Environmental groups stage protests against German govt's gas power station plans

Environmental activist groups have called for staging protests throughout this week against the German economy ministry’s commitment to build more gas power stations. The activist groups, including Greenpeace and Fridays for Future, argue against the planned expansion of gas-fired power production, and call instead for a more rapid roll-out of renewables.

The demonstration in the western city of Hamm, in which between 1,500 and 2,000 protesters are expected to take part, include a “climate camp” and protest marches. In addition, “disruptive actions,” such as blockades, are planned by activist group Ende Gelände. 

“The war in Iran demonstrates once again that only renewable energy can make us independent of authoritarian regimes,” said Mira Jäger, energy spokesperson for Greenpeace. “Sun and wind don’t have to pass through the Strait of Hormuz; they are affordable and protect the climate," Jäger said, adding that Germany's energy minister Katherina Reiche is "attacking the energy transition" by allowing the continued use of oil and gas heating systems and prioritising fossil gas in her plans for backup capacity for the country's electricity system. 

A recent report commissioned by Greenpeace also said that a more secure supply of energy can be achieved by flexibility measures and improved demand management, rather than by building additional gas power facilities.

The gas power plants that are meant to stabilise the grid during times of little output by wind and solar power installations were initially planned under Reiche's predecessor in the previous government, Robert Habeck from the Green Party. Reiche had sought to significantly increase the capacity planned under Habeck and ease requirements for making the installations climate-neutral in the future by using green hydrogen. The European Commission ultimately rejected the 20 gigawatts (GW) of new plant capacity planned by Reiche, and said the additional capacity cannot exceed 12 GW under EU state aid rules. 

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, founder of the Fridays for Future climate protest movement, had joined the protesters in Hamm. “It is important that we highlight Germany’s responsibility in the climate crisis,” Thunberg told Westfälischer Anzeiger. “For a long time, fossil fuel infrastructure, militarisation and socially unjust policies have contributed significantly to the escalation of the climate crisis, which is already killing people today, and it is set to get much, much worse.”

In Germany, similar climate protests in the past have played an influential role in the public debate, for example in the context of Germany's coal exit. The Fridays for Future youth movement, which mobilised up to 1.4 million people in Germany alone at its peak in 2019, played a crucial role in advancing the country's debate on climate action, and pushing parties across the political spectrum to commit to policy in line with limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. However, the student-led climate protests were disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic and have struggled since to regain their initial follower numbers.