BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd June, 2020) Climate activists have staged protests in 60 German cities in the first large-scale demonstrations to take place in the country since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Fridays For Future organization said on Tuesday.
"In more than 60 cities, we demanded for climate goals instead of lobbying deals. Spending the billions [of euros] that our generation will pay back later to worsen the climate crisis would be crazy," the German branch of the organization wrote on Twitter.
During the protests, demonstrators in Berlin gathered outside of the German Chancellery. The activists emphasized that they complied with all the necessary social distancing regulations still in place as the coronavirus disease outbreak continues.
Protesters took to the streets as the country's ruling coalition currently discusses an economic recovery program to mitigate the impacts of the ongoing epidemiological crisis. The activists have demanded that German lawmakers rebuild the economy in a more environmentally friendly way, particularly as leaked government plans suggest that Berlin may provide subsidies for new automobile purchases.
Fridays For Future is an international movement that was influenced by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who protested against the lack of climate action in front of the Swedish parliament every school day for three weeks in August 2018.
