we here in Berlin continue. We take to the streets every day. In two weeks, on Saturday at 12 p.m., October 28th, we will be here. We will meet on the Street of June 17th and show that things cannot continue like this. We can no longer let the people who sit in the Bundestag who are still clinging to fossil fuel subsidies here in Germany get away with this."
In Germany, too, environmentally harmful subsidies amount to at least 65 billion euros annually [5][6]. Tax exemption on kerosene in air transport, company car privileges, discounts on diesel, fuel discounts and the cap on gas and electricity prices are just the tip of the iceberg.
[1] Almost 3.000 arrests at climate demonstrations in The Hague over the weekend – International
[2] Last generation: German climate activists take part in blockade in The Hague | TIME ONLINE
[3] Netherlands should reduce subsidies for fossil fuels
[4] twitter.com/AufstandLastGen/status/1712167649193398314?t=gh_xSQufthmhoGJQmKVSig&s=19
[5] Environmentally harmful subsidies in Germany | Federal Environment Agency
[6] When subsidies harm the environment | tagesschau.de