“This is wrong symbolism”
WWF condemns “Last Generation” action
3/7/2023 8:14 am
The WWF still understands the climate stickers of the “last generation”. But the last action of the activists goes too far for the environmentalists: soiling constitutional monuments “does the climate protest a disservice” and could also be misunderstood by society.
The environmental protection organization WWF fears that society’s understanding of climate protection concerns is declining in view of the latest climate campaigns by the “last generation”. “That’s wrong symbolism,” said the executive director of WWF Germany, Christoph Heinrich, to the newspapers of the Bayern media group with a view to the oil attack on the Basic Law monument in Berlin. “Here the climate protest is being done a disservice.” Heinrich expressed concern “that climate protection through such actions could only be perceived by the population as a concern of extremists”.
Heinrich said of the climate activists’ adhesive actions on the streets: “It’s provocative, it’s annoying, but that’s how protest is.” One could “somehow still talk” about such forms. In addition, campaigns like these were directed against climate-relevant car traffic. On the other hand, soiling monuments to the Basic Law works “like calling the Basic Law into question – and that shouldn’t be the message of the ‘last generation'”.
The WWF board rejected criminally relevant actions. “We work differently, we are looking for solutions, and we want to build bridges in society instead of digging up the rifts even deeper,” said Heinrich. You can’t always “take the provocation to the extreme”.
Activists of the “Last Generation” poured black paint over the Basic Law monument on Saturday. They wanted to draw attention to what they saw as the inadequate climate policy of the federal government and called for an earlier phase-out of fossil fuels such as oil. The protest triggered cross-party outrage.