Climate activists chain themselves to Merkel’s fence, send keys to ministries

Urging the German chancellor to declare a climate emergency, campaigners from the global Extinction Rebellion movement chained themselves to the fence of Angela Merkel’ chancellery in Berlin, Deutsche Welle reports. The keys to unlock the 30 protesters were sent in letters to 13 government ministries containing the climate goals Extinction Rebellion wants the German government to pursue. Among these is a demand to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2025. Police broke open the chains of the activists citing a violation of the Assembly Act.

Extinction Rebellion is an international movement that has carried out acts of civil disobedience since October 2018 with the aim of minimising “the risk of human extinction and ecological collapse.” Until now, the movement has been active mostly in the UK, staging only a few minor protests in Germany. Meanwhile, in Germany, thousands of students active in the “Fridays for Future” movement have taken part in protests for the climate since December.