German Last Generation climate activist group drops name, plans focus on social issues

The “Last Generation” (Letzte Generation) climate activist group has said it is dropping its name and will change its tactics by focusing on social issues related to climate change. “We were the last generation before the tipping points [of the earth's climate system],” co-founder Carla Hinrichs told news magazine Spiegel in an interview. “Today, we can no longer be sure that this is true.” She argued that governments had been given a chance to tackle the climate crisis when the group began, but now the situation was “escalating before our eyes”.

The group will work on social cohesion and help establish connections between people to help each other deal with climate change, Hinrichs said. She added that the group will continue to organise protests, but road or airport blockades will no longer be the focus.

The Last Generation group's protests in Germany have largely focused on blocking road traffic in major cities and other acts of civil disobedience to raise the public’s awareness of insufficient emissions reduction policies. The activists' largely unpopular actions have drawn heavy criticism, especially from conservative politicians. Some Green Party members and many citizens also opposed the protests, arguing that the tactic causes rejection rather than acceptance of more rigorous climate policies among the wider public.

At the start of the year, the activists had already said they would no longer glue themselves to roads to halt traffic. The Austrian branch announced its dissolution in the summer.